Photo credit: Graham Mattock
One of many important distinctions between yoga and stretching is that there are a number of different poses that achieve broadly the same objective, for example, loosening up tight hips.
If your aim in practicing yoga is to enhance your athletic performance, you don’t have to achieve mastery in every single pose. You can choose the ones that suit you best where you’re at right now. In fact, you’ll rarely need to perfect the most advanced version of a pose to achieve your objective. And when you're ready, you can increase the level of difficulty.
Here are some general categorisations that will help you get the most out of your yoga sessions. With this information, depending on your desired training outcome, you can see which type of pose would best achieve your objective and create your own mini routine.
1. Backbends
- Open up the chest.
- Stretch the front of the body.
- Strengthen the posterior chain.
- Increase spinal flexibility.
- Alleviate lower back pain.
- Poses: Cobra, Locust, Bridge and Wheel.
2. Forward Bends
- Stretch the backs of the legs.
- Release compression at the lower back.
- Relieve tension in the neck and shoulders.
- Alleviate lower back pain.
- Calm the central nervous system.
- Poses: Ragdoll, Head To Knee and Downward Dog.
3. Sidebends
- Open up the side of the body.
- Improve spinal mobility.
- Increase lung capacity.
- Improve breathing efficiency.
- Alleviate lower back pain.
- Poses: Standing Sideband and Extended Side Angle.
4. Hip Openers
- Increase mobility in the hips.
- Stretch the groin.
- Alleviate lower back, hip and knee pain.
- Poses: Folded Butterfly, Lizard, Low Lunge and Pigeon.
5. Twists
- Stretch muscles throughout the body.
- Increase spinal flexibility.
- Improve posture.
- Enhance breathing efficiency.
- Alleviate lower back pain.
- Poses: Seated Spinal Twist and Reclining Spinal Twist.
6. Balancing Poses
- Improve balance.
- Build feet, leg and core strength.
- Strengthen the hips.
- Enhance body awareness and proprioception.
- Train focus and concentration.
- Poses: Eagle, Dancer and Tree.
7. Restorative Poses
- Relax the body.
- Calm the mind.
- Speed up recovery time.
- Improve sleep quality.
- Boost mood.
- Poses: Child’s Pose, Final Resting Pose, Reclining Butterfly and Happy Baby
This is an except from my new ebook, Yoga For Mountain Bikers: Pose Guide Level One which you can download here:
www.yoga15.com/mtb-shop/yoga-for-mountain-bikers-pose-guide-level-one
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