Do Cyclists Need to Learn Yoga Poses?

This quick 5-min yoga sequence can be used pre or post ride. It focusses on stretching through the entire body whilst increasing the mobility & flexibility of the joints that most cyclists use. With our Osteo Bret a keen cyclist and the start of the Tour De France this 5-min yoga forcyclists sequence is a great warm up or cool down option. Even if you’re not a cyclists this is still a great warm up or cool down workout sequence that doesn’t require any equipment so it can be done anywhere.

Hold each of the following postures for 5-10 breaths. Cat pose Seated kneel Big cat stretch Down dog Cobra Lunge Pigeon Lying twist Lying hamstring stretch

1. Cat pose

2. Seated kneel

3. Big cat stretch

4. Down dog

5. Cobra Lunge

6. Pigeon Lying twist

7. Lying hamstring stretch

Full sequence including instructions:

Cat pose

Starting on all fours, wrists under shoulders, knees under hips, inhale as you arch through the spine, roll the shoulders down and away from the ears and look forward. Exhale tuck the tail, round through the upper back and relax the head and neck.

Flow through in your own time, completing 5 full rounds.

This posture is great for stretching through the upper back and opening through the chest, this is a great posture to counter your normal cycling position.

Seated kneel

Take the buttocks to the heels, sit up tall and allow the spine to lengthen, as we stretch through the shins, toes and ankles.

Big cat stretch

Inhale to come forward, reach your hands out in front and walk you knees back under your hips. Gently move your head and chest in between your upper arms towards the ground and hold for 5-10 breaths, opening up through the upper back and chest.

Downward facing dog

Walk the hands back towards the knees as you push into palms, lift the knees and take the buttocks towards the sky for a down dog. Opening and lengthening the spine, stretching through the hamstrings and mobilising all of the joints from the wrists through to the ankles.

Cobra

Drop to the knees, take the shoulders over the wrists and lower your way all the way onto the floor as if you were doing a push-up. Inhale, roll the shoulders down and away from the ears as you gently push into the hands and lift the chest. Hold for 5 breaths before lowering the chest back to the floor, pushing back onto hands and knees and back into your down dog.

Lunge

Inhale in down dog and as you exhale step your left foot in between your hands for a lunge position.  Take your hands to your bent leg and settle into this stretch for the right hip flexors. To intensify the stretch reach around a take a hold of the back leg and breathe.

Release the back leg and push back into your down dog to repeat on the right side.

Hold each side for 5-10 breaths before releasing and transitioning back through your down dog.

Pigeon

Inhale in down dog and as you exhale bend your left knee and take your left knee to your left wrist. Lower the back knee to the ground and square off the hips. Stay here or lower the forearms to the ground and drop the head. Take 5-10 breaths opening and stretching through the glutes and hip.

Release, transitioning back through down dog and take pigeon on the opposite side.

Hold for a further 5-10 breaths before releasing back to your down dog before making your way onto hands and knees and onto your back for some lying postures.

Lying twist

Lying on your back, extend both legs out in front and take a bend to the right knee. Exhale as you twist open to the left. Extend the arms out to shoulder height and look out over the right hand, trying to keep both shoulders on the floor.

Inhale through centre and change the legs gently twisting open to the right, through the lumbar spine as we mobilise the lower joints of lower back.

Lying hamstring stretch

Inhale through centre, bend both knees and extend right leg towards the sky, holding on behind the calf or hamstring with both hands. For a deeper stretch extend the left leg long along the floor and start to mobilise the ankle by flexing and extending the right foot.

Release the right leg back to the floor and repeat on the left side. Try to keep both shoulders on the ground and relax through the head and neck. Release the leg to the floor to finish.

For best results aim to hold each of the postures in this sequence for a min of 5 breaths.