Lauren Jacobs talks about her upcoming Yoga for Athletes workshop
From the March 12th blog of Active Life DC
Athletes – curious about how you can supplement your training with yoga? Lauren Jacobs will lead a Yoga for Athletes workshop this Sunday (March 17th) at Vida Metropole.
Check out this short interview with Lauren to learn more about the workshop and what you can expect to learn by attending.
1. Do participants need previous yoga experience? Will mats be available to rent?
Lauren: While previous yoga experience may be helpful, allowing students to more deeply and fluidly into and between postures, it is absolutely not needed for this workshop! We will utilize the mirrors in the space to investigate the proper alignment in each posture and provide modifications and props to help make this practice accessible to new(er) students.
Mats, blocks, straps, and towels will be available to participants free of charge!
2. What is power yoga?
Lauren: Power Yoga is a fitness-based approach to vinyasa-style, flow, yoga. Heavily influenced by the Ashtanga yoga method, Power Yoga attempts to make Ashtanga-style asanas more accessible to the average, everyday individual through the use of plain language and a larger focus on strength and flexibility than on spirituality. It is not only a great way to build strength and flexibility but also connect body and mind AND get a good workout in for the day!
Click the image for a larger version.3. Is there a particular group of athletes that will benefit the most from the workshop?
Lauren: No, this workshop will have something for everyone. I really wanted this workshop to be accessible and useful to all athletes and designed it to benefit everyone from a child gymnast to a twenty-year-old baseball player or a sixty-year-old marathon runner. The most common sports related injuries, whether occuring in the bodies of recreational athletes or professionals, in soccer players or softball players, usually arise when athletes disconnect to, overuse or abuse their bodies. This workshop will focus on learning to be in tune with what is going on throughout the body at every moment, something from which all athletes will benefit . In addition, it will focus on a range of common sports related injuries — from hip pain to hamstring pulls, knee injuries to wrist problems, shoulder injuries, ankle sprains, and so on — and postures to avoid each of them.
4. Will participants learn techniques they can use independently after the workshop, to help avoid future injuries?
Lauren: Absolutely! In fact, I plan to e-mail a master list of common injuries and postures to avoid them to the participants after the workshop. In addition, Yoga Journal has a free database of postures and step-by-step instructions for each available online; participants can always refer to this directory if they forget the correct alignment or benefits of the postures.
For more information on registering and transportation options, check out our Yoga for Athletes event listing.
