Category Archives: Twist

Yoga For Cyclists

Posted on by

I recently taught a Yoga For Cyclists workshop at Mission Cliffs, and I wanted to put some suggestions out there for those of who couldn’t make it, and a refresher out there for those of you who did!

Cyclists tend to have short, tight chest muscles and tense, but overstretched, upper and lower back muscles from continually hunching over their handle bars (for more details on this, see my recent blog post on getting to the root of upper back tension). To stretch the chest muscles and give the upper back muscles a chance to relax, try this prone shoulder opening twist. To strengthen upper and lower back muscles, try locust pose.

Cyclists can develop tight hips, which may contribute to lower back soreness. To stretch tight hip flexors, quads, and hamstrings, consider moving through the following sequence on both sides, holding each of poses for at least thirty seconds:

Sit bones tilted back

Half splits.

To stretch the outer hip muscles try pigeon pose or thread the needle. It is important to stretch the outer hip muscles as these muscle can contribute to tension in the IT band (a long strap of connective tissue running from your hip to below your knee), which can cause problems in both the hip and the knee.

It is also important to maintain strong core muscles to have healthy form while cycling. As mentioned above, locust will help strengthen your low back. Holding plank pose will strengthen all the core muscles at once.

I hope that gives you some stuff to try at home for now. I will be offering the Yoga For Cyclists workshop again soon at Mission Cliffs, so keep your eyes out for it!

Full Bird of Paradise

Posted on by

Easy bird of paradise seems to come up relatively frequently in the classes I attend, but I don’t often see full bird of paradise, so I thought I’d offer it to you.

Begin in high lunge, with you left leg forward and right leg back. Make sure you left knee is right above the ankle, and the knee is pointed in the same direction as the toes. The back leg should be extended and strong, so press back through the right heel. As you lift up through the crown of the head, root the tail bone down, draw the front ribs toward the navel, and bring the shoulder blades down the back.

High Lunge

High Lunge

On you next exhale, come into revolved high lunge: twist to your left and bring the right elbow to the opposite side of the left knee. This may be as far as you go, and that’s okay!

Revolved Lunge

Revolved High Lunge

If it’s available to you, keep the right elbow outside the left knee and extend the right fingers down toward the floor, left finger tips skyward. Breathe.

Extended Revolved Lunge

Extended Revolved Lunge

From there, if you have the arm length and flexibility, you can bring the right arm under the left thigh and the left arm over the low back to bind your hands together underneath the body. You may use a strap to supplement.

Binded Revolved Lunge

Binded Revolved Lunge

Take a deep inhale, and then as you exhale, step the right foot to the front of your mat, under control, so that the feet are side by side. Maintain your bind and breath.

Revolved Forward Fold with a Bind

Revolved Forward Fold with a Bind

Root into your right foot, and on an inhale, slowly begin to lift the left foot off the mat, coming to standing upright. Allow the chest to twist the the left, and let the eyes follow or look out past the back of your mat.

Full Bird Preparation

Full Bird Preparation

If it’s available to you, straighten the left leg. Breathe.

Full Bird of Paradise

Full Bird of Paradise

To exit, rebend the left knee and gently lower the left foot back down to the floor. Release the bind and repeat the sequence on the other side.

High Lunge Twist and Bend

Posted on by

I recently attended a yoga class in which the instructor had us flow through this twisted backbend variation on high lunge, and I just loved it! Start in high lunge with the left leg forward and right leg back, making sure the left knee is right above the ankle pointed toward the second toe of the foot. Keep the back leg long without locking the knee, and press back through the back heal. Breathe.

High Lunge

High Lunge

If this next bit feels a little awkward, you’re probably doing it right. Keep your base strong and on an exhale, lower the arms to shoulder height, extending the right arm forward and left arm back, thumbs up toward the ceiling. Twist the chest toward the left, and turn the gaze toward the back hand, if that’s available to you. Keep contracting the obliques (the side abdominal muscles) and resist the urge to lean forward. Breathe.

Upright Revolved High Lunge

Upright Revolved High Lunge

Contract the abdominals, and on an exhale, lower the left hand down to the back thigh and turn the right palm skyward. Inhale, extend the hand upwards so that the palm of the hand faces the back of the room. As you exhale, begin to back bend to your degree. Keep breathing.

Reversed Twisted High Lunge

Reversed Twisted High Lunge

To get to the same sequence on the other side from here, inhale out of the backbend, exhale to windmill the hands all the way down to the floor, and cycle through a two- or one-legged vinyasa. From downward facing dog, step the right foot forward and inhale the arms up into high lunge.

Half Twist Switches

Posted on by

Switching from half twist (ardha matsyendrasana) on one side to half twist on the other side can be kind of cumbersome, so here are two graceful transitions for switching sides.

The first option is to do a pivot-turn to get to the other side. It’s easier than it looks! Once you’ve completed the twist on the first side, look in the other direction to guide your turn. Keep the feet exactly where they are, and turn the body. Allow the feet to pivot until you come all the way around to the front again. Sit your buttocks down between your heals for half twist on the other side.

Switcheroo

Keep the feet exactly where they are, and pivot around to the other side. (click for larger image)

The first time I saw this next transition, I thought it was totally ridiculous, but it’s actually kind of fun. After you complete the twist on the first side, bring the hands in front of you on the mat, and come into a tripod headstand with the legs crossed. In tripod headstand switch the cross of the legs. When you come back down, you’ll be ready for half twist on the other side.

Tripod Headstand Transition

Come into tripod headstand with the legs crossed, and switch the cross of the legs. (click for larger image)

Okay, so maybe that one wont be immediately graceful, but it’s certainly an interesting variation.

Revolved Hand-To-Foot

Posted on by

Revolved hand-to-foot pose (parivrtta hasta padangusthasana) combines a standing balance, a hamstrings/low back stretch, and a twist. The full pose with the leg extended takes quite a bit of flexibility, but if you keep the knee bent, you still get the balance and the twist.

Start standing in mountain pose. Ground into the right foot, preparing to lift the left foot off the ground. Contract the abdominals, low back, and pelvic floor, and as you inhale, lift the knee toward the chest. With the opposite hand, grasp the outer edge of the foot.

Grasp the outer edge of the foot

Grasp the outer edge of the foot

 

The thumb should be toward the heel. If you don’t have the flexibility to reach the foot, grasp the knee instead. Find your balance. Breathe.

Thumb toward the heel

The thumb should be toward the heel

Now, if you have the flexibility, begin to straighten the left leg. Keep breathing. Keep the foot flexed, pressing out through the heel. If you’ve rounded through the spine at all, try to straighten it out, lengthening upwards through the crown of the head. Use the upper back muscles to draw the shoulders back instead of letting them collapse forward. Remember, you can always keep the knee bent if that’s better for your body. Find your balance.

Now, under control, inhale and extend the left hand backwards at shoulder height. Slowly open the chest to the left, twisting through the spine. Breathe.

Revolved hand-to-foot with gaze forward

Extend the left leg forward and the right arm back.

Once you feel stable, you can slowly turn the gaze toward the back hand. It’s always easier to balance if you have a focal point, so as your gaze travels backward, keep choosing different points to fixate on. Contract the quads (muscles in the front of the thigh) and hamstrings to maintain balance. Keep breathing.

Revolved hand to foot

Revolved hand to foot

Hold this pose for at least three breaths, and then repeat it on the other side.