# Yoga and Balance



## Guest (Oct 6, 2009)

Who here uses Yoga to get flexible for snowboarding? I'm pretty seasoned in Yoga but are there any specific poses you use?

Also.... Anyone know how to make a balance board thing... I know they exist I just prefer not to hunt for them and pay for it....


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## buggravy (Feb 19, 2008)

I wouldn't necessarily say I do it for snowboarding, but I do believe it helps, at least a little. For balance, I like Warrior 3 and Eagle a lot. I think poses like Warrior 2, Chair, and Crescent help mitigate the fatigue factor too.


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## Cool_As_Cakes (Sep 23, 2009)

personally, I'm a fan of crossfit. it focuses more on functional movement so most of the muscle groups involved in riding get well worked and prepared for the actions we do.


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## FLuiD (Jul 6, 2009)

I started doing yoga last season about 1/2 way through it. I never thought I would try "yoga" and thought it was gay as shit. A buddy at works wife decided to start her own studio and he talked me into giving it a shot. I have to say it helped me immensly with relaxing, balance and most of all breathing. I tend to hold my breath while exerting and it really helped that. I would have never just gone to a studio etc if I didn't have an in but I am soo glad I tried it!


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## Guest (Oct 6, 2009)

Yeah I'm a clutz regularly and yoga's helped me with my balance... A bit... I still cannot ride a skateboard. Feel much safer strapped to a board :laugh:

I agree Warrior 2 is really good and yoga is def. awesome for breathing (specially since we go to high altitude places). 

Thanks for the input!


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## Guest (Oct 6, 2009)

~What's crossfit?~


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## Dano (Sep 16, 2009)

Cross-fit is an internet based functional fitness full body work-out routine for seasoned lifters, you can google it and find some info. But it's pretty intense, many guys in different fire halls at work do it. It's one hell of a work out but more intense than necessary when it comes to boarding. Another thing to look into would be P90X


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## Dano (Sep 16, 2009)

citizengirl said:


> Who here uses Yoga to get flexible for snowboarding? I'm pretty seasoned in Yoga but are there any specific poses you use?
> 
> Also.... Anyone know how to make a balance board thing... I know they exist I just prefer not to hunt for them and pay for it....


Have you tried Bikram Yoga? Supposed to feel really good (when you're done) but i haven't tried


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2009)

yeah I've done Birkham. I need to join another studio because by myself I have the motivation of a brick....


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## Dano (Sep 16, 2009)

I find the first week is the hardest motivation wise. After that it's fairly easy to hit the gym, studio, or whatever else you do to keep fit. Luckly for me, my job requires me to be in fairly good shape. But I've been hitting cardio and legs a lot harder with shread season right around the corner. Interval running is also really good because it helps with your VO2 Max and your recovery time. 

Snowboarding and public hottubs at resorts should be plenty of motivation:laugh:


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## Fitzy (Feb 6, 2009)

i have an indo board which is just a tube with wood on top its great for balance

if you go to a hardware store and get a big tube of pvc and maybe a board it would work the same


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2009)

That sounds like a really good idea! Thanks.


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## danielle (Apr 2, 2009)

I love yoga, I think it helps with snowboarding. Working your core, working on breathing and stamina can only make you better. 

I like the sun saluation, warrior pose's and tree. I am not a fan of any hand balances.:laugh:


I used to skateboard as a kid. I tried to do it as an adult and fell on my ass. It was not as much fun as landing on snow.:laugh:


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2009)

I do MMA which I think will help out my snowboarding a lot. plus, it's really fun and teaches you how to fight. at the same time as my MMA class, another group does crossfit. looks like tough stuff!


but here's how I made my balance board. Go buy a cheepo skateboard at walmart (or wherever you can find a skate deck) and take off the trucks. Fill a two liter soda bottle with water (all the way!) and glue the cap on. presto, balance board. I used the same bottle for hours, and my 200 lb ass never got the cap to break.


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## danielle (Apr 2, 2009)

I wonder if you can fill the bottle with sand vs water. At least if the bottle broke, it would not make a huge mess. Well, unless you are outside, then it does not matter if you spill water everywhere.


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2009)

I think I'll try the sand... There's loads of it around here ha ha. That sounds like a really good idea. I think I have an old ex's skateboard lying around here somewhere.


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2009)

danielle said:


> I wonder if you can fill the bottle with sand vs water. At least if the bottle broke, it would not make a huge mess. Well, unless you are outside, then it does not matter if you spill water everywhere.


lol...you're totally right. water would be WAY harder to clean up than SAND. :laugh:


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## Sam I Am (Sep 9, 2009)

I'd try yoga if I had someone to push me to do it. Otherwise it would be just another one of those things on a list that I will "eventually" get around to doing.


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## Dano (Sep 16, 2009)

ThirdEye said:


> lol...you're totally right. water would be WAY harder to clean up than SAND. :laugh:


Water drys, sand gets fucking everywhere. But if you want to work on legs, try Squats with dumbbells on a bosu ball


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2009)

I'll teach ya Sam  ha ha

and I take it get around to it = never gonna happen?

