Tag Archives: Yoga

What I want All Hockey Parents to know

Posted by Dec 2, 2016 fitness, health, Hockey training, kids, parenthood, parenting, sports, workout, yoga, yoga for athletes, yoga for hockey players , , , , , Leave a Comment
What I want All Hockey Parents to know

First off, I am not a surgeon, physiotherapist or medical doctor of any kind. I am a yoga teacher and a student of bodies. I have worked with countless individuals through yoga with varying degrees of athleticism but can say that I have seen hundreds if not thousands of young (13-25 years old) hockey players move on their mats. When I teach yoga to these athletes I am observing and learning by watching their movements. Over the last seven years I have seen noticeable trends that I want to share with you in the hopes that you may find this information helpful and possibly prevent a serious, even career-ending injury. You can choose to disregard my recommendations and opt to hear this from a medical doctor but by the time your son/daughter is in front of one the condition might be so severe that surgery is needed.

I am assuming you are still reading because you are a concerned (and even proactive) parent who wants their son or daughter to be in the best physical health and secondarily have a enjoyable hockey career. As a former athlete and now parent myself we want to see our children thrive in athletics into adulthood. The trends in youth sports now is early specialization. And as it pertains to hockey, year round, versus seasonal participation. This fact makes the following information even more valuable.

Here are the trends I am seeing over and over;

VERY TIGHT ANKLES AND FEET

Hockey skates are designed to be very restrictive and supportive and do not allow for much flexion and extension in the ankle. This is very helpful for skating biomechanics but what happens over time, especially with frequent on-ice training, is the ankle loses it’s required mobility. Without any sort of counter exercises to balance this the athletes develop very limited range of motion in the ankle joint. Why does this matter? Well over time as we age this mobility decreases anyways which makes activities like running or walking more challenging and in our senior years will lead to instability and falls. And if your child participates in any sports or activities other than hockey, or even running/speed tests on dry land for hockey camps and testing, there will be some running involved. A foot that is tight and unable to perform the range of motion needed for speed and acceleration means that the surrounding muscles and joints will bear the burden and this will lead to imbalances in the body and injuries. Want to test this out for yourself? Ask your son or daughter to kneel on the floor and sit back on their heels, now watch their face and body language. If they complain of pain or severe discomfort then they already have limited range of motion. I see this develop around age 12-14 and often quite severe in athletes aged 18 and up when not addressed.

SORE AND TIGHT HIPS

Hockey players of any age will likely identify their hips as a problem area because of the skating stride. When skating the hips are called upon to stabilize the athlete, abduct, adduct and flex the hip and so the muscles that are needed to perform these different movements get very stiff and sore. The amount of time spent on the ice and off the ice strengthening the quadriceps, gluteals and hip flexors is not usually off-balanced with lengthening and recovery time needed for these muscles. In young athletes especially this is even worse due to the amount of time spent sitting during the day. As a result imbalances occur, scar tissue develops and injury to the back and groin.

TIGHT BACK AND SHOULDERS

Posture in most teenagers and even adults for that matter is poor. Add into the equation the rounded, athletic stance of a hockey player on the ice and you get slumped shoulders to say the least. I have done posture assessments on NHL level players and let’s just say it’s a good thing they aren’t getting paid to stand properly. But poor posture overtime again contributes to imbalances and injury. Most off-ice training programs focus on exercises that strengthen the larger muscle groups of the back and chest and aren’t refined enough to target the muscles needed to properly support a healthy posture. The end results is very limited mobility throughout the back, chest and shoulders.

So what does all this mean? My answer to off-set hockey training on and off the ice is to incorporate a recovery program. This should comprise of yoga, massage (either self-massage using therapy balls and/or by a trained professional) and rest days. Now if you think the 2 minutes of stretching you do after a training session is enough, think again! Yoga is not just stretching. The body needs to also recover through proper breathing and relaxing the mind. A trained yoga professional can guide you through all the benefits and coach you along the way. Some might say “there is not time for recovery, we need more training and practices to get better at hockey”. Well I would challenge that! Finding a balance of rest, recovery and activity will go a long way to improving any athlete’s overall health and performance. If you start practicing yoga and don’t see results right away remember to have patience. It took years to create these imbalances and it takes time to undo them.

Invest in Rest!!

Five Reasons Why YOU need to go to Summer Camp!

Posted by Feb 9, 2016 adventure, fitness, glamping, Happiness, hiking, kayak, SUP, wine, yoga , , , , , Leave a Comment
Five Reasons Why YOU need to go to Summer Camp!

