I recently returned from a trip to the east coast as Prevention Magazine’s featured instructor at their 2nd Annual Yoga Studio in Southampton, NY. There, at the Prevention Yoga House or “Yoga Pop-Up,” I taught YOGA for ATHLETES® and YOGA RIPPED classes — a whole lot of them — for three days over the July 15th weekend.

And it was a whole lot of fun. Attendees enjoyed free classes, energy-boosting refreshments, healthy goodies and more, and I got a nice write up in KDHamptons.com, “The Luxury Lifestyle Diary of the Hamptons,” for my pioneering role in the hybrid yoga craze. But I have to admit, teaching five classes a day was tough!

As always, though, my students made it all worth it. I was only there for the weekend, but I had “regulars,” which was very sweet. One woman drove out from Delaware, took all five of my classes, then drove back home! And Prevention’s publisher, Laura Petasnick, and the magazine’s fitness editor, Jessica Cassity, came to my Yoga Ripped class. Yoga Ripped was my most popular class at the event, which sort of figures with all those type-A New Yorkers (not to insult anyone, I’m way type-A, myself).

What else… Oh! I got my first-ever “tip,” money-wise, after teaching class. It came from an “older gentlemen” and his wife, Marvin & Mercedes. Experience-wise, students at the event ran the gamut from “newbies to yogis,” which makes teaching more challenging. But I obviously did something right: I got a “seated ovation” after every class (which was also very sweet .

All in all, it was a wonderful time. Sherri and I spent a couple extra days in New York City after the event, which is always nice, but the heat this time was overwhelming and we were very happy to return to the cool ocean breezes of our Venice home.

You could say that Kimberly Fowler is one tough yogi. She began her yoga practice after being hit by a car in the 1980s while in law school (and working two jobs). She soon recovered but a year later was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer (she beat that, too). It wasn’t until age 40, after falling thirty feet while mountain climbing and landing on a tree stump (it took her a year to recover) that she created a business around her life and passion — practicing yoga and helping people. Yoga for Athletes® was then born. The rest is history.

Read my complete mindbodygreen.com interview with Jason here.

Click here to see the full story.

Most of the time when athletes are stretching they are trying to force their body to do something it’s not ready to do. A lot of the stretches we do as runners are what are called “floor poses” in Yoga, so they are done in the middle of class after you have warmed up. In Yoga there is a lot more body awareness and attention to alignment, you NEVER want to force yourself into a pose. Athletes are competitive; we want to touch our toes “NOW” which is why some athletes hurt themselves when they try to stretch, they are trying to make their body do something it’s just not ready to do. That’s why a number of Running books say not to stretch, they should probably say “Don’t stretch until you are warmed up”.

Yoga also has a Mind-Body connection that isn’t normally part of stretching. The constant focus on the breath and the development of breath awareness gives us greater body control. Yoga also focuses on balance-both breath and balance translates into quicker reaction time to unexpected situations encountered in sports like running, ie; Being chased by a Pit Bull or accidently stepping into a pothole. Unfortunately I’ve experienced both.

So instead of just stretching try a little yoga.

Benefits of Yoga

1. Injury Prevention
2. Better Performance
3. Flexibility (Range of Motion)
4. Lung Capacity (Easier to Breathe)
5. Mental Focus
6. Longevity
7. Endurance
8. Strength

I have been a runner most of my life, so my hips have always been my nemesis, especially when it comes to injuries and pain in general. When you are young your hips are very flexible, they have wide range of motion, if you don’t believe me watch a 4 year old walk. As we age our bodies start to round forward. Our hips get tight, our shoulders round forward we lose that mobility aka flexibility that we had when we were young. The yoga poses in the Yoga for your Hips Workout Routine will help restore mobility in your hips, but I’m not promising that you will run around like a 4 years old.

I have always found the hips fascinating, when you think about it, without them we can’t do much of anything. Almost all poses in yoga work on your hips in one way or another, that’s how important hips are to the overall function and health of your body. I am going to go into the “anatomy of the hips” but don’t worry nothing too complicated, I just want to give you an idea how they work so you have a better understanding of how yoga can help with injury prevention and all around body mechanics of your hip joints and the muscles around the hip.

