Wholistic Fitness

One of the many sometimes beautiful, sometimes not so beautiful things about being a cycling coach is that it is part of my job to ride behind (pun?) people’s butts. Here, is Ananda’s butt. Take a close look it at. Good. Now, read Teacher Ananda’s facilitation with a new Student below and remember this shot; see how Ananda’s pelvic girdle is horizontal even on this side traverse during mountain bking? this technique of keeping the pelvic girdle horizontal is one of the first things i work with in training cyclists both on the bike and in HP Yoga� sessions! opening up the hips and gaining real estate in your lower back through yoga is key to improved enjoyment and performance on the bike. Remember; the sacrum nor the hips should not sway!

Ananda’s butt from a side view gives credence to the pelvic horizontality notion; see how her spine elegantly sweeps immediately up and out from her pelvis? see how flat her spine becomes right out of the hips? IDEAL! this ‘flat back arising from a horizontal pelvis’ reduces lower back pain while cycling, reduces the compression of soft tissue (genitalia), and…for those of us into sport performance; it frees the energy of the tremendously powerful ‘hip chain musculature.’

let’s listen in to an excerpt of Teacher Ananda coaching one of her Online Students after first checking in with me. She does a fantastic job and i TAF’d many DL Readers would benefit.

head bowed from the Tiny yet Mighty Temple beneath the Sacred (and still SNOWING!) Peak…

coach ilg

ps; i am schedule to do one of the nation’s most difficult 3-day cycling Stage Races in about four weeks…yet, the snows have kept me off my bike and on my skis! yikes! God, i love the “problems” in my life!

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Ananda used my ‘KPGH Teaching’ (“Keep Pelvic Girdle Horizontal” ) to help her win her age group in the Gaspin’ In The Aspen Mountain Duathlon and 2nd Woman Overall. Just don’t ask me what the fuck is up with normally BEAUTIFULLY POSTURED Ananda’s posture…and whassup with the wrinkly pants? Must be fatigue?!

STUDENT:
Cycling question – while riding outside, I had the realization that my lower body moves side-to-side a lot. The movement is very slight, not huge churns to each side. Is this something I should work on to become more still while in the saddle?

TEACHER ANANDA:
Great observation and wonderful question. This is an example of Svadhyaya (which you know from reviewing page 80 of TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION).

Yes, as you sit in your saddle (bike seat) you do not want any movement in the lower and upper body.

Your sacrum should be floating in the center, free of movement. The legs spinning like the wheels of a car on either
side of your “Universal Joint Housing.” In other words, only the legs are spinning. Everything else is steady and stable.
You should be able to balance a cup of Calli on your sacrum; that’s how horizontal it should remain. If one side tips,
the Calli spills…

Your thoracic spine in a slight dog tilt, chest open, shoulders down and relaxed. Jaw and face muscles soft and relaxed.
Make sure you toes are pointing directly forward under your knees and hips. Neutral alignment!

Coach and i highly suggest you take your bike (do you have a name for your bike yet?) to a local
cycling shop that works with professional cyclists, and have them professionally fit your bike to you.
A good time to get a tune up, as well.

H(om)ework assignment:
Let me know if this makes sense to you and once you have had your bike fitted.
i also want to know the name of your bike (read page 278 of TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION).