Yoga and benefits for cycling?

[Flur]

+1 on finding a good instructor. Your instructor should have at least 200 hours of training, should be familiar with contraindications and should know a lot about alignment. Anatomy training is a must.

I highly recommend that if you are embarking on a yoga practice as something you plan to do many days a week or every day (yoga can be practiced every day) that you start out with a highly trained instructor, not a DVD. Many of the benefits of yoga come from proper alignment in the pose, and if you are misaligned, like in any other physical activity, you run the risk of creating an imbalance, not reaping the benefits, or developing a repetitive stress injury. A trained instructor should be able to see any misalignments and help you to correct them. They can also provide you with alternate poses if you need them - no pose should ever be forced upon the body. A good instructor will also keep you focused on your breath - if you are not constantly breathing throughout the practice you're not really doing yoga, you're doing calisthenics that look like yoga. The breathing practice provides the most immediate benefits of the overall yoga practice, and if you do choose to practice on your own, make sure you're focusing on your breathing!

FYI - I have a daily home practice. I used to take regular classes but now that I'm unemployed I'm saving my pennies. I'll be back to weekly classes as soon as I get a new day job. Even as a teacher I really benefit from taking classes with more advanced instructors.

Keri Schneider, RYT-500