How do the Hips work?

The hip is the most stable joint in the body and it is surrounded by muscle on all sides. The multiple muscles attach to the back, abdomen, hamstrings, quadriceps, abductors, adductors and gluteal muscles, which gives the hips a great range of motion. Most of the muscles of the Hip are shorter and fatter than those of the leg, and allow rotation which helps stabilize the Hip joint. Most of the hip injuries result from these small muscles being overused or pushed too hard.

The hip is a ball-and-socket joint where the head of the femur aka the thigh bone, meets the pelvic bone. The pelvic bone fits tightly around the head of the femur. The ball is held in the socket by very powerful ligaments that form a complete sleeve around the joint which is called the joint capsule. The capsule has a thin lining called the synovium fluid. The head of the femur is covered with a layer of smooth cartilage. The socket is also lined with cartilage. This cartilage cushions the joint, and allows the bones to move on each other with very little friction.

The hip joint itself is capable of a wide range of motion, due to the construction of the joint, supported through the presence of the four sets of muscles and connecting tendons that operate together with machine-like precision. The hip flexors, extensors, adductors, and external rotators combine to provide a 360° range of motion. The importance of the Hip joint is not only the range of motion that it allows the upper leg, but also through the considerable muscular power and endurance that is delivered in concert with the motion.

The hip joint flexor supports the process of flexion, the movement of the hip joint that produces a bend, which helps propel the legs forward and upward. Extension is the Hip action that straightens the leg. Rotation is the ability of the Hip joint to direct the femur and the upper thigh through the 360° range of motion. Adduction is movement of the Hip muscles that draws the femur and upper thigh toward the body; the adductors are important stabilizing muscles in running.

There are also a lot of ligaments in the hip joint which connect the femur to the pelvis. They are responsible for providing stability to the hip. These ligaments prevent the hip moving outside the possible planes of movements. Muscles play an important part in stabilizing the lower part of your body and are powerhouses for the hip in locomotion activities. The muscles are involved when the limbs are raised or lowered. Overdeveloped and tight hip flexors can contribute to lower back pain by causing the pelvis to tilt forward. To counteract this, you must stretch the hip flexors and strengthen the abdominal muscles which we talked about in the Core/Abs Chapter. This will reduce pelvic tilt and decrease lower back pain. Strengthening the lower back can also help improve the balance between the muscles of the hip region.

Common injuries of the Hips:

Hip Bursitis: Hip bursitis is a common problem that causes pain over the outside of the upper thigh. A bursa is a fluid filled sac that allows smooth motion between two uneven surfaces. For example, in the hip, a bursa rests between the bony prominence over the outside of the hip (the greater trochanter) and the firm tendon that passed over this bone. When the bursal sac becomes inflamed, each time the tendon has to move over the bone, it causes pain. Because people with hip bursitis move this tendon with each step, hip bursitis symptoms can be quite painful and is commonly seen in runners or athletes who participate in running-oriented sports e.g. soccer, football, and basketball.

Broken Hip: A broken hip is a common injury, especially as we get older. In the United States, hip fractures are the most common broken bone, with about 300,000 Americans hospitalized for a hip fracture every year. Hip fractures in the “elderly” are most often caused by a fall, usually a seemingly insignificant fall. In “younger” patients with stronger bones, more common causes of a broken hip include high-energy injuries such as car accidents.

Snapping Hip Syndrome: Snapping hip syndrome is a condition that is characterized by a snapping sensation, and often an audible ‘popping’ noise, when the hip is flexed and extended. There are several causes, most commonly due to tendons catching on bony prominences and “snapping” when the hip is moved. There are three primary causes:

* Iliotibial Band Snap The iliotibial band is a thick, wide tendon that runs over the outside of the hip joint. The most common cause of snapping hip syndrome is when the Iliotibial band aka “IT band” snaps over the greater trochanter, what you think of as the Hip bone. If this is what is causing snapping hip syndrome, you may develop trochanteric bursitis from the irritation of the bursa in that area.

