Yoga on Two Wheels

By Nicole Kwan

Moves and stretches for a better bike ride

Your chain-and-sprocket-driven machine—it transports you into the great outdoors, helps you stay in shape, and is just plain fun to ride. But sometimes on long bike trips, or after a long spell of not riding, your own chain and sprockets start to feel a little rusty. A bit of subtle yoga can loosen your muscles and eliminate numbness. Plus, adding the right breathy stretches can boost your strength and stamina.

Can’t spare a second out of the saddle? You can do these moves while riding; just take it slowly until you feel comfortable posing in motion. Print this page and pack it in your saddlebag. Apply as necessary.


Loosen up
Your whole body is stiff from riding. “Generally when something’s tight from being stationery, you need to do something that amounts to wiggling it,” says Rudy Peirce, a teacher trainer at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Lenox, Massachusetts. Every time you are on your bike, try these two “wiggles.” They work best when you are spinning your legs to warm up or to cool down because it’s advisable to do them at slower speeds.

1. Try a very subtle sitting stretch where you tip your pelvis back and forth. You’re still balancing on two wheels so aim for micro-movements that feel freeing in the hips and spine. This helps loosen the paraspinal muscles, plus relieve saddle soreness.

2. “Shoulders become like shock absorbers,” Peirce says. Slowly roll them back to front, front to back, alternating sides.


For headache and neck tension
Keeping your eyes on the road to stay focused, tip your head gently side to side. Leave it on one side for four full breaths, then do on the other side. “People get numb in different places because the body gets tight while riding and starts to squeeze out circulation,” Peirce says. Slightly tipping your head will help release tension and promote circulation, bringing relief to your neck.

For sore wrists
Do this one with caution. Release one hand very carefully and shake it loose. Increase the mobility in your wrist joints by sending the fingers toward your body, palm skyward, elbow in. Reverse the wrist bend so the fingers point to the ground. You should feel deep parts of your wrist and hand awaken. Slowly circle your hand clockwise three times, then counterclockwise three times.  Now do this series of movements on the other side. Be careful to not just flop your hand around. To avoid feeling stiff or sore later, “do it every 10 or 15 minutes,” Peirce says.

For knee pain
Cyclists drive themselves nuts when knee pain hits. They change gears, seat height, and frame dimensions when simply “spreading the toes in tight cycling shoes or sneakers will help keep the knee aligned and happier,” says Erin Widman, yoga instructor and author of Sleeping Bag Yoga. If you ride with tight shoes that smash your toes, make sure to spread them apart as much as possible. “Knee pain in general is caused because people don’t engage in their feet and lower leg, so ligaments get out of place,” Widman says.

More for Cyclists:
Stretch Your Gym Workout: Spinning
Spin, Doctored
Yoga Cross-Training for Cyclists

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