Yoga

So I've been experimenting with yoga...

I think yoga can be extremely beneficial to endurance athletes and that's why I thought I'd share...

About a year ago, my good friend Lorraine talked me into some 'Bikram yoga' classes. At the time, I was purely motivated by the idea of heat training in preparation of crew support at Badwater. I also thought it would help my flexibility. Looking back, I enjoyed the classes and wish I had continued training in yoga techniques.

I went to about 4 Bikram yoga sessions. They were extremely intense and difficult. The room was heated to about 120 degrees and extremely humid. I always took fluids and the instructor had a problem with that. Each pose was difficult, primarily because of the intensity of heat and humidity. Of course, I'm attracted to challenges and I left each session planning to improve on my next visit. (I also didn't mind the motivation provided by the many spandex-wearing ladies around me.) At Badwater, I enjoyed the air conditioning of the car as a crew support member and shut the proverbial book on my yoga experience...until now.

Flexibility has always been a challenge for me. I was blessed with a stiff and inflexible body. It never prevented me from athletics and even may have helped in wrestling. Although, when I started endurance sports....I think my inflexibility became something of an obstacle. I've suffered from many over training injuries and in recovery from each, I came to learn that stretching and flexibility may have helped prevent my diagnosis. Swimming, cycling, and running require muscles to break down, rebuild, and therefore....become less flexible. If you want to see a tight quadricep, take a look at an ultrarunner. This was pointed out to me by my last physical therapist when she was trying to fix my IT band. Our legs are stiff, strong, and inflexible....and if we don't work at lengthening those muscle fibers, we might as well prepare for injury...because something has to give.

So, in an effort to improve and avoid repeating mistakes...I recently started doing yoga training at home. I've been recording a television program called, "Namaste Yoga". I'm not sure if the show is available outside of Colorado but I do think it has been produced well. I don't think it's necessary to attend yoga classes if you have access to a quality yoga video and the interior space to do the movements and poses.

To those that refuse to include yoga in their training, I urge you to reconsider. Yoga is thousands of years old. It has deep, rich history. I believe that 'attempting' to do the poses and breathe as instructed, can help your flexibility and mental focus. I have begun realizing the positive effects of yoga in my training. In just a few weeks of doing yoga at home, my flexibility has improved in my shoulders and lower back. Because the poses are often similar, I recognize my improvement in holding poses that were impossible when I first started.

Endurance sports are special because they often require athletes to tap into something deeper than the surface-level physical exertion. Incorporating mental strength and meditation techniques allow the average athlete to go further than they thought possible. And ultra endurance athletes have already already proven, by way of their chosen sport, that they choose challenge and discomfort as a means to learn about inner strength. If you really think about why we do these sports...you will probably conclude that it is about realizing individual potential and self-improvement. Besides the physical......one must consider the intangible power of the mind.

When we run for 5, 10, or 20+ hours...we are using meditation. Our physical accomplishments are completed by the power of the mind...not the body. Because of this, the benefits of yoga are obvious, in my opinion. Yiannis Kouros, the hands-down, best ultrarunner of all time said in an interview that if his records were ever broken, it would not be an American. His reasoning? American athletes do not engage the meditative, spiritual, and mental potential of their potential. Kouros predicts that only a runner from Asia would be capable of beating him because culturally, they use the power of the mind to overcome physical limitations. Kouros believes he is capable of extreme ultra endurance feats, because of his mind power.....not his body.

Speaking from a beginner point-of-view....I can say that practicing yoga does not immediately provide obvious benefits. It is with continued, and repeated effort that you will begin to realize how beneficial it is to your health and performance. I look forward to using yoga as a part of my training from now on. I am only disappointed in myself for not making this decision earlier.

Coach Jerry