* Iliopsoas Tendon Snap The iliopsoas tendon is the main hip flexor muscle, and the tendon of this muscle passes just in front of the hip joint. The iliopsoas tendon can catch on a bony part of the pelvis, what you think of as your hip bone and causes a snap when the hip is flexed. Usually when the iliopsoas tendon is the cause of snapping hip syndrome, people have no problems, but may find the snapping annoying.

* Hip Labral Tear This is the least common cause of snapping hip syndrome is a tear of the cartilage within the hip joint. If there is a loose flap of cartilage catching within the joint, this may cause a snapping sensation when the Hip is moved. This cause of snapping hip syndrome typically causes a snapping sensation, sometimes-you can hear a “pop.” It may also cause an unsteady feeling, and people will grab for support when the hip snaps.

Sacroiliac Joint Injury (Inflammation of the SI Joint): The sacroiliac joint is a firm, small joint that lies at the junction of the spine and the pelvis. Most often when we think of joints, we think of knees, Hips, and shoulders–joints that are made to undergo motion-move. The sacroiliac joint does not move much, but it is critical to transferring the load of your upper body to your lower body.

Illotibial Band Syndrome: Iliotibial band syndrome is due to inflammation of the iliotibial band, a thick band of fibrous tissue that runs down the outside of the leg. The iliotibial band begins at the hip and extends to the outer side of the shin bone (tibia) just below the knee joint. The band functions in coordination with several of the thigh muscles to provide stability to the outside of the knee joint.


POSES TO HELP YOUR HIPS:

1. Leg Cradle Pose

2. Foot to Knee Pose aka Seated Tree

3. Knee to Ankle Pose aka Fire Log Pose

4. Cobbler Pose

5. Happy Cow Pose

6. Reclining Pigeon Pose


LEG CRADLE POSE

Benefits: Loosens up your hip joint, I always do this pose before I run.

How do you get into this Pose?

· Sit on the floor with both legs out in front of you.
· Grab you right leg and “cradle” it in your arms, so your foot would be in the crease of your left arm and your knee would be in the crease of your right arm.
· Rock it side to side for 30 seconds.
· Switch sides.

Quick Fix Tip: Sit with your back up against the wall.

Modify the Pose: Don’t pull your shin to your chest, just go to your level of flexibility.

Level of Difficulty: This is an easy pose. I’ll give it a 5.


FOOT TO KNEE aka Seated Tree Pose

Benefits: This pose opens your hip in an outward rotation. We are going to work on stretching and opening every muscle around the hip joint.

How do you get into this Pose?

· Sit on the floor with your legs together and straight out in front of you.
· Bring the sole of your right foot to the inside of your left knee. If that’s uncomfortable then bring your foot down your leg to your calf.
· Sit up straight; make sure your Hips are square, not leaning to one side or the other.
· Reach your arms up to the ceiling.
· Hinge at your hips and try to reach your toes.
· Try to grab your foot, if you can’t reach your foot then use a strap or a towel to help out.
· Hold for 45 seconds to 1 minute.

Quick Fix Tip: The more flexible you are the higher up the thigh your foot will go. So as you work on this pose and your hips opens up try to bring your foot closer to upper thigh, groin area.

Modify the Pose: Bring your foot down to your calf; you can also sit up on a blanket.

Level of Difficulty: This is a fairly easy pose, I’ll give it a 5.5.


KNEE TO ANKLE POSE

Benefits: This pose stretches your hips and your groin area.

How do you get into this Pose?

* Come down to the floor in a seated position.
* Bend your legs and put your right leg on top of your left leg.
* Bring your right ankle on the outside of your left knee.
* Flex both of your feet.
* Sit up tall.
* Hold for 45 seconds to 1 minute.
* Switch sides.

Quick Fix Tip: If you have really tight hips, try sitting up on a blanket.

Modify the Pose: To make this pose more challenging, lean forward from your hips.

Level of Difficulty: I don’t know about you, but I find this pose hard, I would rate it a 7.


