Runner’s Yoga – Official Blog

There’s an independent review of the Runner’s Yoga Program on the website Essential Yoga for Men.

Check it out here:  Essential Yoga for Men

I’ve been teaching the Runner’s Yoga Program to the BC Men’s Ski Team – a very attentive and focused group of guys who seemed to ‘get it’ very quickly.

One of the things we talked about was the fact that the term ‘yoga’ itself can sometimes get in the way of athletes – males especially – giving it a try. A shame really, because athletes can benefit from yoga more than almost anyone. (I talk more about this on the Runner’s Yoga home page and in the material that comes with the program itself.)

In my experience, the reason male athletes often shy away from yoga is because of their misconception that it’s just for limber women wearing fancy fitness outfits who want to sit around on mats and hum.

Now, without a doubt, you can find that aspect.

But not in my classes.

So, I suggested to the team that if they had an image of yoga that made them skeptical about what I was about to teach them, they might want to use a different label.

Just think of the Runner’s Yoga routine this way, I suggested: “It’s a flowing series of dynamic stretches, all coordinated with a powerful breathing technique.”

Their eyes widened and I could almost hear them thinking, “Well, that sounds like a good thing.”

I continued, “It’s going to warm up, stretch and strengthen every major muscle in your body, helping it work better as a unit.”

Hmmmm. I still had them.

“The most it will take you is 30 minutes, you can do it almost anywhere, and this (I indicated my yoga mat and body) is all the space and equipment you’ll need.”

These guys can go over 60 MPH on a pair of skinny sticks, so they understand minimalism.

“And if that’s not enough, the breathing technique will improve your respiratory capacity and help you focus in the Start Gate.”

An hour and a half later, we wrapped up our first session (they’re learning how to do it on their own with the Audio Recording), and from their comments it was clear they had bought in.

Which is why I love teaching yoga to athletes – all I have to do is explain what’s going on physiologically (and make it practical), and they motivate themselves to do it.

Now in this case, the team is lucky – they happen to have a coach, Jordan Williams, who is always looking for anything that will help his athletes and he often has me in to work with his teams. So I know he’s going to offer them encouragement to practice what they’ve learned.

And personally, I don’t care whether they call it ‘yoga’ or a ‘flowing setries of dynamic stretches’.  Just as long as it helps.

Just in time for summer comes news that excessive use of high-SPF sunscreen lotions can impede our body’s supply of a vital nutrient – vitamin D.

And having too little vitamin D is a serious issue. Not only is it essential for building stronger muscles and improving reaction time (Any athletes out there?) but deficiencies in vitamin D have been linked to everything from osteoporosis to heart disease.

Unfortunately, there is virtually no vitamin D in our diet – you’d have to eat seven pounds of salmon every day for your daily requirement -  so the best source is the sun. (UV rays trigger our body to produce vitamin D naturally.)

But, if you’re coating yourself in high-SPF sunscreen lotion, those UV rays aren’t getting through. So you’ve either got to take supplements, or, as the American and Canadian Cancer Societies now suggest, consider getting small amounts of sun exposure.

Naturally, your doctor and personal situation  will determine the best course of action for you, but you might want to heed the advice of Dr. Robyn Lucas (MD, PhD) who says, “… short sun exposure of more skin is a lot safer than longer exposure of just your face and hands.”

And if you choose the sun-tanning route as your source of vitamin D, remember, you don’t need a lot: you can get almost a year’s supply of vitamin D by exposing 40% of your skin to the summer summer sun for just 3-10 minutes twice a week.

See you on the beach! (For just a few minutes )

Van

(For more, see National Geographic Adventure, June/July 2009, “The Sun Rx” by Kate Rope)

I’ve just finished producing six free lessons you are sent automatically when you sign up at RunnersYoga.com. (Enter your name and email address in the pop-up box, or about half way down the Home Page.)

I gave the lessons the shamelessly enticing title of “Six Secrets to Becoming a Yoga Master; Including How to do Yoga’s Most Difficult Pose.” (You have to wait for Lesson #6 for that last bit )

The content it covers (proper yoga breathing, effective exercise stretching, etc.) is not specific to the Runners Yoga routine – it will be valuable to any yoga practice. (In fact, much of it can be applied to any fitness training, yoga for health, or home exercise plan.)

Also, the movie files in the complete Runner’s Yoga Program are now downloadable in MP4 format. (In addition to the previous WMV & MOV.)

I have also found a free solution to the challenge that some owners of Mac computers face playing different video formats. I’ll be posting the link to the Freeware on the product download page today.

That’s it for now. (Haven’t forgot about Part 2 of Why Runners Need Yoga. Just on overwhelm with other chores at the moment.)

Hey … HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Have an amazing ‘09.

All the best,

Van

Wow, where did that week go?!

Between chipping away at the many, many tasks for the new website, plus all the wonderful distractions that come around Christmas and New Years, time has been flying by.

Quite a few years ago in his book Future Shock, Alvin Toffler described this hectic world we find ourselves in. And one of his warnings was that we weren’t ready to handle all the change and stress that was coming our way.

There’s a great video called “Shift Happens that gives a sense of how much and quickly our world is changing. So I’m just going to post it below and get back to the many chores a-waiting.

Happy holidays!

Van

PS This is a remix of the original Did You Know?/Shift Happens created by Karl Fisch, a teacher in Colorado. Here’s an explanation of this version:

The following adaptation of the original “Shift Happens” presentation was created by Sony BMG Music Entertainment. The video, presented by Richard Sanders, President of Sony BMG International, was shown on 4 May 2008 to 150 of the company’s top executives gathered in Rome for Sony BMG’s annual Global Management Meeting. As part of Sony BMG’s mission to improve the music experience for consumers living in “exponential times”, the video illustrates the demand for change.