Yoga & Gymnastic Bodies

Hi Y'all

I'm a newbie to Foundation1 and Handstand1, about a month into regular training (oh yeah time to

deload :-( ]

I also do yoga 4-5 times a week.  Subtle physical signs and hints are telling me that these two disciplines will fuel one another's progress nicely. In fact, I think the Foundation and Handstand training is having a nice impact on my yoga practice already. 

Anyone else have similar yoga cross-training experiences to share?

Cole Dano, one of the moderators/coaches here is a big yoga dude in Finland (why there, I don't know.)  He generally tended to answer to most yoga, stretching, etc related inquiries.   I'm sure he'll add something eventually.

I do yoga once a week, twice maybe.  I participate primarily in what my gym calls 'yoga for athletes' classes.  These are semi hyped up 1 hour classes, sort of level 2-3, with less meditative/restorative stuff and more flow/action/inversion/balances.  

I don't know the F1 or H1 syllabus, I started with GB 3 years ago when it was just WODs plus posted foundation work and eventually added the book.  My focus now is mostly hand balancing, core work, levers and the occasional ring work.  I feel comfortable with my GB foundation and have eased into that groove of just enjoying it.  

Given that, I will say that they are only 'somewhat' complimentary.  On the face US style yoga aids with flexibility and body awareness but lacks IMO a well-conveyed strength component.   GB is somewhat ahead of other athletic endeavors where repeated process builds strength and muscle memory but lacks true attention to body awareness (Coach does an awesome job of preaching this attention to form but it's tough given the dynamics of the movements).

Clearly my inversion skill on the yoga mat developed out of GB.  Even simple stuff like high plank to low plank has been helped by the GB work.  All of the L sit variations (ring/bar/floor) have helped as well.  The jump forward from down dog to seated bringing the legs through the hands is a direct result of all that core L sit work and pushing the shoulders down.   Hanging from the bar/rings has really helped to open my shoulders which makes my down dog solid.

Yoga has given my GP practice a boost from the body awareness, flexibility and balance work.  Comfort with low back mobility, hip flexibility, etc are just going to make it easier to work into a handstand.  Any tuck work; planche, lever, etc is going to be helped by all the child poses, pigeon, etc that you've done.  

The main issue is that most people in the US approach yoga from the passive point of view.  Lots of passive stretching, etc because that active component is just too hard.  Likewise, the GB people sometimes focus on active flexibility but don't have time to work on their passive stretching.  If I were a restorative yoga kind of dude I would not think that GB offered me anything whatsoever.  Similarly if I were only interested in doing muscle ups I don't think I'd have time to focus on my third eye while sitting in lotus.  But for sure GB benefits from yoga's heightened body awareness and yoga benefits from GBs focused active strength work.

I occasionally do yoga but I don't consider it training.  It was developed as preparation for meditation and I use it as such. 

You can easily make it training. Plus, who cares what it was originally meant for?

Hi,

My .5 cents...i do Yoga (Dynamic and also more meditative type 6x times a week,twice a day ) and also been doing F1 and H1 for the last few months (4 times a week). I think they compliment quite well...the thing about Yoga is that people work mainly on passive flexibility and forget all about the strength also necessary in a lot of the positions.

I´ve been improving quite well on my invertion asanas with the help of H1.

Having said that...i see my Yoga practice with the goal of facilitating long periods of inverted asanas and of meditation positions and i see my F1\H1 as a means of getting the strength to improve that.

Luís

I kind of have fun using yoga transitions to connect the foundation exercises.  For example arch body hold and the standing hip circles fit really nicely with sun salutation, just swap out cobra and put in arch body hold and do the circles in mountain. 

synchroGENized said:

I kind of have fun using yoga transitions to connect the foundation exercises.  For example arch body hold and the standing hip circles fit really nicely with sun salutation, just swap out cobra and put in arch body hold and do the circles in mountain. 

For people who like to be creative, that is pretty awesome! I am more standard in my approach, but that is really interesting~.

I do yoga & meditation 4-6 times a week, and alternate b/w F1 & H1 nearly every day.  I've found the breathing and meditative training of yoga, the focus & concentration, really compliments my  F1 & H1 practice.  On the flip side, the physical side, it has been the strength & mobility work of F1 & H1, that has inspired noticeable, and enjoyable, improvements in my ability to align myself properly in challenging yoga poses. 

Focus and breath control of yoga seem to help Gymnastic Bodies training. 

Mobility of Gymnastic Bodies training seems to really benefit yoga poses. 

GREAT combo so far. (two months or so of doing both)

O and hey syncroGENized, I've been doing that too, especially on H1 days, using lots of child's pose, pigeon pose, downward dawwwg, back bends, and forward bends.

I would very much like to master the lotus pose. I think GB can help me get there. (I'm just starting GB and am old and stiff. But determined.) Any advice on which of the courses to buy, exercises to focus on?

Hi Roxie,

Thanks for reaching out to us.

I recommend to get all the Stretch series. These will help you improve your overall flexibility and it will be easier to achieve yoga poses such as the lotus. If you add these series to your schedule you will definitely see some flexibility gains over time. Patience and consistency will help you along the way in achieving your goals

Wise advice. Will do. Thank you, Pauline, for answering  

You're most welcome, Roxie

Feel free to share your flexibility progress with us  

Will do!