Hikers need yoga to help prevent injury, support diverse training needs, and to learn/maintain mindfulness.
Whether you are a seasoned backpacker or a fair weather fan of day hikes, no doubt you have experienced the mountains’ cathartic effect and breathtaking beauty. Summit views, trailside streams, alpine lakes – the destination truly is the journey when you take to the trails. The serenity allows us to tune in to the natural environment along with our mind, body, and spirit connection. A regular yoga practice along with online classes can complement your time in the mountains in more ways than one. Read on for a breakdown of why hikers need yoga and how yoga can benefit you before, during, and after your next hike.
Why Hikers Need Yoga: Injury Prevention
Many hikers have trouble with their knees as the impact of downhill climbs can wear down the knee joint. Yoga can help you protect your knees because the practice strengthens the hips and leg muscles. Strength coupled with flexibility in the hips and legs alleviates stress on the joint and leads to healthier, happier knees in the mountains. Stepping into lunges from Mountain Pose with proper knee alignment (make sure that your knee does not bend past the ankle) is a great way to build strength. Bringing balance into the body is equally important to injury prevention. Through yoga we become more aware of imbalances so we can work to strengthen areas of weakness.
Why Hikers Need Yoga: Support Diverse Training Needs
Of course, there is a time and a place for different styles of yoga depending on your hiking/exercise schedule and what your needs might be. You might be in the mood for a fiery flow class with a friend to get the blood moving before a hike while a post-hike practice calls for a slower pace with restorative poses. Consider your schedule and what exercise you have planned when selecting a yoga class; you want to support your training instead of putting more stress and strain on your body. You can also incorporate quick stretches and poses before, during and after your activity.
Why Hikers Need Yoga: Mindfulness + Presence
You might ask, why yoga and not another form of cross-training? Certainly there are other great forms of movement but few afford the same opportunity to practice presence. Yoga and hiking force us to be present in our bodies even (and especially) when we face intensity. These deeply physical modes of movement instruct us on our limits and teach us how to be with discomfort as it arises. Sure, we can practice mindfulness and presence while doing the dishes, running, driving to work, etc. but yoga has a language for discussing these experiences; it gives name to the obstacles inherent to the human condition in addition to prescriptions for working with these difficulties. As a how-to manual, yoga gives us the teachings to more fully engage with our lives. With yoga as your foundation, hiking is just another opportunity to become more aware and to connect more deeply with your life.
By Brit Hastings
