Yoga and Cycling

At first instinct, you would not think that yoga and cycling are compatible. But the two can feed off each other. Here are some ways in which yoga can really help those who are avid cyclists:

Helping muscle tightness

There is no question that frequent and long-distance cycling can tighten key muscle groups in the legs, the back, the neck and the arms. Yoga stretches can really help this. Here are some basic yoga poses that will help with stretching affected muscle groups.

Quads

Quadracepts are prone to over-working and tightness in cycling. Keeping them limber is key. One easy and gentle way to work this is to lie on the belly. Rest the forehead on the right forearm, spine lengthened. Grad the left ankle with the left hand and draw the ankle toward the left buttocks. Draw the knees together and gently draw the tailbone down. (This will increase the stretch in the quad.) If the knees hurt, back off a little, allow the leg to move away from the buttocks. If necessary, use a strap on the ankle. Hold for 5 deep, slow breaths- sending the breath down into the tight sensation. Repeat on the other side.

Low Back

Gentle side body stretching and forward bending can help to relieve the low back. It is helpful to lie on the back and draw the knees into the chest. Take 3-5 breaths here. Another good back and side body stretch is to come to standing, place your hands against a wall, shoulder-height and shoulder-width apart. Acitvely spread the fingers. Step the feet back enough so that the legs are perpendicular to the ground. Step the feet hip distance apart, heels turned slightly out. Press the wall away from you and breath for 5 slow deep breaths- feel as if you are lengthening your spine.

It is also key for bikers to stretch their backs in the opposite direction of how it is held during biking. Given that a biker needs to hunch over their bike to ride, the spine spends much time in flexion (forward folding). It is extremely important for the health of the spine to counteract this action off the bike with spinal extension. This can be done with any number of backbending yoga poses. The most gentle form of backbending would be to put a still rolled blanket crosswise behind the heart. Lay with the back on it for at least 10-15 breaths. This will help to open the chest area. A more active form of back bending would be Bridge pose or even more active would be full wheel. Make sure to work with a yoga teacher for both of those.

Neck

Practice gentle neck releases. Come to seated or standing and drop the left ear to left should. Relax the right shoulder away from the right ear. Breath for 5 breaths down the right side of the neck. Repeat on the other side. Then drop chin to chest breating down the back of the neck. Raise head and then look over right shoulder for 3 slow breaths then over the left shoulder. The repeat the whole cycle again.

Arms and shoulders

Place a strap between the hands, shoulder distance apart (more if the shoulders are really tight). Start with the arms down by the waist, then inhale them up overhead, exhale them back down in front of the body. Repeat 5 times, focus on slow deep breathing and bring awareness into the arms and the shoulders. Then grab the strap, same distance or wider, behind the back. Inhale lift arms up toward sky and exhale to lower. Repeat 5 times, move slowly and make sure to send the breath to the tight areas. Do not muscle through the tight areas but move with conscious and gentle attention.

Alignment

For optimal body health in biking it is essential that the cyclist maintain physical alignment on the bike. This means that the hips, the thighs, the knees and the ankles all need to be on track. Alignment is equally important in yoga. Yoga really helps the individual to get an inner sense of alignment in the body. It also trains the muscles and bones to move toward alignment which then makes it easier for the body to emulate this in other more active movements, such as cycling.

Breathing

Pranayama or breathing exercises can be an invaluable complement to any sport. Practicing any number of breathing exercises will help to train the breath, strengthen the diaphram, calm the mind, expand the lungs and send oxygen to needed parts of the body. Alternate nostril breath is a good form of breathing to practice as is Ujjaii.

If you are practicing alone and dont have access to an experience yoga teacher to help you with these, here is a basic breath awareness exercise you can do: Start by lying on your back with your eyes closed. Follow your inhale from the tip of the nostrils into the body. Follow its pathway, notice the areas it touches, the parts of the body that expands and notice the area in the body that it turns to an exhale and then follow its pathway back out the body. Start to slow the breath down and see if you can fill up all the way, before slowly and evenly exhaling out. Pause briefly with all the breath out of the body before starting the inhale again. Play around with bringing the breath in more deeply toward abdomen and then play around with bringing it toward different parts of the body. The main goal is to get familiar with the breath, to feel it as it moves slowly through you.

Balance

Cycling is a sport of balance. For more cyclists balance on the bikes becomes second nature very quickly. Yoga can help deepen this sense of balance and comfort through balancing poses. Try any standing balancing poses such as Tree pose, Warrior 3, Balancing knee to chest (stand on one leg and bring opposite knee in toward the chest and take 5 breaths).

Meditation and focus

One of the qualities that differentiates a good cyclist from a great cyclist is their ability to concentrate. Concentration through a clearing in the mind is generally a form of meditation. Many athletes call this "Being in the Flow". When in the flow, or in a pure state of meditation all thoughts, all fluctuations/distractions on the body and mind and the external environment drop away and the being feels a greater connection with the present moment. It is from this place that true performance and ability can manifest as it feels that something "greater than the self" is propelling the athlete forward.

As with any yoga practice, it is best to work with an experienced teacher. If necessary start with a teacher for a few sessions and get enough information to practice at home. You will find that even the smallest investment in a yoga practice will have major effects on your cycling.