COBBLER POSE

Benefits: This pose opens and stretches not only your hips but your lower back and your inner thighs, all of these muscles work together to keep your hips working. The sports that benefits from this pose are: running, cycling, soccer, hockey, skiing (snow & water) football and basketball, just to name a few. Sports injuries where this pose would be helpful: Piriformis syndrome, groin strain, tendonitis of the adductor muscles, and bursitis of the hips.

How do you get into this Pose?

· Sit on the floor with your legs out in front of you.
· Bring the soles of your feet together and your knees wide apart.
· Bring the heels of your feet towards your body.
· Sit up straight, grab a hold of your feet for leverage, take a deep breath in and then on your exhale hinge forward from your hips.
· Keep your back straight to get the maximum benefit from this pose.
· Don’t force yourself down in this pose focus on keeping your back straight. Whether your nose is hitting the ground or you only can lean forward a few inches, you are still getting the benefit from this pose.

Quick Fix Tip: If this pose seems easy to you, then walk your hands out in front of you, lowering your chest towards the floor. Yoga is all about body awareness, so see which feels better to you.

Modify the Pose: If you find that your knees are way up in the air, then you can move your feet away from your body or you can use your elbows to push your knees down, whichever works for you.

Level of Difficulty: For most athletes and guys in general, this is a tough pose. I would rate it a 7.5.


HAPPY COW POSE aka Cow Face Pose

Benefits: I never understood why this pose was called Happy Cow, once you get into the pose, see if you look like a Cow? But regardless of the name, it’s a great pose to stretch and open your Hips as well as your thighs, shoulders, triceps and chest.

How do you get into this Pose?

· Sit on the floor with both legs out in front of you.
· Bring your right leg on top of your left leg.
· Bring both of your feet towards your body.
· Line your knees on top of each other.
· Sit up tall.
· From here we are going to add the arm part of this pose, so bring your right arm up in the air.
· Bend your right arm at the elbow and drop it behind your back.
· Bring your left arm behind your back.
· Try to clasp your hands together.
· Hold for 45 seconds to 1 minute.
· Release your legs and your arms and switch sides.

Quick Fix Tip: Use a strap to help you with the arm part of this pose. Hold the strap with the top arm and let it fall down your back so you can grab it with the bottom arm. If your Hips are really tight then sit up on a blanket.

Modify the Pose: If the arm part of this pose is too hard to do, you can skip it for now, since this workout is for your hips. If you want more of a challenge you can lean forward in this pose, bringing your upper body towards the floor. But I think this pose is hard enough, just on its own!

Level of Difficulty: This pose is hard to do, I would rate it a 7.5.


RECLINING PIGEON POSE

Benefits: This pose helps open the hip area by stretching the muscles around the hip joint. It works on the psoas, back and the thigh muscles that are attached to the hip. You should feel a great stretch in the muscles around your hip. This is my favorite pose for the hips; it could actually be my favorite pose of all because “hips are my nemesis”. If you only have time to do one hip opener pose, this would be the one I suggest doing. It can be done anywhere, even on the floor at work or in your office.

How do you get into this Pose?

· Start by lying down on the floor, on your back.
· Bend your knees with your feet on the floor about hip distance apart.
· Bring your right foot up and place it on top of your left thigh, your ankle should hit just below the knee of the bent left leg.
· The knee of the right leg is bent out to the side, it should look like a triangle.
· Take your right arm and reach it through your legs.
· Take your left arm and bring it on the outside of your left leg.
· Try to grab your shin with both hands lacing your fingers together.
· Gently pull your shin towards your chest but only go to the point where you can keep your head and shoulders on the ground.
· Hold this pose for 1 minute and then work up to 3 minutes.
· Switch sides, so release your left shin and bring both feet to the ground.
· Put your left foot on top of your right leg.
· Your left ankle should be just below your right knee. Now I want you to take a moment and notice if there is a difference between your left and right hip. It is very common to have one side of your body tighter than the other. I’m a lefty, so my left side, which is my dominate side is tighter then my right. Our goal in yoga in general is to balance out the body. This pose in particular you might notice the imbalances in your hips. Our goal is to first notice them so we can correct the imbalances before something happens i.e.: getting injured.
· Hold this pose for 1 minute and work up to 3 minutes. Use your stop watch, if you have one, you will have a tendency not to want to hold your tighter side as long.

