- Does the thought of going to yoga class
fill you with fear?
What if you're too inflexible
and you can't even reach past your knees
or if you don't own any yoga clothes
or maybe your feet are better left inside your trainers.
Well don't worry, today in this video
I'm going to be covering what you should expect
from a yoga class and also what you need to take with you.
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If you've never been to a yoga class
or you've not even tried it at home,
you might be wondering what are
the benefits to us as triathletes?
Well it can help with relaxation,
strength, control, and flexibility.
So what's not to like?
And yes I know as triathletes we're already trying
to juggle work, family, and training for three sports
but a good yoga session can help with all of these
by including mindfulness, breath control, and specific poses
so hopefully now I've sold it to you.
I'm just gonna give you a few pointers
so you know what to expect ahead of your first yoga class.
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Yoga is open to anyone of any level of fitness
and most importantly any level of flexibility.
Now you might just dream of reaching your toes
and realistically just be able to
get your finger tips only past your knee caps
but that's equally as fine as being able to
fold and get your head onto your lap.
It's really very much personal and about your own progress.
So don't worry when you're going to class
what other people are doing, focus on yourself
and work on the areas that you need to.
The most important thing is that
you see progress week to week yourself.
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Just because you're not going to be getting out of breath
or jumping up and down,
doing yoga on a full stomach is not recommended.
You're gonna be doing poses that potentially
are gonna put your head lower than your stomach.
You're gonna be twisting, extending your trunk
which will put pressure on your abdominal area
so treat it like you would with a normal training session
and don't have a big meal just beforehand.
The only thing is though, you're not gonna need
that recovery shake straight after.
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You'll be relieved to know that you don't need
to have perfectly matching Lululemon kit
that goes with your yoga mat and your water bottle.
As much as it is a picture of perfection
that's often painted through social media
and active wear brands, the most important thing
to go to yoga class is being comfortable.
So you can perfectly wear a baggy t-shirt and shorts
if that's what you're happiest in
and you're bored of spending most of your time
in Lycra in swim, bike, and run.
But do make sure that your kit is clean
because your yoga instructor
is gonna be helping you into poses.
It's probably best you're not wearing kit
that's come out of the bottom of your kit bag.
But one thing I would recommend checking
while wearing leggings or something
that can be stretched and go a little bit see through.
Maybe do a downward dog at home and get a friend to check
that it's not gonna be see through in those positions.
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Leading on from clothing,
you also don't need any specific equipment to take with you.
If you do have a yoga mat at home, feel free to take it
but yoga classes will provide the mats anyway.
And then do just maybe take a bottle of water
so you can stay hydrated and a few more layers of clothes
so you can put them on to keep warm
when you get to the relaxation phase at the end.
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If you can put it on Strava
then it counts as a training session, right?
Well as much as yoga does include relaxation
it's also going to include some challenging poses
and I personally find that it
works me mentally and physically.
But then it's equally rewarding.
Now yoga will include mental training, stretching,
core activation, as well as relaxation.
So just make sure you come open minded
and prepared to enjoy it but also to relax
and pretty much every session will finish
with a lovely phase that's called Shavasana.
Which basically means relaxing,
when you get to lie down and just switch off a little bit.
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Yoga should actually be seen as a session so bear that
in mind when you're planning your weekly training program
and fit it in wisely because you don't want to be going
straight from say a sweaty turbo session
then you're trying to grip on your mat
and your hands are slipping and you're leaving
a nice sweaty mark for the next person
that comes to use your mat.
But then also vice versa, if you've come out
of your yoga session feeling lovely and relaxed
you don't want to be going straight
into a hard interval session
because that kind of defeats the object.
And do allow plenty of time to get to and from
your yoga session because you want to arrive ready to relax.
Most sessions last between 45 minutes to an hour.
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As triathletes, we obviously do a lot of running
and that isn't necessarily so good on our feet
and they aren't necessarily too presentable,
mine included here.
When it comes to yoga,
you can't actually wear normal socks though
because you will be sliding all over the place.
So if your feet really are incredibly unpresentable
or you're embarrassed by them
you can get special yoga socks.
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If you're anything like me, you will like to look at
and occasionally post the odd yoga pose on Instagram.
Well if this is you, you're gonna have to
make sure you do it before or after your class
because during the class your phone must be switched off
and left out of the way.
Well hopefully we've covered all of those questions
you might have had before going to a yoga class
and now you are already on your way
to booking your first class but before you do that,
make sure you give us a thumb up like
and hit the globe to subscribe
to get all of our videos here at GTN.
And if you want to see a video
on shoulder mobility exercises,
we've got that one just here.
And if you want a stretching routine for triathletes,
we've got a video on that just here.