Showing posts with label Bridget Frederick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bridget Frederick. Show all posts

Yoga and Cycling

14:07 | Labels: ,

by Nina and Bridget

When I Drive a Flower Bicycle, I Will Have a Good Future
by Yu Youhan
As someone who walks and gardens a lot, I know how valuable it can be to use your yoga practice to balance your body after intense physical activity of a different kind. Our editor, Bridget Frederick, uses her yoga practice to balance her body from all the cycling she does. She has been completely bicycle dependent for the last 5 years, and has experienced her share of body aches as a result of riding 100 miles each week just to get where she needs to be. So she focuses her home practice on the areas that tend to take a beating on the bike (outer hips, shoulders, calves, hamstrings) to keep herself mobile while still commuting daily.

Because Bridget will  leading her third Yoga for Cyclists workshop on Saturday, May 24th, 2-5 pm at The Yoga Room, Berkeley, I thought it would be a good time to interview her about why and how she uses yoga to keep her body in balance.

—Nina

Nina: Why is yoga so beneficial for cyclists?

Bridget: Cyclists use their bodies in particular and repetitive ways while on their bikes. This leads to specific muscle tightness (quads, hamstrings, calves, shoulders), for which I’ve been using yoga poses as well as myofascial release to keep myself mobile while still commuting daily the last five years. Getting off the bike and really exploring these areas in depth, and especially learning a few key poses that you can do for yourself at home can lead to more comfort on and off the bike.



Nina: What are some of your favorite poses or practices for balancing your body after you've been cycling?

Bridget: Cycling tends to have the rider leaning forward (though some upright and recumbent bicycles address this issue) so slouching shoulders lead to tight chest muscles and back strain. I like to lie over a pair of blocks (one along the spine and one under the head on a higher level) for a chest opener, allowing my pectorals and biceps to widen and soften. Once my chest is open, strengthening my back and accessing more core strength is possible.

Outer hips and calves are important areas for me, so I do a lot of Supta Padangusthasana (Reclined Leg Stretch) at home, really focusing on getting some softening and opening in the hip crease of the leg I’m working with.
Pigeon pose is another one that really gets into the outer hip region, as well as the hamstrings. Many standing poses help with stretching out the calves, for example, Virabhadrasana I (Warrior 1) and Parsvottanasana (Pyramid pose). But I also have a whole series of calf stretches I do, sometimes starting off with some myofascial work to ease my calves into those poses.

My yoga practice has grown over the years because it works for me. A deeper understanding of anatomy and the connectedness of all parts of the body have made injuries much less frightening. I feel more in control of what's going on in my body and more able to address particular aches and pains, as well as support my dedication to being bicycle dependent.

Bridget's Yoga for Cyclists workshop is:
Saturday, May 24th, 2014 // 2-5 pm
The Yoga Room
2530 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA
$55.00
email bridget.frederick@gmail.com for more information


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On Teaching Seniors: The Benefits Flow Both Ways!

14:11 | Labels: , ,

by Bridget


Wet Handlebars by Melina Meza
While not yet a senior myself, I do teach seniors at the North Berkeley Senior Center. I came to yoga with serious, debilitating back pain—caused by high-speed, over-the-handlebars bike accidents in my teens, and untreated whiplash from several car accidents later on. The gentle Iyengar-style yoga taught at The Yoga Room in Berkeley set me on a path of healing. So, to me, yoga has been a therapeutic, kind and compassionate endeavor—one that has strengthened my back and quieted my mind to an extraordinary degree. Because of this, teaching seniors and working with any physical limitations they may have has been a pretty natural process.

My students at the senior center range in age from late-50s to late-80s. Within the group there's also quite a range of abilities, but there is such a sweet cohesiveness, and a sense of community and support for each other. I try to keep class moving along for the more active students, but everyone is patient when I spend some extra time making sure a new student can keep up. A core group arrives early to set up chairs and bring props into the room from the storage closet, and at the end of class everyone works together to get the room cleaned up, chatting about their interesting, full lives as they go. Last week, one of my students told me that she always feels better after she comes to my class. I paused for a moment to take that in and I realized that I always feel better after teaching it too.

These active seniors are always up for trying something new. I remember the first time I taught a modified inversion – handstand with feet on the chair – an 83-year-old student (after I’d offered an assist and some suggestions for strengthening her pose) stepped down from the chair, looked up at me, and said, “That was FUN!” Of course, handstand isn’t for everyone, and we work carefully up to a final pose. I always offer alternatives, explain potential health hazards, and I often turn poses into “partner poses” just so they can have someone watching and can help each other to remember the details. The partner work also cuts down on the number of people actually attempting a pose at one time, giving me a better chance to keep an eye on the entire room.

While active, eager and ambitious, they also tire more easily than my other student populations. One of my first experiences teaching seniors, I was substituting a class regularly taught by Herta Weinstein. This large class came with an assistant who knew the students well. After I’d led them through nearly half of the ambitious practice I had planned for the hour and a half class, the assistant leaned over and whispered, “I think they need to rest.” I was surprised to realize that the sighing I was hearing was about them wanting a break, not them wanting me to hurry up!

There's never any rush to get it right. That's the beauty of yoga - there is always something new to work on, so you'll never run out of topics to explore, muscles to strengthen and alignment to finesse. My students have reported feeling stronger, better-balanced and more energetic with the addition of the yoga practice. From my perspective, they are all gaining form and body awareness that is gorgeous to behold.

One of my favorite things about teaching this population is their dedication, both to yoga and to the community they’ve developed in the room. Another is that they’re tremendously creative and interesting. I’ve attended piano concerts, photo exhibits, and a Weavers Guild exhibit, all featuring the work of my students. I’ve also attended live performances, eco-movies and co-op dinners with my students, and any time it’s cold you’ll see me wearing a hat crocheted by one of them. My life is so enriched by their presence, and I continue to count working with them among the highlights of my week.



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