Quick Fix Tip: Try to relax your neck and shoulders. Don’t force this pose, stay relaxed to get the maximum benefit. If you find yourself holding your breath than you are pushing yourself to hard, back it off and remember to breathe!! Since there are so many muscles around the Hip joint, this is a pose you need to hold for a while.

Modify the Pose: If you can’t keep your head and neck on the ground when you grab your shin then grab the back of your leg instead. If you still can’t hold onto the back of your leg and keep your head and shoulders on the ground then use a strap or a towel until your hip releases then try to grab onto your shin.

Level of Difficulty: This pose is an easier version of full Pigeon, but for most of us with tight hips this is still a hard pose, so I would rate this pose a 6.5.

If you want to stay young, you need to keep your back strong and flexible. Lower back issues are one of the most common complaints I hear from new students. Usually after they start doing yoga their lower back pain goes away.
The current issue of More features a short yoga workout of mine entitled "Beat Back Pain in 8 Minutes" (excerpted from The No OM Zone by Danielle Kosecki and featuring photos from the book). Check it out!
There are many reasons for lower back pain. Sometimes it’s caused by stress or sitting too long at your desk or in your car. For women, lower back pain can be caused by wearing high heels. For new Moms, picking up babies they carry on their hips–primarily on one side–throws their backs out. Unfortunately, I see this a lot.

In sports the lower back is affected by pounding the pavements while running. When golfing the stress of the troche in the golf swing or walking the course carrying your bag can do it. Not all of us have the luxury of a caddie. There are other sports-related injuries to the lower back from being hit, usually in contact sports like football, or from quick stop and starts in tennis or basketball.

If you know your lower back pain is coming from stress, you might want to read Chapter One, Yoga for your Head. If you know your lower back is bothering you because your Core/Abs are weak, check out Chapter Seven.

Of course, if you have severe back pain, make sure to check with your doctor before you try yoga or any other exercise. Some back issues can come from what are known as “biomechanical imbalances” in your spine. Doing yoga will be great for your back in this case, because it works on not only flexibility and strength but also balancing out the imbalances in your muscles.

Now, most of us have areas of our bodies that are tighter on one side than the other. This is usually our “dominate side,” the side you use the most. If you are right handed it’s your right side, I’m a lefty, so my left side is always a little tighter.

Most of us have had lower back issues at some point in our lives. Sometimes lower back issues can be a direct result from tightness in other areas of your body like the hips or shoulders. If your lower back is chronically hurting, meaning it hurts all the time, see a doctor.

Some doctors, like Chiropractors, specialize in the back. Others, like Acupuncturists, deal with pain. Massage is also good for lower back pain. Like massage, yoga also releases tension from your muscles.

One of my students, an actor named Chris Wiehl, came to my studio because of severe lower back issues. Nothing he tried worked and he was reluctant to try yoga, since he is a “guy’s guy.” But he took the plunge and now he’s pain free.

A regular yoga practice, meaning practicing more than once a year, will help relieve the stress and tension that causes back pain. Studies have shown that yoga is the most effective exercise for relieving back pain.

I know what you’re thinking: “Olympic Yoga Workout—these are going to be hard core!” Actually they’re not. I work with a number of Olympic & professional athletes. They don’t need to sweat or build muscle in yoga—they do plenty of that in their own training. What they need to do is work on flexibility and recovery.

What I often do with such athletes—particularly during competition—is what’s known as Restorative Yoga. As the name suggests, Restorative Yoga poses help the body recover after a hard workout.

I can hear all you Type-A personalities out there now: “Boring.” Instead, how about thinking “relaxing”? Recovery is essential to high performance (Type-A’s take note). As a fellow Type-A, I see restorative yoga much as I see my meditation practice: Though it’s always a war with myself to meditate in the morning, I do it because I know the benefits.

