Yoga for hiking is indispensable!
Hiking is fun, challenging and full of adventure but it can be tough on your body if you don’t prepare properly and take the time to replenish after. And that’s where yoga comes in!
COMMON ISSUES FOR HIKERS
“When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen.” Winnie the Pooh
Hikers require excellent strength, balance and stamina and yoga can help to train all three.
- Strength—The muscles you need to prepare for hiking are also those that you need to take the time to stretch out after.
- Quads, glutes and hamstrings.
- Core, lower and upper back.
- Balance—Similarly with balance, hikers need good stability in the knees, hips and core and these are the areas we also need to pay attention to after a hike.
- Stamina—In yoga, hikers can learn to improve stamina by practicing effective nasal breathing and building muscular endurance in the muscles. We do this by holding poses for several breaths and repeating this week after week.
YOGA FOR HIKING COURSE STRUCTURE
In this course, I have divided the videos into three sections:
- Prepare—These videos are designed to engage and activate key muscles groups, either immediately pre-hike or in preparation for a hiking trip.
- Restore—You can practice these sequences directly after you come back from your hike to release tension in the muscles that you have been working hard.
- Rejuvenate—These routines are designed to relax your body and mind in the evening so that you get the best sleep possible and always feel rejuvenated.
FREQUENCY AND ORDER
I recommend that you practice at least one session of this Yoga for Hiking course a day but since all the videos are designed to support your flexibility and joint health, you can decide which ones you want to do at any time. And you can play around with the order depending on how your body feels. There is no perfect way to design your schedule so trust your intuition and do whatever feels good.
It’s also a great idea to start practicing these videos in preparation for multi-day hikes to condition your body so that you don’t suffer from pain, stiffness AND avoidable injury during your trip.
With these 15 videos, you should have the ultimate toolbox to stay feeling light, full of energy and pain-free every single day!
