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Hi all,
I am a Spinning Instructor in The Netherlands and was recently asked to do a yoga-spinning lesson, which basically includes meditating and relaxing the body while spinning.
This is a pretty new thing in Europe, so I was wondering if any of you might have a program on such a class or some more information on how to set up this kind of class.
All info in very welcome,
Thanks a LOT :)
Vildana
I thought this was a joke but I guess not.
http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/191
It's a pretty far cry from what I think of as Yoga. Certainly. doing poses ON the bike is contraindicated in regards to safe and appropriate spin workouts, at least through every I've ever read about. It looks like google will be your friend on this one.
A yoga studio near me (Lifestretch Yoga in Fremont CA) has a class that combines spinning and yoga. Here's the description from the website:
Dharma Wheels: Classes will start with the cardio benefits of indoor cycling before moving to the yoga mat for more relaxing and meditative benefits of yoga. Join us for one or all four Dharma Wheels classes.
Dharma Wheels class will include:
All fitness levels welcome. Please wear clothing appropriate for cycling (including tennis shoes) and yoga. Bring a towel and water bottle and come prepared to work up a sweat and cool down and relax. Attendance is limited to 8 students so advanced online registration is required for this exciting combination of cycling and yoga!
- Warm up on the bike
- Cycling (simulation of hills and flat road riding)
- Cool down on the bike
- Yoga to stretch the muscles that were contracted and contract the muscles that were stretched during our ride through vinyasa, restorative and yin yoga postures and work with foam rollers
- Savasana
I've never attended this so I cannot comment further. Perhaps you can contact the instructor and she could give you some advice.
Wow! Sound wonderful - I'd love to take a class that combines my 2 favorite activities!
I've never heard of such a thing either! But if I got to make up a class from scratch, I'd coach the participants to really be in their bodies. You so rarely get that in a group fitness setting. Spend a whole song on muhla bandha. Another song on the lumbar spine. Another on the shoulders. Let them feel how changing hand position opens and closes the shoulders and the heart. How being on all four corners of their feet aligns their knees and hips. And so forth. Use your knowledge of yoga anatomy and energy flow, and apply it to the bike.
There was a place down the street from me when I lived in Cleveland that did this. I never went, because it was expensive, so I can't really offer any input beyond confirming that it is, in fact, a thing.
Several years ago I took a class called Yoga and Spinning. We did a short warm up - walking around the block. Then we did spinning for 1/2 hour or so - and the instructor led us in different yoga breathing techniques that would help us in our cycling. Of course I took this in the fall, and once winter set in I abandoned my bike and yoga breathing for a couple months. Thus, I no longer remember a lot of this. Some however were not so appropriate on a real bike on the road (though maybe out in the country with no traffic they would be good).Quote:
Originally Posted by VillaDonna
Then after spinning, we went into the yoga studio and did 45 or 60 minutes of yoga, with poses selected for cyclists. Seems to me the total class length was 1-1/2 hours or 2 hours twice a week. It was goodly chunk of time, and fairly expensive. I would have enjoyed doing it again, but they never offered it again late enough that I could get there after work. Well, that and that it was pretty expensive. I hope this give you an idea of what might be possible. The yoga studio no longer offers this class, but you can google it - Comfort Zone Yoga in Lewes, Delaware. You can probably reach the instructor through the website, and perhaps he would share his syllabus with you. Overall I really enjoyed the class.
You could definitely do a ride focusing on mind-body connection (tempo riding), or even a classic "recovery ride" where you'd maybe focus more on breathing. A yoga/spinning combo class, particularly one which focused on cycling-specific poses (e.g., hip openers) could be a nice fusion. But I'd keep the actual yoga poses on the mat, not on the bike!