It’s that time of year again when parents are booking campsites, summer holidays, and sorting through local resources for kids’ camps while school is out. Do you remember how much fun summer camp was when you were a kid? Playing outdoors all day. Getting dirty and wet. Trying new activities and facing fears. Meeting new friends and creating long lasting relationships. All that fun doesn’t have to be reserved for children only. I think it’s about time us adults got in on this too. And that is why last year I organized the first YOGA ADVENTURE RETREAT in Long Point, Ontario. Over and over I kept hearing participants at the retreat say “This is like summer camp for adults….only with wine!”. So here are my 5 reasons why YOU need to come to “Adult Summer Camp”.

 
#1 – Time to unwind, relax and reconnect with yourself!
We all lead busy lives and often when we do schedule a family vacation we are so busy preparing meals, cleaning up and organizing activities, it doesn’t actually feel like much of a holiday. Maybe you feel guilty about taking time just for you, let’s face it most parents do. However, when you take time to recharge, you come back to the people you love ready to give them all of you.
Last year my family purchased a home early in the year and it turned out our closing date was one day after the retreat, which I had organized long before we bought our house. Everyone thought I was crazy to still go on the retreat and then move the next day. It ended up being the best possible scenario because I returned home energized and calm, ready to take on the stress that moving brings.
When on retreat your meals are lovingly prepared for you. No clean up either. Your activities are taken care of and spaced out so there is lots of time to take in the peaceful surroundings. The accommodations are as close to sleeping outside, and a five star hotel at the same time, as you can get. I don’t remember the last time I slept so soundly. The only thing that woke me one night was the “hooot” of an owl!

#2 – Get out of your comfort zone and face some fears!
I always remember doing activities at camp that were outside my comfort zone. It was an adrenaline rush and brought a sense of accomplishment and confidence that isn’t often felt in adulthood. Remember how you grew as a person, how it changed you? That doesn’t have to end once you have a mortgage and parental responsibilities. So if the thrill of zip lining through the Carolinian forest gives you butterflies, it’s time!

#3 – Get out in nature
There’s nothing like fresh air and the lovely songs of birds all around you to bring you back to yourself and what matters most in life. It’s not even a feeling that can be put into words. Long Point is a World Biosphere Reserve and home to Bird Studies Canada. You are bound to spot some amazing wildlife.
I believe food, wine and exercise is 1000 times better when you are in nature. I remember arriving at Long Point Eco Adventures last year and immediately sharing a bottle of Burning Kiln red wine under the canopy and just looking out over the marsh, unwinding and chatting. It was the perfect way to transition to the weekend. We spotted all kids of birds and was my first time seeing an Oriole!

#4 – Make new friends and enjoy the “old” ones
Whenever my kids attend camps they come home and tell me about their awesome new BFF. It seems that kids can easily make new friends. I remember summer camp being a time where we would be put into groups, at first I felt shy about these new faces and then in a short amount of time we were interacting and laughing together, creating long lasting friendships. It was amazing last year to see how everyone meshed. There was such an eclectic group and we bonded over who as the first to fall in the lake while SUP’ing or who helped who portage the kayaks over the fallen trees. This human connection is irreplaceable and lacking in our day to day. Many people came with friends that they hadn’t spent more than a couple of hours with in a long time. It was great to see them taking their friendships to a new level and made me wish I had brought a friend along with me.

#5 – YOU deserve to have some fun too!
Why should FUN be reserved for kids only?! It’s tough to find fun activities as an adult. And maybe it’s time we took back our fun. It’s time to let go of the responsibilities, the rigid schedules and “To-Do” lists. This is your weekend to focus on you, to let loose and belly laugh at yourself and with others. I guarantee you will NOT want to leave come Sunday!

Three days and two nights on the Yoga Adventure Retreat will leave you feeling brand new and energized. Check out EVENTS and reserve your room today!

Namaste & ZIP ON!

-Angela

How being a YOGI helps me in the gym

Posted by Sep 16, 2015 sports, workout, yoga for athletes , , Leave a Comment
How being a YOGI helps me in the gym

I have worked out in a gym much longer than I have been practicing yoga. When I think back to my time in the gym before yoga I realize that I wasn’t working out as efficiently as I could due to a lack of knowledge and coaching. So here is how becoming a yogi has made me better in the gym.

Breathing

When practicing yoga you develop a refined sense of your breath. You learn to observe, control and deepen your breath. You begin to discover ways that your breath gives you strength beyond what you perceive yourself capable of. This doesn’t end when you finish your yoga practice. You can use these tools to help you maintain body awareness in the gym too ensuring that you stay safe in your exercises and to give you the ability to lift more or do more reps.

