When learning your yoga poses for cyclists, it is extremely important to first practice and be diligent about the alignment of your body (and all its parts) in the posture. Then within that perfect alignment, you learn to expand the borders of your body.
What does that mean?
For example, in your yoga programs with me, you will learn classic yoga poses for cyclists, including the downward facing dog (adho mukha svanasana).
Paying attention to placing your hands the width of your personal shoulders apart, and your feet the width of your hips apart, you will then open your shoulders as wide as you can, as if you are moving them apart. This is called ëxpanding” the shoulder girdle.
Then your hands are placed with the fingers outstretched, the wrist creases even, and fingers wide open, with the hands ëxpanded”.
The feet are placed in a way where the outside of your foot (i.e. the little toe-to-heel edge) is parallel to the edges of your mat. Then ëxpand” the foot by spreading under the ball of your foot to make space between your toes. Then, lengthen all your toes forward, so that they are all long, and not curled or scrunched up in any way.
With your pelvis lifted up and back, lift mula bandha, and that is creating length, or space, inside your spine. Spreading the glutes apart in this type of yoga for cyclist ëxpands” the back of your pelvis.
When your shoulder blades wrap down and forward around your ribcage, this ëxpands” and opens your back, especially while breathing deeply into the borders of your lungs.
Finally, while your blades are wrapping down and forward, and your hips lifting up and back, this lengthens your spine in opposite directions, gently making “space” between the vertebrae, and inside your spine.
Doing this posture with correct alignment and boundaries, expanding the borders of the pose, will create length in your back, hamstring and calf muscles, and open up your feet and shoulder girdle. By practicing the deep breathing and mula bandha, you will marry the outer and inner expression of the pose, and this is yoga (union, to unite).
Downward facing dog pose is one of the best yoga poses for cyclists that sets a great example of this principle in action. Every posture has a correct alignment to it, and it is imperative to learn this first if you want the benefits of physical freedom and health that yoga uniquely provides. I show you how to do these postures in my online yoga classes, and they are critical to your success. I teach you the knowledge part, and then it is up to you to assimilate that knowledge through practice. Once you see that specific yoga poses for cyclists will take away your pain, or balance where you are weak or tight, your own desire to feel good in your body will drive you to do it.
When you feel good, you are ready for the next challenge- up for anything. When you are held back by injury, weakness, or stiffness, you’re just getting by, staying put, hoping it doesn’t get worse. You simply can’t keep pushing your own personal best in a physical pursuit with physical limitations. As your personal trainer and yoga instructor, I am showing you the way to remove those blocks and unleash your physical potential. Learn the best online yoga postures! Then I will teach you a full yoga practice, and you will have earned your freedom.
Are you new to yoga or are ready for some advanced poses? In either case, you must first achieve proper alignment before you head on to any particular yoga poses for cyclists. Cycling and yoga partner up with each other, where one keeps the flexibility in check, and the other keeps you aware of your breath control, muscle strength, and spinal alignment. Yoga poses for cyclists help get back on your bicycle real quick and more powerfully.
If you would like to know where to begin with yoga poses for cyclists online, check out Cyclist Yoga Programs by Elite Yoga, or subscribe to our channel to get regular updates.
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