I spent the weekend biking with my husband in the Berkshire mountains in western Massachusetts. Imagine riding through a tunnel of colorful trees that then open into open farmland with mountains as a back drop. We had a few stops at farms for fresh snacks including quiche, butternut squash soup and apple cider donuts. These were not your average aide station on an organized bike ride!
Here’s what I learned. Yoga played an integral role in making the biking fun!
Yoga prepared my body by helping me manage my aches and pains so that I could enjoy the ride. Yoga has taught me how to focus my breath where and when I needed it, again, to better enjoy the ride and yoga provided the mindset that the numerous hills were all temporary and that the suffering would end.
Yoga and the Physical body
I believe the practice of yoga can influence many different aspects of our lives. I put it to the test this weekend. I have suffered from various aches and pains for a number of years and have found that my yoga practice has been instrumental in helping me manage and even heal from many of them. My latest issue is that my feet fall asleep while biking. It is as if the nerves to my feet can not get enough blood flow, so partway into a bike ride, they start to hurt. And I mean really hurt, enough to make me stop, get off the bike and stretch. Then I just suffer through the rest of the ride.
Where the yoga comes in is that it has helped me activate and integrate some muscles around the pelvis and relax and stretch others such that my mechanics have improved. The result is that not only has my endurance improved but I can have less foot pain for more miles. This particular weekend I made it through the entire ride without having to stop and stretch.
I had been exploring a muscle called the quadratus lumborum for the past two weeks. This muscle is part of the side body and connects the pelvis to the spine and lower rib cage. It is on the back side of the spine and works with the psoas on the front to stabilize the spine. So my home practice focused on how to open and stretch the side body and also how to activate the synergists. The synergists are the teammates to the quadratus lumborum. These muscles include (but are not limited to) the abdominals, gluteals, and latissimus dorsi.
What I have discovered is that if I spend time stretching the side body including the quadratus lumborum and latissimus dorsi and the front and outside of the hip, there is better blood flow to the nerves in my feet. The flip side of stretching is of course activating or strengthening. So my practice has included lots of core work, lots of lunge or chair pose and poses to target activating the upper back extensors and shoulder blade retractors. The reason the strengthening works is that then I have a whole team of muscles working together and my quadratus lumborum does not get overworked and tight enough to affect the blood flow to the nerves in my feet.
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Yoga and a Breathing Practice
Something I know from physical therapy is that the how and where we breathe in the ribcage is important. There is a pressure system created by the breath that helps to activate the deeper core and stabilize our posture and spine. My breathing practice has begun to help correct my spinal alignment, ie. posture. I have been known to stand with my rib cage posteriorly tilted (lower ribs jutting forward), rounding my upper back and creating a forward head. When I was taught to breathe more effectively into my lower ribs and posterior diaphragm, my pelvis became more level and my rib cage was better centered over the pelvis. In addition I discovered that my lower and deepest layer of abdominals was more easily and consistently activated. Remember how I talked about abdominals supporting my side body and lower back to help my feet? Well, the new and improved position of the spine and rib cage is taking pressure off of the nervous system as well. A bonus discovery is that when I breathe while biking to support this improved posture, my neck and shoulders do not get as fatigued and my arms don’t fall asleep. Bonus!
Did you know? Body in Tune would love to help you use your breath and pressure systems to better support your spinal alignment.
The Yoga Mindset
One of my teachers, Gina Caputo, ERYT-500, often talked about struggle and ease during her yoga classes and workshops. She reminded us that both are temporary and that we can count on change. She would have us holding a forearm plank for what seemed like a lifetime reminding us that the struggle was only temporary. And what a relief it was to shift to the next pose.
Well I often think of her teachings when I am out biking and this weekend was no exception. The Berkshires are known for their hills. And so anytime a hill seemed just a little too long, I thought of Gina and allowed myself to dig a little deeper and make it to the top of the hill only to be rewarded by the “ease” of a downhill.
During my yoga practice I will often pause in a pose to take the time to look for the struggle and the ease in the pose because this is where the change happens. Whether it is holding a pose long enough to fatigue out the compensating muscles and allowing the deeper more effective muscles time to figure out their job or staying in a pose to build endurance and strength or active the osteocytes to help stimulate bone remodeling and growth for osteoporosis, it is all about shifting and changing.
For me yoga is a practice in awareness.
Body in Tune, LLC was born from a belief that quality of life matters; both life and physical balance matters.
I would welcome the opportunity to be part of your support team with regards to your muscles, joints, bones and osteoporosis. The goal is, after all, to help you feel confident in your body so you can play with your grand children, take that long-dreamed of vacation and get outside and enjoy a walk with friends.