Take a look through any cycling store, supply catalogue or Website and one thing is abundantly clear: There’s a heck of a lot of gear on the market to help you gain speed and efficiency. But for me, the biggest change in my performance as a cyclist didn’t come from something I could buy, but from something I could do. When I shifted the “hop on my bike and go” mentality I had as a kid, to one that considered stretching as an integral part of my pre- and post-ride, my overall experience became even more enjoyable. I found my solution in yoga. I’ve practiced yoga for about 10 years—but once I began to consider my cycling in relation to my yoga practice, my two worlds came together and I discovered how beautifully they support each other. Now I’m a yoga teacher, helping other cyclists discover the benefit of this practice.
How Yoga Helps Cyclists
When I ask new students in the classes I teach at Yoga Shala in Portland what they think yoga is, they say, “stretching and breathing.” While that’s true, yoga also helps strengthen muscles to increase their power and efficiency. By working key muscle groups related to cycling during a yoga practice, you can help support the areas of the body you need to draw power from during the ride—like the quadriceps.
But those beginning students are right—one of the benefits of yoga is that it helps you stretch and lengthen the areas of the body that get tight during the ride—like the hamstrings. Because, if you only do exercises that strengthen the quadriceps, for example, and never stretch the hamstrings, when you bend forward you won’t be able to touch your toes. Sound familiar?
Some Yoga Stretches for Cyclists
In my own experience with yoga and cycling, and during the yoga workshops I’ve held for cyclists, I’ve found the following category of yoga poses to be most beneficial for getting on the bike. I’ll be sure to highlight them during the weekend Cycle Oregon ride this year, where I’ll be the yoga instructor helping cyclists stretch out on Saturday night.
• Backbends: All that bending forward over the handlebars requires some relief! Try Baby Cobra, Locust Pose and Upright Pigeon Pose.
• Inversions: Inversions take the legs up, and help bring the toxins and lactic acid that accumulate from a hard race or long-day’s ride down, so it can move out of the system. Try Viparita Karani or Shoulderstand.
• Twists: Provides a release for the back—all the way up from the lower lumbar to the neck! Try Ardha Matsyendrasana (shown below), Marichyasana and any reclined twist.
One of the things that yoga teaches is to let go of attachment to always doing things the same way. Well, I still enjoy all the great gear that’s out there—but as I bring the teachings of my yoga practice into my world as a cyclist, I’ve learned to let go of some of my attachment to these external factors. Instead I focus more on enhancing my internal experience through stretching and breathing.
--Jennifer L. Hanson is a yoga instructor at Yoga Shala in Portland who loves helping cyclists find their inner yogi. She’ll be holding another Yoga for Cyclists workshop in September. You can reach her at jenlhanson@yahoo.com with any questions.
Editor’s note: Keep your eyes out for an announcement of the “Yoga for Cyclists” workshop to be held again in September. We’ll have special rates available for Portland Velo members!!
How Meditation Can Benefit Cyclists
By Joseph Boquiren
Meditation is useful in calming the mind, achieving clarity of thought and increasing one’s powers of focus, mindfulness and concentration. I practice Zen meditation (or zazen) daily. The basic practice is to find a quiet distraction-free space and sit in a stable position as shown below. I try to sit for at least 25 minutes. Beginners should try sitting for 5 minutes to start. There are texts on meditation to help guide you and I advise sitting with a group to understand the practice.
If sitting for a while is difficult at first, you may want to try breathwork as a way to slow down the mind and lead you gently into meditation. Breathwork is useful in allowing one more mindful control of one’s breath and allows for more conscious, fuller and deeper breathing. Some breathing exercises like alternate nostril breathing allow one to better expel impurities in the lungs accumulated during long or cold-weather rides.
Examples - Alternate nostril breathing, Ujjayi, Khumbaka
--Joseph Boquiren is a member of the Portland Velo cycling team. He is also the cartoonist for Samadhi Pants, an online weekly yoga comic. You can see his work at http://josephboquiren.wordpress.com/samadhi-pants/
Joseph can also been spotted most often racing at PIR, Alpenrose Velodrome, and during the winter months at Oaks Park Skating Rink.