Yoga Videos

Check out how steady standing poses can be–this is totally possible for you, too!

If you watched the video in my last blog post about how to strengthen your outer hips, you might have wondered how to use those moves while you’re actually, you know, doing yoga. This video will show you!

You’ll need two blocks–or two stacks of books–and a folded up blanket or towel for this practice. You can use this to get ideas to add in when you take yoga classes or watch yoga videos, or you can do it on its own as a quick practice! (Note: if you do not want to kneel, skip to the second half of the video for some standing moves.)

This will all help create stability, which will help your balance–and you know that’ll be useful on the track! Bonus: when these muscles are all working they way they’re supposed to, you’ll be less likely to compensate and overuse others.

Sometimes, stretching isn’t the answer, and you need strengthen your hips to get the results you want. When you’re working on things like mohawks, transitions, and plow stops, having the right muscles doing the right things is going to be a big help.

This quick video will show you some movements that you can do to help strengthen your outer hips so that those muscles can do their jobs–and you can kick more ass on the track.

Since I didn’t specifically call it out in the video, when you’re doing the leg lifts out to the sides with hands down on blocks/books, try to keep your hips as level as possible to get the outer hips to do the lifting. Just like in tree pose, you don’t want to trick yourself by doing a hip swivel!

What muscles are doing the work? If the ones I mention aren’t doing the work, what might be compensating?

Over the next few weeks, I’ll show you some ways to incorporate these moves into a yoga practice, share more hip tips, and help improve your transitions on the track.

It’s 10:00 p.m. (or 11:00 p.m., or midnight) and you just got home from another late night roller derby practice. You have a snack, shower, lie down in bed, and…nothing. Your mind is racing, and sleep isn’t happening. You need something to help you unwind after practice, and you have no idea what that would be.

Sound familiar?

Exercise later in the day–especially when it’s a high-impact sport like derby–triggers our bodies to produce more of our stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol. If these are bumped up right before bed, chances are, you’ll have a harder time falling asleep. Enter: restorative yoga.

A restorative yoga practice is generally slow, gentle, supported stretches; you’re not trying to go deep into poses. It’s designed to help calm your nervous system! Basically, it’s a lot more about being comfortable and letting your breath get slower and steadier, which can help chill out your stress response. (Think about it: when you get really anxious and hyped up, it can be harder to breathe. Calming your breath can make a big difference.)

This video is a yoga practice that you can do in bed! It’s targeted for the parts of your body that you use at practice–just in case you didn’t stretch–and, even more importantly, it’s slow and steady with some breath focus to help you settle down for bed. Take a hot shower, get cozy, and give it a try.

When I started talking to skaters about this yoga for roller derby idea, I was overwhelmed by the number of positive responses I got. People told me about their fears about not being flexible enough. They mentioned that they used to practice, but yoga classes were too expensive on top of league dues and derby gear. And from people who already practiced yoga or taught it to their leagues, they winced every time they told me about watching skaters drop down into pigeon pose.

My response: ouch.

There’s a lot of debate in the yoga world about pigeon pose and whether or not it’s safe. Pigeon can feel awesome because it helps stretch the glutes. And you do want to give your booty a stretch after all that skating! However, it can also be risky for the knees if you’re not set up properly, and it can be challenging to keep your pelvis in a stable position.

Unless I’ve spent most of a class warming students up for pigeon, I usually teach this reclined variation. It doesn’t require the same openness at the front of the thighs, and it also helps stabilize the back of the pelvis. Last but not least, if you’ve got grumpy knees, you can much more easily protect them if you work the pose on your back.

Why?

• Your knees, ankles, and pelvis already take a beating from derby. This pose will focus the stretch on your derby butt without risking injury to other joints.

What to watch for:

• Keep head, shoulders, and back of the pelvis on the ground. You want to keep from rounding your spine as much as possible.
• Flex the crossed foot! You want it to be active, as if you were standing on it. That will protect your ankle and knee.
• Take a glance down at your pelvis to make sure you’re not hiking up one hip.

When to practice this pose:

• As part of your warm-up stretches
• Post-practice or after a bout
• Anytime, really! This pose doesn’t require any warming up.

Alternatives:

• Rather than drawing the legs in toward the chest, keep one foot planted on the floor as you cross the other ankle over that thigh.