Yoga and Crossfit
Many of you may know that I am a Massage Therapist in addition to being a Yoga teacher. I started investing quality time in my Yoga practice after becoming an MT in order to take better care of my body.
After a couple of years, I decided to go through the Yoga Teacher Training program at Frog Pond Yoga Centre in Princeton Massachusetts. I wanted to get a deeper understanding of Yoga and how my body can improve in flexibility, range of motion, and maintain strength and endurance. You may be thinking that's what a gym is for, but not for me. I spent many moons in a traditional gym setting with little success.
Yoga was an amazing physical experience for me. I felt strong, tall, confident, and healthy. I fell in love with Yoga and it became an amazing emotional and Spiritual experience as well. Now, these many years later I am even more in love with my Yoga practice. My practice has evolved with me and I have discovered so many more reasons to be in love with Yoga today. Yoga can be for every body. I know, that is a pretty broad statement, but it is true. There is a practice that fits every level of activity, will address any level of tightness, and all levels of commitment.
Now, I have come to the body of this article,,haha! Yoga and Crossfit. In the spirit of full disclosure I am not a Crossfitter. I can't see myself engaging in the type of physical exertion that these dynamic athletes conquer at each workout. I can however see the need for massage in their life as they train for competitions or set PR (personal records). I also see a need for yoga in their life. Some athletes have some kind of yoga practice in place, which is amazing. However, most of them do not.
If you are not familiar with Crossfit, it is an exercise regimen that focuses on strength conditioning by creating dynamic exercises with weight and resistance. Many of the trainers also stress joint mobility to increase strength. Through the prescribed work outs the body builds dense, strong muscle that tends to become contracted and tight, reducing flexibility. I have noticed many of my clients develop adhesions (connective tissue and muscle tissue that adhere to each other) in the muscles and at the point where the muscle/tendon attaches to the bone.
Yoga and massage are a perfect fir for Crossfit athletes. Massage helps to restore muscle function and increases healing, yoga improves flexibility. These athletes are strong, there is no doubt about it, but Yoga takes a quiet focus that many of these driven, no pain no gain people tend to struggle with.
I am excited to be on this journey and see how my passion for both massage and Yoga can improve not only the quality of exercise but the quality of life for these remarkable people.
Shanti
After a couple of years, I decided to go through the Yoga Teacher Training program at Frog Pond Yoga Centre in Princeton Massachusetts. I wanted to get a deeper understanding of Yoga and how my body can improve in flexibility, range of motion, and maintain strength and endurance. You may be thinking that's what a gym is for, but not for me. I spent many moons in a traditional gym setting with little success.
Yoga was an amazing physical experience for me. I felt strong, tall, confident, and healthy. I fell in love with Yoga and it became an amazing emotional and Spiritual experience as well. Now, these many years later I am even more in love with my Yoga practice. My practice has evolved with me and I have discovered so many more reasons to be in love with Yoga today. Yoga can be for every body. I know, that is a pretty broad statement, but it is true. There is a practice that fits every level of activity, will address any level of tightness, and all levels of commitment.
Now, I have come to the body of this article,,haha! Yoga and Crossfit. In the spirit of full disclosure I am not a Crossfitter. I can't see myself engaging in the type of physical exertion that these dynamic athletes conquer at each workout. I can however see the need for massage in their life as they train for competitions or set PR (personal records). I also see a need for yoga in their life. Some athletes have some kind of yoga practice in place, which is amazing. However, most of them do not.
If you are not familiar with Crossfit, it is an exercise regimen that focuses on strength conditioning by creating dynamic exercises with weight and resistance. Many of the trainers also stress joint mobility to increase strength. Through the prescribed work outs the body builds dense, strong muscle that tends to become contracted and tight, reducing flexibility. I have noticed many of my clients develop adhesions (connective tissue and muscle tissue that adhere to each other) in the muscles and at the point where the muscle/tendon attaches to the bone.
Yoga and massage are a perfect fir for Crossfit athletes. Massage helps to restore muscle function and increases healing, yoga improves flexibility. These athletes are strong, there is no doubt about it, but Yoga takes a quiet focus that many of these driven, no pain no gain people tend to struggle with.
I am excited to be on this journey and see how my passion for both massage and Yoga can improve not only the quality of exercise but the quality of life for these remarkable people.
Shanti
Comments
Post a Comment