Yoga and Home Workouts
It’s About Lengthening Your Body
By Jamie Bussin and Jodi Fischtein
On Episode #144 of THE TONIC Talk Show/Podcast I spoke with local yogi Jodi Fischtein about how yoga can be a complimentary practice for those who are working out at home. This is an excerpt of the interview.
What sort of workouts are your clients doing at home? We’re all learning new formats and new ways of working out. I’m personally using a Peloton every day. My family are using personal training apps. Some are using home equipment like a TRX – which is pretty good for strengthening, but limited in lengthening the muscles. That’s where yoga might come in. For people who have vigorous workouts, like rowing or spinning, we need to take it easy with the yoga, by making it slightly more restorative.
What props can we utilize to help with that? There are lots of things that you might have around the house, that are simple like blocks, pillows and blankets. But for someone putting stress on their back I would recommend a yoga wheel, which is very inexpensive, light, and transportable. It helps to lengthen the back. This is important for those rowing, cycling or using a TRX because they tend to be hunched over. If you’ve never used the wheel, you might want to start with a stability ball – sliding down. It is a less intense back bend. After a few sessions and you get used to the back extension, you might then move on to the yoga wheel.
If we’re spinning or cycling what should we consider? I think it’s very important to focus on the core muscles and ensure proper form. We’re sitting for a long period of time. It is a compressive activity. If you’re not properly trained, you might soften the stomach area. The lower back muscles will start to relax and that’s probably what we don’t want. If somebody came to me for a yoga solution I’d focus on strong posture. I’d also focus on core, even though they’d be building their core with their workout.
Tightness in the hip flexors tends to be a problem for those who are spinning, so what do you recommend? I don’t feel any pain after spinning, but I do feel tightness in my hips. I feel the need to go into a dragon lunge pose. It is a very simple lunge; a modification of warrior pose. You see it more in Yin Yoga. You step one foot forward, you step the other foot as far back as you can. But instead of making it feel vigorous you’ll drop the back knee down to a blanket or something else that is comfortable, so that you can hold the pose a little bit longer. I love to hold that posture, for up to a minute, on either side. What it does is lengthen the front of the quadricep muscle and gets into the hip flexor. And then I would go to the stability ball for a full front body lengthening. When we do a downward facing dog pose, we’re stretching the front of the body; the stability ball stretches out the back. It’s really about what you can hold comfortably.
For more information about Jodi Fischtein, visit flyinglotus.ca For the full interview visit thetonic.ca
