12 Essential Yoga Poses for Cyclists

22/10/2017

Whether you're up 5 a.m every morning training on your road bike, or you just have a casual ride to work each day, if you are regularly cycling, its a great idea to include few key stretches into your week that can help to prevent imbalances caused by repetition of the use of certain muscle groups and postures.

Yoga offers us unique poses that can help target these specific muscle groups and with consistent practice, we can start to stretch out and adjust some of these potential imbalances.
Yoga for cyclists can help improve performance, maintain endurance and speed up recovery after a hard training, race or commute.

A good yoga sequence for cyclists doesn't need to be lengthy, or showy, just a few key poses which target the most relevant muscles should do the trick. When we cycle, it is our glutes, quads, hamstrings and calf muscles that are working the hardest. The cycling position itself can also be quite tough on the lower back and neck.

I have planned a short sequence that will help you to stretch out and balance these key muscle groups involved in cycling. You can practice these poses from start to finish in the given order, or maybe just select a few that seem most relevant to you.
This sequence can be practised pre or post ride, or at any other time that is convenient.

Of course this sequence needn't only be for cyclists, its a great session for anyone looking for a good stretch out, particularly in the legs.

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind as you practice...

Come in to each pose slowly and gently, listen to your body and see if it feels safe and suitable. If a pose seems inappropriate, just omit that one and continue on.
Hold the pose for as long as feels good to you. You might want to start with 5 breathes and build up to more over time.
Breath steadily and rhythmically from the nostrils, down into the abdomen.
As you hold each pose, try to feel the stretch, paying close attention to the sensations.
A little bit of discomfort as you stretch out the muscles is normal and to be expected but it should never be painful. If there is pain, come out immediately.
Where relevant, poses are to be repeated on both sides/legs etc.

Please feel free to download the PDF and print it out for easier use.
Let me know how you get on with this sequence in the comments below...

Thats all for today

Namaste

Rishi