Ski Better, Ski Stronger!

Stand up.  Sit down.  With ski/snowboard season upon us, that remains a powerful mantra that can help you return to the most simple joys of moving your body.

Skiing/snowboarding is both simple and complex.  It's simple because it can be as easy as  "stand up, sit down."  It's complex because it requires a very active and aware presence of your core, as well as your continuous orientation to where you are on the mountain.

The "stand up, sit down" mantra (thanks to my friend, Tyler Gould for this) works like this: the muscles you engage when you move to "stand up" will force you to push into the mountain, and thus, you'll turn. The movements required to "sit down" will allow you to rest into a more aerodynamic position so that your body can enjoy your speed and fluidly absorb the shocks from moguls--until the next turn.

You can learn to turn more efficiently by practicing this simple exercise: From a bent knee position, try standing up by pushing into the balls of your feet.  Where do you feel tightness?  If you're like me, you'll feel it in your quadricep muscles and your low back.

Now try standing up by pushing into your heels (if you can do it without falling backwards).  Do you feel tightness in your hamstrings and low back?

Now try standing up from the center of your feet--what is sometimes called "the eye of the foot," or in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Bubbling Spring.  Do you still feel tightness in your quads or  hamstrings?  Or do you feel a lengthening of your quads, hamstrings, and low back simultaneously?  Pushing up from this strong diaphragm of the foot reduces strain on your leg and low back muscles, which in turn gives you more strength, stability, and flexibility.

Rolfers refer to this as a "palintonic" stretch: while your feet are pressing into the mountain, your head is being lifted against gravity. This lengthening is the sensation you feel as your body's  fascial network re-maps itself--awakening and strengthening your core, improving your stability and flexibility.

In a previous blog post, I talked about stretching the postural (or tonic) fibers of your hamstring muscles. This is also a good pre-skiing (and post-skiing) stretch that will assist your body/mind to feel your core, and help orient you to the space around you (on the mountain).

Another great series of exercises for both before and after skiing/snowboarding are the spinal flexes (video at link).  I don't agree with the video's suggestion to do the first part of the exercise faster:  Instead, I would recommend that you keep a speed that is comfortable to your body for all 3 parts.  You can either time yourself and do each exercises for 30 seconds to 3 minutes, or exercise for a count of 25, 54, or 108 inhalations--whatever is most comfortable for your body.

A daily regimen of these stretches, as well as other yoga exercises can keep your fascial network free and lubricated.  A Rolfing tune-up can also assist you with feeling that palintonic sense of lengthening throughout your body.  

Join Robert this Sunday, December 9th at 11am at the Healthy Living Market Learning Center in South Burlington, Vermont to explore these and more exercises...or you can make an appointment for a Rolfing session.