Thoughts on Yoga.... Continued

Coupla pictures of where I am taking a class and the teachers there.

So why Yoga? Last year I felt kinda like a piece of metal that was cooled to quickly. Strong yet brittle. This was brought on by years of work/excercise with little to no stretching. I was always kinda interested in it just to improve my flexibilty. After jumping into racing with no prep I was very sore last fall. So when I recieved a invite I jumped at it.

What are the benifits of Yoga? I was just interested in touching my toes. But, it turns out yoga is good for other things. It is good at stress relief. You work your core even when you are sitting still. You practice breath control. You gain more body awareness. Your body feels more flexible after just a few minutes of class. You find out you can stand on your head. The levitation while meditating is cool too. J/K

I gotta tell you I did not expect to head stands my first class. So far its fun but, after I feel like throwing up. I don't get that with the shoulder stand though. I guess I would call it a core class where you stretch and practice breathing all at the same time. Some of the poses are hard but, you control how hard you make them. So far I like the class and probably take some more. I don't know if it will help in a race or not. But, I think it will make your core very strong which helps you go faster.

Couple of other thoughts. I realized most of the stretches I have been taught/ read about in magazines have some basis in yoga. Which makes sense since yoga is 2000 years old and modern sports medicine is only about 50 years old. Also at least in the beginner class I am taking the remind/show you how best to position your body during the poses. For example the reminded us to not arch our back to much when doing bridges because just a inch one way uses more back muscles which doesn't strengthen you core. Strengthening the core is the whole point of the class for me. Strong core=pushing harder on the pedals=faster lap times=less injury.

Time to start planning for next year. I am not going to lift like last year. I felt like it was somewhat a waste of time. "The only way to get fast on a bike is to ride your bike." -Rebecca Cleveland I think. Plus I know with my job I am keeping my leg strength up. See Ya Outside.
Oh yeah.
Namaste.