Ÿoga” means to yoke, or unite. To practice yoga, you must bring the 8 ‘limbs’ of yoga together in all of your postures.
Why?
Because you will be in a steady state of consciousness, uniting your individual soul with the Universal soul. That is, yoga.
This state of consciousness that yoga for cyclist brings will be free from worry, pain and sorrow, and will bring a steadiness to the mind and emotions.
Do you have to be in the state of consciousness to achieve good health?
Well, you will achieve a level of physical health without combining all aspects of yoga, but you will achieve a whole other level of physical mastery, awareness and wisdom, mental peace and clarity, and the ability to heal yourself by truly listening to your body and energy state.
Learning to master your breath control via online yoga classes accelerates physical performance more than anything else. It gives you the knowledge to control nervous tension, recovery and also pushes you to the limit of your power and endurance. Becoming a pro at yoga for cyclist takes a lot of practice and time.
By implementing the knowledge of each asana (posture) of yoga for cyclist, you will start to realise where your body has distorted. You must fit your body into the pose, and not distort the pose by fitting it to your body. The pose is the right action to take, and by working on your body it will eradicate any weaknesses and imbalances over time.
An example of a pose in yoga for cyclist – Trikonasana
This is a difficult movement to get right in the beginning. The movement is from the hip.
From your feet 1m apart, turn the right foot out 90 degrees to the right, and the left foot in 5 degrees to the right. Then, your pelvis moves to the left, which tilts your whole torso to the right side. There is no bend in the spine and the shoulders remain in this vertical line. I see a lot of people bringing the torso forward in this type of yoga for cyclist to compensate for the tightness in the hip – the very place that is tight and needs to be stretched… a distorted pose.
So, what are the 8 limbs of yoga?
The best online yoga classes will teach you that there is more to yoga for cyclists than just poses. There are these limbs of yoga that, when learned carefully and practiced right, act as a practical guide on liberating yourself from all sufferings of the world, and living a meaningful life. While the combination of cycling and yoga will keep you physically and mentally fit, these limbs of yoga will keep you morally, ethically, and spiritually right.
Let’s take a look at these 8 limbs of yoga:
- Discipline (Yama)
The yamas deal with your ethical standards, guiding you on how to treat others. The five yamas include:
- Non-violence
- Truthfulness
- Non-stealing
- Continence
- Non-coveting
- Observances (Niyama)
Niyamas focus on improving the self and building self-discipline. The five niyamas (spiritual observances) include:
- Purification
- Contentment
- Heat or asceticism
- Study of one’s self
- Surrender to god
- Posture (Asana)
Today, asana is referred to as a yoga pose. Originally, it meant a comfortable seat. Posture or asana, thus, guides us to building a focused mind that is at peace.
- Withdrawal of the senses (Pratyahara)
This limb of yoga focuses on separating consciousness from distractions. Your five senses are seen as external factors that should pass without grabbing your attention.
- Exercise of the life force (Pranayama)
Focusing on breath control, this limb guides you on regulating your inhalation and exhalation, as well as retention of breath in a cyclical way.
- Concentration (Dharana)
This is the first stage of meditation that asks you to dedicate your complete attention to a focal point. For example, a picture in your mind.
- Meditation (Dhyana)
This stage of meditation requires you to clear your mind of any thoughts and focus on a single object, neglecting all others. The aim of meditation is to achieve unwavering focus.
- Illumination (Samadhi)
Finally, you enter the state of samadhi, that is, your soul gets illuminated. You meet the divine energy and unite with the universe from within.
In your yoga for cyclists videos, I am beginning to teach you the limbs of yoga that need to be experienced. The knowledge will only be of good use to you if you can “become” it. Even in the yoga stretches for cyclists videos, you can practice the limbs together, creating a gap in your stream of thought, once you understand how to do so.
If you want to learn more about yoga for cyclists and limbs of yoga, visit our website or write to us at enquires@eliteyoga.com.au.
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