Look around your everyday surroundings when the weather report is a bunch of moaning about a storm front that's coming with lots of snow and the "weather guessers" are warning that travel is going to be a mess. Are there people who are grinning from ear to ear? Do you know what they're thinking? For most, it's about a time in the not too distant future when that snow will be under their downhill skis, cross-country skis, or snowboard. News of snow in the higher elevations is music to their ears.
For many of these folks, the music is not so sweet when they return from their much-anticipated winter getaway. The new "sporting equipment" in their life is a heating pad, ice pack, power massager, knee brace, crutches, or even a wheel chair. They may also be having a new "intimate relationship" with their doctor, chiropractor, physical therapist, massage therapist, or all of the above.
This sorry state of affairs is often the result of the person still attempting to ski in that "attack the mountain and moguls" style that was learned when the body was younger, better conditioned, and more flexible. Today, the back and knees are stiffer; the quads are not as firm; we forget to breath, tense up and crash. The outcomes are aches and bruises at a minimum and with luck; the maximum result from kissing a tree is a broken bone.
This is where the benefits of yoga come in as a near perfect discipline to develop and maintain the conditioning needed for winter sports. Yoga develops muscle strength, flexibility and balance. Hello people, these are the same things a skier or snowboarder needs for a body that will allow a continued love affair with the snow-covered slopes. Prior to the ski trip, yoga helps condition and prepares muscles and joints for the stress of skiing. When yoga is used to warm up and stretch muscles right before pushing off on that black diamond, muscles are warm and ready for the test in front of you.
When you match up skiing and yoga, your improved balance allows you to keep your shoulders square and over your boots. The breathing techniques practiced in yoga keep you from holding your breath and reducing oxygen to your muscles. Holding your breath makes muscles tense up so you ski less efficiently and are more prone to injury. The greater flexibility and increased muscle tone in the large core muscles around the legs, rear end and abdomen provide better form and technique. This is because you are bending at the hips rather than bending over at the waist and destroying your balance and weight transfer. Improved balance and technique allow you to ski with grace and to flow with the mountain rather than trying to bully and attack the mountain.
Flowing with the mountain rather than resisting it, means less wear and tear on your joints and back plus you are much less likely to kiss a tree or take a tumble with another skier, unless you want to! It also means you can enjoy your getaway and still be grinning from ear to ear and walking upright when you return to your everyday surroundings.
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