yoga for paddlers

DVD arrived Saturday.





I hurt.





Paul

but soon
you’ll be kissing the deck and shortly thereafter the wrap-around-roll…then you buy the ticket to Greenland and not long after the recogition at the White House…when I pick up the OI I dont want kiss prints all over the deck :slight_smile:

would ya?
Would ya recomend that for someone who never tried yoga?

I was thinking about a class but might try the DVD instead.

gentle yoga
If you’ve never tried yoga, you may want to start with a beginner’s easy dvd. Start with gentle stretching and if you practice daily you should improve.

recommendation
Yes I would recommend it if you have a lot of rolling and stretching under your belt as it does target those muscles alot. My problem is the forward finishing/ hamstring stretching poses that I am unused to or rather probably overdid it the first time out. Several of the exercises they recommend using a stool so that you don’t do the full stretch but did I listen?



Paul

yoga gear
There are yoga props to help beginners.

Blocks - you could use a stool or the foamies from the car rack - are used in standing stretches. Instead of trying to touch the floor, reach your fingertips to the blocks, then your knuckles, then your palms. Next step is to turn the block on in’t shorter side and repeat the process over a period of weeks.

For sitting stretches, a stap is used - like the ones you use to tie the yak to the rack - the strap is held under the feet and you gently pull yourself closer to your knees.

session 1
Just got through session 1 without groaning out loud. not pretty but on my way!

raining here so did 20 minutes on the rowing machine afterwards. feel great. Can already feel a little improvement in stretching. (can touch the top of my feet now barely)



woohoo!





Paul

kayaks or canoes?
I need to figure out how to get my lower body to tolerate kneeling in a C-1!



Do they distinguish between kayaking and canoeing at all, or by “paddlers” do they mean “kayakers”?



P.

kayakers or canoers
the poses are non specific. there are some faded images on a curtain/background that show whitewater and touring kayaking while the woman is demonstrating a pose and there is one mention about stretching that helps in rolling. But there is nothing that specificaly states either kayakers or canoing for any of the exercises. Pretty much a basic yoga series of stretches that woudl do good for anyone.



Paul

do yourself a favor
i read books and watched videos for years. stretched and thought i was doing everything right. back stil hurt. then, in may, i started a class, three to four times a week. it’s like night and day. i’m much stronger, flexible, and it’s fairly safe. you could twist yourself into some bad situations with a dvd and a pinch of enthusiasm. i’d recommend regular classes for six months, then you’ll be educated enough to be able to do it on your own on a regular basis.