So, for those of you who are competing at a high level—or for those who are merely average, everyday, balls-to-the-wall weekend warriors with tired and aching bodies come Monday morning—following are a few post-Olympics poses. I suggest you add them to the end of your hard training sessions. And remember, restorative poses are great for anyone who’s fatigued, weak or stressed out from daily life, you don’t have to actually be an Olympian. Restorative poses are also useful to practice when you are sick, injured or recovering from childbirth.

Restorative Poses for post-workout recovery:

• Breathe Work—calms your body & nervous system.
• Legs up the Wall Pose—anti-aging pose reverses gravity, relieving stress and blood pooling in the legs
• Easy Spinal Twist—moves the spine in all directions to promote well-being, nice stretch for glutes, core, back and shoulders
• Childs Pose—opens the lower back, opens up breathing, gentle stretch for leg and back muscles
• Corpse Pose—lengthening and relaxing, great for breath work

Restorative Yoga focuses on relaxing the body in restful postures. But note that “rest” is different than sleep. Rest provides the body an oppotunity to renew and heal. Countless studies have proven the physical and emotional benefits of this.

So get going with your Olympic recovery so you’ll be ready for London 2012!

You began taking my Yoga for Athletes® class around two years ago. What drew you to it initially?

While training for the Pan American Games (one year out from Olympic Trials), I needed to incorporate an additional component in my swimming routine. At first, one of my teammates and I went to a spin class for cardio (as a cross-trainer). The teacher offered to let us take the yoga class afterwards for free. We’d been training so hard and were so sore, we figured, why not?

At first I was not a fan of yoga. It moved too slowly and it was hard not to be competitive in class. (You know: I can stretch further, get into the pose faster and deeper.) But after coming a few times, I started to notice how fast I would swim the following day. It really helped me focus on stretching, which was an important piece of my training that I kept overlooking.

How exactly does yoga help your swimming?

It works on flexibility and strength. Since most of us spend two-to-four hours each day in the pool six days-a-week, we do not spend a lot of time focusing on stretching and working on flexibility. Yoga makes you really focus on holding the poses, and most importantly, becoming aware of your body.

So yoga helps with your conditioning for swimming?

Yes. I think yoga has helped with my core strength, which is extremely important in swimming. Everything comes from your core—every stroke you take is initiated by your core muscles. I also think that balance is really important to swimming, because you have to maintain a streamlined position in the water, and that means you have to have amazing body position and alignment.

The core strength and balance from yoga directly applies to your swimming.

Core stability is important to improve posture that will make you float higher in the water, which ultimately makes you more aerodynamic. Every stroke you take should be driven from your core. The core strength you build in yoga makes it easier to maintain this balance in the water. And body position is the key factor in swimming. By maintaining core strength and learning to balance while you float in the water, you can become as streamlined and efficient as possible to maximize your speed. Making the least effort possible, but covering the furthest distance, is our goal. Maintaining balance and core strength makes this possible.

Does the breath work in yoga help with your breathing in the pool?

Yes, we use our breath work to lower our heart rates, and to also push through pain. Being a swimmer and not being able to breathe at all times makes it very important that when we are breathing we use your breath as efficiently as possible.

Talk a little more about how improved flexibility impacts your swimming.

Flexibility is important to swimmers because it lengthens our muscles, which makes them stronger and healthier. And stretching is a great way to recover after a hard workout. Flexibility maximizes your range of motion, which is extremely important in any sport, but especially swimming.

So yoga helps swimmers with recovery.

Personally, I use yoga to recover. It allows me to take the time to stretch my muscles so that the next day I push myself harder than the day before. You’d be surprised how tight you get after a swimming workout, and how yoga allows you to stretch and recover. I always swim fast the next morning if I’ve done yoga the previous day. Also, after I fly to a competition, I usually do yoga in the hotel room because it reduces the stiffness from the flight.

Stretch also helps lessen sports-related injuries, particularly when recurring motion is involved.

Swimmers overuse their shoulders and knees, causing weakness. Yoga allows you to stretch and strengthen without putting too much stress on the joints. If more swimmers were to use yoga, I truly believe they would see less injury, because they would not be as tight in their shoulders and would have a larger range of motion.