Sign up for the upcoming foundations course with Ryan Putz. Email Ryan at ryan@balancegym.com.
Tues/Thurs at 6:30pm: 1/19, 1/21, 1/26, 1/28, 2/2, 2/4, 2/9, 2/11
WOD for Friday:
Back Squats
5-5-5
Row 2K
For CF Balance Members- Please check out our classes next door! We have two studios, with a recently renovated studio on the 4th floor separate from the rest of the gym with lots of sunlight!
Recovery thoughts...Crossfit and Yoga:
It pays to be open minded:
I’ve boxed, played rugby, and currently I am addicted to CrossFit. Four years ago, I wouldn’t even imagined putting aside an hour per week to practice yoga. I am an adrenaline junky and would prefer other activities. Then I found myself injured and began researching various yoga practices and was overwhelmed. Where do I begin?
I have spent several years researching and experimenting with strength and conditioning programs. At times I was training at the gym to supplement rugby, a running and boxing program, and currently to compete at the 2010 CrossFit Regionals/Games. I’ve learned that you have to first take time to reflect on what motivates you, create your goals and how to accomplish these, commit, and reevaluate. My point is that your type of training/yoga program that you explore should compliment your goals. I never thought of yoga as such a broad and encompassing fitness regimen as I did with strength/conditioning programs.
My exploration: Initially when I began exploring yoga, I sought out what I thought at the time would be the most grueling practice “bikram” yoga. This practice consists of twenty-six poses performed for 90 minutes in a 110 degrees room. I always felt refreshed and relaxed after these sessions. I became hooked and was very committed to bikram (practicing 3-5 times per week; I had been complimenting training at a boxing gym at this time). However, I found these sessions time consuming and additionally, I wanted to seek a practice that had more hip openers based on my training goals at the time.
I went to several studios, subsequently trying several different practices including: iyengar (alignment focused), ashtanga, power yoga, and hatha yoga. I appreciated iyengar for its focus on technique and form (similar to idea that when learning o-lifts its never best to rush into high rep workouts if you want to nail down the correct bar path). I enjoyed Hatha for the day when I wanted a stretch and less rigorious workout than what I have experienced in power yoga classes. My point: There is something for everyone (sound similar to CrossFit?) I found my niche in a studio on the edge of the Potomac canal in Georgetown, “Downdog Yoga,” offering a heated (90 degrees) vinyasa. This is a power-based practice developed by Baron Baptise (had been previously part of Coaching staff for Philadelphia Eagles in 1994). I once again became hooked, but began to appreciate yoga for different reasons based on my new experiences at Downdog.
My new perspective: Prior to my experience at Downdog, I did not appreciate nor fully understand “being present” during practice. I figured it was enough to perform the poses and call it a day, however, yoga is more. Just as Sage Burgener proclaims her love for o-lifting and describing the sport as “testing you as an individual…and seeing what you are really made of.” I find there are similarities in yoga (obviously, it does not require the explosiveness, strength, and degree of power that the o-lifts do) such as focus/mental toughness. Yoga to me became more about connecting your mind with your body, which requires focus and discipline. It is about quieting your mind, letting go of the past and pressures of the day, and living in the moment. How similar is this to CrossFit? I started analogizing this to some of my CrossFit workouts. The CrossFit workout “Fran” comes to mind (actually most crossfit workouts), but since we all have experienced this one or are familiar with it. Fran is a mental and physical battle. Perhaps at rep 8 in the second set of thrusters where you want to put that bar down based on fried shoulders and the accompanying panic button going off in your brain. You have a Coach/friend encouraging you to get through and for me….I get my game face on and get pissed. (I guess this may be different when I hit a breaking point in yoga- may not use that same intensity)…but just to draw a correlation…. In yoga, the silence was overwhelming and at times it made me want to jump out of my skin. This began my quest to quiet my thoughts, focus on my breathing, and I was determined. Some days I would leave all my worries outside the studio and other days they would haunt me, however, when I first experienced the “quiet mind,” the sense of gratification and type of connection experienced (awareness with my body during the practice) was intense. I was addicted to that feeling.
How would a Crossfitter benefit from yoga?
In a nutshell yoga helps promote physical strength, flexibility, balance, mental clarity, and focus. CrossFit does too! Why yoga?
Mental Focus- As described above, there are great mental challenges we take on daily during the course of our workouts and I have increased my mental toughest in yoga. Controlling your inner voice is essential in CrossFit workouts.
Body Awareness (ability to make your body do what you want)- For those of you familiar with some of the more technical lifts (such as the Snatch) understand that developing body awareness is crucial to executing these movements. This goes for all CrossFit movements. Yoga provides an amazing environment to do this.
Flexibility- Prior to introducing yoga into my routine, I could barely rack a bar for a front squat (not to say that this wasn’t attributed to an increase in practicing the lifts), but I think the increase in my yoga practice certainly helped. (I was unable to perform a“wheel” pose nor a “back bend” when I started yoga). These I can easily execute.
My objective in sharing my yoga experiences with you is not to advise you to practice yoga 5 days a week, nor am I saying that yoga is the end of all means to increase your flexibility, but to say, “It pays to be open-minded.” Had it not been for my desire to try new things, and for surrounding myself with fitness-minded people to promote this (another topic for another day), then I would not have found my love and passion for CrossFit nor Yoga.
Try something new.
Danielle Dionne
Monday, January 11, 2010 at 06:22PM 
