Off Day Yoga

Hello,

I have been focusing on my bicycle training lately so I wanted to focus more on the yoga aspects of my training.

On days when I hit the bike hard, I do a much more gentle, recovery focused yoga practice. On days when I take a break from the hard training on the bike, I do a much more intense yoga practice. I start with downward dog to wake up my Achilles tendons, hamstrings, shoulders and lower back. After a few breaths in child's pose, it's back to down dog, then Uttanasana (forward fold), then up to Tadasana (mountain pose). After a breath or two for alignment checks, I cycle through several Sun Salutations, moving on two breaths in each posture at the beginning, and moving on one breath for the final three or four rounds. After I have done several Sun Salutations, I incorporate a lifted-heel variation of Virabhadrasana I (warrior I) and begin my Hatha Flow practice.

For Hatha Flow, I move between each asana smoothly, with conscious transitions (more on that in my next post), holding each asana for three to five breaths to create muscle memory. From Virabhadrasana I, I move through a Vinyasa series into Virabhadrasana II. After holding one side for three to five breaths, I move through a Vinyasa to the other side. I move through plank, up dog, down dog, Uttanasana, Tadasana and back through Uttanasana, plank, up-dog, down-dog and then back to Virabhadrasana II.

From here, the fun really begins. I end up holding the legs of Virabhadrasana II for several minutes as I cycle through devotional warrior, extended side angle and back to Virabhadrasana II. I transition through a Vinyasa sequence and repeat on the other side of the body. Then I sequence through it again, with a bind in extended side angle pose. This sequence brings life to the entire back side of the body and really taxes the quadriceps muscles. By using the quads so much at this point of the practice, the hamstrings will release more during the next series of asanas.

From here I find myself in Tadasana, take a giant step to the side, and move into Prasarita Padottanasana, or wide legged forward fold. I transition into Prasarita in stages, coming up to flatten my low back on inhales and then deepening the fold on the exhale, holding for a couple of breaths and then coming up slightly on an inhale, then deepening even further on the exhale. Once I have found my fullest expression of Prasarita, I hold for 5-7 breaths. I then come up halfway with a flat back on an inhale and bring the stretch over my right leg (Paravritta Prasarita Padottanasana), putting my sternum over my kneecap and deepening on the exhale. I hold this pose for 3-5 breaths, come up on an inhale, then repeat on the other side. I finish my Prasarita sequence with my deepest Prasarita and hold for 5-7 breaths. I use my hamstrings so much in my job as a chef and in my cycling that I need to spend a lot of yoga time focused on them to get the release I need.

This sequence builds up to Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana, the real highlight of my practice. One legged king pigeon is challenging for anyone with tight hips, and that is almost all cyclists. I hold Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana as a yin pose here, staying on each side for three to five minutes. I cycle through a Vinyasa sequence to keep the prana moving between each side and finish with a Vinyasa sequence, going all the way to the floor after Chaturanga Dandasana.

From lying on my belly on the floor, I move into Salambhasana or locust pose. I add arm extension to the full pose and repeat three to five times with only one breath cycle between asanas. This prepares the forward facing abdominal muscles for Navasana, which comes next. Three to five rounds of Navasana (boat pose), with one breath cycle between each round, leaves me on my back for a mini (10 breath) Savasana.

I move into bridge pose for several cycles, focusing on using my front body muscles, not my glutes, to keep me lifted. After several rounds of bridge, I move on to full wheel for three rounds or so. I like to add leg lifts to my wheel for strength building in the wrists. No counter pose, but I like to rest on the floor with both knees bent for three to five breaths, then I move into seated twists. After doing a nice long Marichyasana II on each side (five to seven breaths), I invert. Either a headstand, several rounds of handstand or simply supported shoulder stand, depending on my mental state at this point in my practice.

I always finish with a supine, knee-down twist, held yin-style (three to five minutes) on each side. Then Savasana for five to eight minutes and ten minutes of meditation.

I find I can do all of this in about 90 minutes.

So there it is, a vigorous, Yoga-Cycle sequence for an off (or recovery ride) day.

Namaste

Jim