The Yoga Ride - Part 3

What do these two pictures have in common?

Yoga

Cycling

Well, besides them both being taken in my living room, the posture on the bike is basically a forward fold and it's similar to the Down-Dog in yoga. If you've just spent time in the saddle, be it 30 minutes or 4 hours, doing the Down-Dog pose afterwards might feel good, as you do get the benefit of the inversion, but is it all that you need? That's what this part of the Yoga Ride Project blog will cover.

The post-ride portion of the Yoga Ride focuses on two types of poses:

• Poses that are in opposition to the forward fold position during the ride
• Poses that are down-regulating

The opposition poses
These poses help to lengthen and strengthen the muscles in the front of the body as well as the hamstrings. These muscles can tend to shorten with repeated cycling if you don't engage in some exercises (in this case yoga).

• Mountain Pose
• Prone Mountain - with baby cobra or extended cobra
• Vinyasa Flow Sun Salutation A (mixes the Up and Down Dog)
• Cat-Cow (with a spine bag - if available)

The down regulating poses
Down regulation will help with recovery and rest. Cycling and caffeine are very up regulating, so we'll end with these poses (with some variations) to down regulate the body.

• Legs up the wall
• Warrior I
• Psoas wake-up (it's good at the beginning and the end of a ride)
• Seated twists
• Savasana

A full Yoga Ride practice may be coming to a Bike Shop or Yoga Studio near you soon, so stay tuned.