Yoga Under the Big Sky

Ski Season Yoga

By Margaret Burns Vap, 11-28-07

The holiday season rapidly approaches - and with it comes ski season. Since I moved to Montana earlier this year, I'm in a place where the arrival of winter is a much-anticipated event. Excitement builds as the temperature drops. I share the enthusiasm as I monitor the mountain snowfall and get my skis tuned up for opening day (or shortly thereafter – Big Sky opened this past Saturday). I've also changed my yoga practice, incorporating poses that will help develop the strength and flexibility needed on the slopes. The question to ask yourself as you get your skis ready: is your equipment in better shape than your body? Good news - you can get your body and mind ready for the slopes with some simple yoga moves.

I learned to ski as an adult, and despite my enthusiasm for learning the sport, I also brought along the mental baggage of an adult learner. I was afraid of falling, worried about getting hurt, going too fast, etc. As a yoga teacher, however, I did come to the slopes with a big advantage: excellent body awareness and balance. I firmly believe that my yoga practice is what accelerated me up the learning curve. (And furthermore, I hardly ever fell!)

What do yoga and skiing have in common? The need for balance, flexibility and focus.

Yoga helps cultivate these qualities, so it follows that practicing yoga can help improve ski technique. Let's face it - we love skiing for its adrenaline rush. But the other side of this coin is the potential for injury that can arise from common ski scenarios, like ending up on a black when you meant to stay on a blue, weather changes, crossing paths with an out-of-control skier, etc. Think of yoga as insurance against injury and one of the best ways to improve your skills on the slopes. It does both by addressing your body’s imbalances and fostering both strength and flexibility. Yoga also encourages a focus on the breath, which is the starting point for managing fear or a tense physical body. By being able to concentrate on your breathing, transitioning your movements with grace, and cultivating an awareness of body balance and alignment, any level of skier will get more out of their time on the mountain and be less injury-prone.

Now on to more technical stuff: let’s start with our core as the foundation. In both yoga and skiing core strength is essential. If we have a strong, stable core we will be able to control our movements with more precision. In skiing, a strong core will help take the pressure off the knees, which typically end up bearing too much weight if the glutes, quads and back muscles are weak. We’ve all seen this happen (and have probably done it once or twice too): a skier jerking her upper body in order to turn, while her lower body remains facing the opposite direction - ouch. This person is disconnected from her center, which along with her knees and hips, should be in the driver’s seat for a turn. In yoga class an often-heard refrain is “draw your navel in towards your spine”. This helps cultivate an awareness of our core as the body’s center and source of stability. A skier needs to get her core under control in order to be stable and direct other body parts’ movements with precision, whether carving smooth, beautiful S-turns on a groomer or reacting quickly to unexpected terrain.

A few words about balance and alignment: both are indispensible for gliding down a mountain on two slippery sticks. Balance and alignment are also the cornerstones of a yoga practice. The way that you stand on your skis is going to affect how you get down the mountain; think about positioning yourself in as natural a stance as possible. This means feet hip width apart, knees soft, upper body and shoulders relaxed. The only thing that won’t feel natural is the position of the hips; they should be tipped forward slightly (ski boots help with this). If we lean back and the hips tip back, your feet are going to come out from under you. It’s a good idea to take a few moments to align yourself at the top of a trail. From this alignment your balance will be kept in check, but if you also practice yoga balancing postures regularly, you will notice a big difference on your skis.

Yoga helps you be in your body; it cultivates the mind-body connection that allows the brain to effectively direct the body with ease and grace. The more aware you are of your body’s position in space, the better able you are to direct it. We’re not just talking about knowing your right from left; it has more to do with an overall awareness that comes from familiarity with movement. Biologically our bodies are meant to be in motion, and our sedentary society (not to mention winter and more time spent indoors) can work against this. A sport like skiing makes many demands on our coordination skills that body awareness can help meet.

Lastly, if you’re a sporadic skier or tend to hit the mountain with cold muscles, you’re basically asking for it. It doesn’t take much to bridge the gap between ski sessions with some yoga moves to keep your muscles limber, and you can use the same poses to stretch out before and après-ski.

Here is one of my top picks for staying in shape with yoga during ski season:

Yoga Push-ups

Skiing is lower-body intensive; so in the true spirit of yoga, we need to balance that with some upper body work. Do this sequence a few times a week all winter long.

	Start in downward facing dog with your hips up, neck relaxed with your ears between your arms.

	As you inhale come forward into plank pose (push up position). Don’t let your hips drop and keep your body one straight line.

	Lower down to hover above the floor.

	Here’s the tough part: Inhale, straighten the arms and push the floor away to come back up to plank. Do everything you can to keep your body one straight line – pay attention to the position of your hips.

	Exhale as you push the hips up and back into downward facing dog. Keep your neck relaxed and your gazing point between your feet. HOLD FOR 3 DEEP BREATHS. Repeat this sequence 5-10 times.

Tree pose
Let your breath be your source of balance; if you hold your breath, you’re more likely to fall (the same applies on the ski slope).

• Stand in mountain pose and gaze softly at a fixed point in front of you on the floor, about 4 or 5 feet away.
• Shift your weight to the left foot, keeping the standing foot firmly connected to the floor, and bend your right knee.
• Reach down with your right hand and grab your right ankle.
• Draw your right foot up and place the sole as high up on the inner left thigh as possible; press the right heel into the inner left groin, toes pointing toward the floor.
• Firmly press the right foot sole against the inner thigh and resist with the outer left leg.
• Press your hands together at your heart center. Maintain your gazing point on the floor. If you fall out of the pose at any point, slowly and deliberately go through the process again.
• Stay in the pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Return to mountain pose and repeat for the same length of time on the opposite side.


Hero pose
This pose keeps the quads and muscles around the knees supple – less strain on the knee joint means less chance of knee injury. It’s very important to respect your knees when coming into this pose – move slowly and do not push. Use a rolled up towel or yoga block if you have knee problems or if your quad and knee muscles are especially tight.

• Kneel on the floor with your knees and thighs together. Take the feet a little wider than hip distance apart. Place the towel or block between your heels.
• Take your thumbs to your calf muscles and move your calf muscles out to the sides as you sit down between your heels (feel free to remove the towel or block if you don’t need it).
• Your heels should be just outside your hips, and all five toenails should be on the floor.
• Let the top of your head lift up towards the ceiling to lengthen the spine.
• If this pose is too intense, you need more padding under your butt. Once things open up more, you’ll be able to reduce the padding and eventually sit down between your heels.
• HOLD FOR 3-5 MINUTES.


Interested in more yoga for skiers? Check out www.skinet.com where I’ll be writing a series on this topic all season.

How about a vacation that combines yoga and skiing? Big Sky Yoga Retreats will be offering three winter 2008 getaways in Big Sky, Montana.

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