Same with me. But yoga really does improve breathing, balance, stability, and is a good way to tone muscles slowly (if you progress beyond beginning). I just despise jogging and other physical exercise that makes me continually think 'Why am I doing this it really hurts. I might just die.' Well besides snowboarding.... ha ha


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2009)

Dano said:


> Water drys, sand gets fucking everywhere. But if you want to work on legs, try Squats with dumbbells on a bosu ball


Hum that might be a bit disaterous with me... I think my leg would slip off the ball and I'd do a face plant onto the floor... But I guess my balance would vastly improve once I learn not to do that :laugh:


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## Dano (Sep 16, 2009)

citizengirl said:


> Hum that might be a bit disaterous with me... I think my leg would slip off the ball and I'd do a face plant onto the floor... But I guess my balance would vastly improve once I learn not to do that :laugh:


Bosu ball is only a half ball with a rigid plastic platform on the other side. Minimal chance of injury and great for stabilization muscles. Easily in any gym, however if you don't have access to one, probably not worth going out and buying one. 

P.S. Good to do pushups on too


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## danielle (Apr 2, 2009)

Dano said:


> Water drys, sand gets fucking everywhere.


My favorite thing is my shop vac, then you can do it in the kitchen while watching tv without making a mess. If a 2L bottle of water broke in the kitchen, that would be a lot of shop vacing and mopping. Sand, just shop vac.


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## Dano (Sep 16, 2009)

Makes sense. However if it wasen't for Shitty balance and co-ordination, I wouldn't have any at all. It's why i'd do it in the basement on carpet before i'd do it in the kitchen on tile. One broken tail bone is more than enough for this Clutz


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## danielle (Apr 2, 2009)

Yo, I have a broken tailbone also and no plans of balancing on anything besides my high heals.


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## Cool_As_Cakes (Sep 23, 2009)

Dano said:


> Cross-fit is an internet based functional fitness full body work-out routine for seasoned lifters, you can google it and find some info. But it's pretty intense, many guys in different fire halls at work do it. It's one hell of a work out but more intense than necessary when it comes to boarding. Another thing to look into would be P90X


Well, I'm not sure how internet-based it is anymore. Here in the Aspen Valley we have a crossfit gym and its hardly just for seasoned lifters. Lots of people are participating and the workouts are tailored for your particular experience level. I just started no too long ago and we're doing half workouts. It was developed for firemen, police, etc. but it transitions to regular folk quite well. 

I've honestly never had a better, more efficient workout before. Well worth the time, if any of you ever get a chance to try it out.


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## Psi-Man (Aug 31, 2009)

Yoga was the one thing in the p90x program that I thought I would hate. Well, I really got into it. The stretching is great, but I find that it is great for strengthening the muscles in my feet, which helps me stay on the board as long as possible.


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## snowjeeper (Nov 11, 2008)

do any of you guys do yoga at home, like using videos or anything? i don't know if I can spring cash for any type of membership affair, and getting my wife to do anything remotely social like that is quite the ordeal.


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## Flick Montana (Jul 9, 2007)

Yoga is great! It's a big part of my P90 routine and I'd recommend it for anyone.

Check out P90 if you want just about the best well-rounded workout on the planet. I'm not spamming either. You know how much I hate spam. But it's really just that good.


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## snowjeeper (Nov 11, 2008)

P90 - does not compute. I need someone to google that for me.


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2009)

Yeah they do have videos for Yoga but sometimes it can be going to fast or too slow for you. Just my opinion. I try to get into the Yoga classes for my school but they're always filled (what do I pay the university for in the first place?). So far I just take past yoga classes and tweak them to what I want to do by myself.


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## Dano (Sep 16, 2009)

snowjeeper said:


> P90 - does not compute. I need someone to google that for me.


P90X® - Fitness, Nutrition, Diet, Weight Loss Official Web site


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## AZred60 (Jan 15, 2008)

when i was playin football, we all used to do yoga to keep up our flexibility. It really does alot to help heal and prevent injuries. It also helps your core muscles which are essential in boarding. It also trains your breathing which is nice to have when you are trying to hike at high altitude


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## buggravy (Feb 19, 2008)

Snowolf said:


> I find that the extreme stretching does wonders for my back which hurts me a lot and seems to be getting worse with age. When I stop doing my Yoga for a few days, I feel terrible.


Amen to that. I have a trick lower back, (runs in the family). Yoga is the only thing I've found that keeps it in check, but it totally does the trick if I'm disciplined about it.


Somebody mentioned Bikram earlier too. I don't really love it, but when I was rehabbing my shoulder after surgery, it helped me immensely in regaining lost range of motion. That heat seems to loosen you up in ways that nothing else can.


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## snowjeeper (Nov 11, 2008)

got any links to good yoga videos? either for purchase or online?


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## Zee (Feb 21, 2008)

Yoga helped my snowboarding immensely. Two things i noticed was the static holds really improve endurance on those long traverses... and the conditioning of the core really helped with balance. I've been a gym rat since I was 15, and never thought I'd start yoga, but after trying it last summer, I've been a going regularly.


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## tekniq33 (Mar 18, 2009)

Check out the yogamazing podcasts on itunes. It is a great way to learn and do yoga at home. Very clear, takes it slow so you can learn the poses, all different classes. There is even one "Yoga for Snowboarders"


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