Improved range of motion

Yoga is touted with being one of the best ways to improve flexibility. And while it does so much more than that it certainly is a means to getting deeper in your squats. A lot of athletes don’t think they need more flexibility. Yet if you remove the weight in some of their exercises and ask them to show you their range of motion they likely won’t get very far with their body properly aligned….and they expect to do it properly with weight?! You will feel so much more power in your movements when you move with more ease through a full range of motion. And less likely for injury to happen when compensation is at a minimum.

Core strength & awareness

I’ve seen strong athletes with apparent, defined abdominals struggle to hold a side plank. It’s not that they don’t have the core strength to do so but they also need to fine tune how they use their core. Once we learn to stabilize from the core we can develop more strength and power in our movements. I see this in myself when I spin. When I’m aware of my centre and I draw in (like I’ve practiced so many times in yoga) it allows me to use less effort to push harder.

Energy locks

In yoga we refer to energy locks as Bandhas which means to lock, to hold, to tighten. There are three bandhas in the body and one that ties them all together. I won’t go into much detail here about how to find them or what they do. For that you are going to have to give yoga a try. To understand them you need to imagine that energy can move out of the body (not very useful when training) or stay within the body (more energy in to push harder or longer). Here’s an example that you can try if you’ve ever done prowler runs. Try a set with your chin forward then try a set with your chin drawn into your chest (i.e making a double chin). In the later you should feel stronger, faster, and the exercise slightly easier. Remember it takes practice to refine this just like anything else.

I love being in the gym, pushing myself, and I also love yoga, taking care of myself. I cannot imagine doing either one of these without the other anymore. If this has piqued your interest maybe it’s time to set the dumbells down and roll out a yoga mat!

How to FIT fitness in!

Posted by Jan 21, 2015 fitness, health, new year's resolutions, workout, yoga , , Leave a Comment

We hear it all the time “I’m too busy, I just can’t find time to workout”. Maybe you’ve said these words yourself. I know I’ve heard people say to me “It must be nice to have time to do yoga and workouts”. I get it you’re busy. We’re all busy with work, kids, appointments, chores around the house, errands etc. Just when we think we couldn’t possibly be any busier the pace of life gets even faster. And even if we made resolutions and intentions to allow ourselves more time to be healthy on Jan.1 we might now be sacrificing for something more pressing. So again we find an excuse not to be active…or do we??

We all know by now that leading an active lifestyle is vital to our health and longevity. And the occurrence of obesity and inactivity in our current sedentary lifestyles are high. Yet many people still do not prioritize exercise. There are certainly valid reasons to rest; recent surgery or treatments, healing from an injury, etc. But most of the people yet to commit to a daily routine do not fall under these categories.

Common Excuses:

  • I’m tired.
  • I’m busy at work.
  • My kids have their activities.

and my favourites!

  • I’m too out of shape.
  • I can’t afford it.

It’s about priorities and lifestyle changes. Do you want to be healthy? Be fit? Get strong? Then come up with a plan to get there. Right down the tasks that you need to get done in a day and where you need to be then get creative. There are so many resources available to help anyone make some major gains. There are online exercise programs and yoga classes. Gyms and training centres everywhere. Free community classes or energy exchange programs*.

Here are some tips on how to get creative with your time and get moving!

  • Wake up early and start your day with a workout. Maybe it’s a run or walk outside or maybe you hit your local training centre where someone guides you through a routine (perfect if you aren’t a morning person and need a kick in the butt!)
  • Use your lunch break at work to get your sweat on. Find a close by gym or yoga studio, or maybe you are lucky enough to have one in your workplace. Gather some coworkers and head outside for a walk. You will surely boost your productivity after you get your blood pumping!
  • At the end of your day head straight to a class instead of heading home and plopping yourself down on the couch. You will feel great about yourself!
  • Coordinate your children’s activities with something for yourself. Go for a run or see if there is a facility close by so that you aren’t just waiting around for them. What a great example you are setting for them!

Remember, you don’t need a full hour every day. Take 30 minutes and do a short body weight circuit in your living room. Or maybe you just need to make some logistics changes. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park further away from the grocery store, walk to do an errand instead of driving. These changes may take time to implement but get going today! Don’t wait another day!

Stay tuned for my next post about how to motivate yourself and create healthy habits! And if you need help to get yourself moving then leave me a comment and we can discuss.

*Energy exchange programs are when you can perform small tasks at a facility i.e. yoga studio in exchange for free classes. These tasks are usually things like mopping the floors and changing garbages.10426135_10154775219575029_1832537439728938325_n-2