Lament Over Daylight Saving Time

Today I want to discuss some of the benefits of Yoga Nidra, how rest and napping help rejuvenate you, and how crazy Daylight Saving Time is.

It’s Daylight Saving Time.

You know what’s weird? Time. 

Yes, time. 

What’s also weird is that a helpful student chimed in to let me know that it’s not “Daylight Savings Time” but rather Daylight Saving (no s) Time. Good to know. Thanks!

Today is one of the worst “time events” that happens twice a year. 

That’s right. Today the U.S. switches to Daylight Saving Time. Well, everyone but Arizona and Hawaii. It’s nice to know that some states have kept their sanity. 

Why Daylight Saving Time?! 

Every organism on this planet has some sort of a rhythm and sleep cycle that is dependent upon the circadian rhythm, the natural rhythm of the daylight hours as dictated by the seasons. This rhythm directs cycles from when to sleep, when to eat, when to migrate, etc. It makes sense. 

What doesn’t make sense to me is the fact that as humans we are advanced enough to send Gobots to Mars 203 MILLION miles away and have them send pics back to us in real time as it rolls around collecting specimens and amusing itself yet we don’t have the smarts to keep to the natural rhythm that all organisms on this planet have been following since, oh, the beginning of life on this planet. Instead humans create a rhythm of life based not on the seasons or the natural impulses of our bodies, impulses that have been ingrained into our very DNA, but rather an artificial rhythm set to a clock that is designed to make us more productive and earn more money. 

If that were not bad enough, then every 6 months we have to mess it up with adding or taking away Daylight Saving Time. 

I don’t need to have an opinion about it … but apparently I do. 

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Putting Daylight Saving To Rest

Luckily I’m not alone here. Thankfully some really smart people like Kenneth P. Wright Jr. Ph.D at the Sleep and Chronobiology lab at the University of Colorado Boulder thinks that for optimal physical, mental, and emotional health we should do away with Daylight Saving Time and stick with one standard time, for crying out loud. (If you care about a reference for Write’s work, whether or not I’m not making this up, you can click here.)

But until we all come to our senses and ditch Daylight Saving, those of us who are in the US are waking up an hour earlier today (except Arizona and Hawaii—starkly different places but who at least share a modicum of sanity). 

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Solutions For Fatigue

So, here’s what I propose. 

More napping. 

Yes, more napping. I mean, I’m about a third the way into Scott Carney’s book about Dreams and I love how he is exploring the fact that throughout history and cultures, before the industrial revolution and electricity (light bulbs meant people could work longer), people would follow a more natural pattern of sleeping and sleep about 9 hours a night and would also take a siesta in the afternoon which follows the natural rhythms of a person’s body. 

This is both sane and healthy. 

You know, sleeping a solid 7–9 hours is normal and healthy. Then, it’s natural to start to wane mentally and energetically after about 8 hours of being awake, after lunch time, usually. This is the PERFECT time to take a bit of a nap. It’s not being lazy. It’s being healthy. 

You don’t need to nap for long. In fact, 20–30 minutes will do absolute wonders for your overall wellness. Plus, you don’t even have to fall all the way asleep. You can just rest. It’s a revolution!

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More Productive with Yoga Nidra

But what about being productive and all that? 

Well, turns out that when you follow this more natural cycle of sleep and allow yourself a sanctioned nap in the middle of the day, your brain functions even better, your emotions are more regulated and for those who care … YOU’RE EVEN MORE PRODUCTIVE.  

To boot, you have better ideas, tend to think out of the box more often, and are generally more creative and able to learn. In fact, many of the outliers of art and industry— math and science geniuses, tech gurus, writers and artists—are ardent nappers. 

Yep.

And guess what? Listening to a Yoga Nidra recording serves this need for a mid-day nap PERFECTLY. 

So as a way of compassionately responding to this insane biannual change to/from Daylight Savings, I’m offering you a free Yoga Nidra for deep relaxation. 

You’re welcome. 

And if you’d like to make this resting and napping a regular part of your life, please join me for my weekly live, online Yoga Nidra class, happening at 9 am MDT. You can participate from the comfort of your own home (hell, your own bed). We’ll breath, move, talk a little, but then the main event will be me leading you through a luxurious Yoga Nidra practice where you get practice waking up to your True Being through the process of engineering that liminal state between waking and sleeping. That’s the Nidra state. 

Truly we are waking up with the yoga of sleep. 

Even if you can’t make it live, by registering, you’ll get the replay so you can do this Yoga Nidra practice any time you want, as often as you want. 

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So next week, as your dragging your butt around the office, sluggish and tired from the time change, tell your boss that at about 2 pm every day, you’ll have to excuse yourself, that you have an urgent 30 minute appointment which involves you lying down, closing your eyes, and napping your way to enlightenment. 

Your boss will thank you later. 

If you need a note from your yoga teacher for permission, let me know.  

I’ll send one. Or better yet, just print this one =>

Hope to see you at the Live Online Yoga Nidra class and enjoy this free Yoga Nidra recording for Deep Relaxation. 

Together, we can get through this nightmare that is Daylight Saving!

White-Eyes—Seeing The Divine In Everything

Today, I want share one of my favorite winter poems, White-Eyes by Mary Oliver. 

First of all, if you haven’t already, ‘tis the season to sign up for my 31-Day Meditation Challenge. It starts January 1 and lasts all through the month. The challenge is simply to meditate any way you wish for 15 minutes a day, every day for the entire month. I’ll be supporting you every step of the way with daily emails, live group meditations sessions, and plenty of recordings, poetry, links, and stories to make the experience very rich. 

Give the world a gift by practicing drawing inward, getting quiet in heart and mind, so you can present a YOU that is more mindful, less reactive, and rooted in compassion. 

It costs only $31 and you can get your tuition back if you complete the challenge. Make a meditation posse and sign up!

Onto the poem!

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Mary Oliver

What I love so much about Mary Oliver's poetry is that so often in her poetry she is speaking to the eternal, the Everything, God, or the Universe by simply reflecting what she sees in nature.

And like in her poem “Bone” I love how she willingly admits that she doesn't fully know what God is but is "playing at the edges of knowing" and that perhaps it’s not about knowing at all, but rather it’s about “seeing, touching, and loving.”

It’s about being present with senses and heart.

Through her poetry, Mary Oliver helps us all to create a touchpoint to the Divine that is present both in our outer and inner worlds and opens us to seeing, touching, and loving as she steers us away from trying to make it all make sense. 

Her poem White-Eyes is about seeing the Divine in something as simple yet complex as the wind dancing through the tree tops and the snow silently drifting down from the heavens. It’s an exposé about how with the “right eyes” or with attuned sight, we might be able to see the loving Divine present in all things.

I hope you enjoy it. 

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White-Eyes

BY MARY OLIVER


In winter

all the singing is in

         the tops of the trees

          where the wind-bird


with its white eyes

shoves and pushes

         among the branches.

          Like any of us

he wants to go to sleep,

but he's restless—

         he has an idea,

          and slowly it unfolds

from under his beating wings

as long as he stays awake.

         But his big, round music, after all,

          is too breathy to last.

So, it's over.

In the pine-crown

         he makes his nest,

          he's done all he can.

I don't know the name of this bird,

I only imagine his glittering beak

         tucked in a white wing

          while the clouds—

which he has summoned

from the north—

         which he has taught

          to be mild, and silent—

thicken, and begin to fall

into the world below

         like stars, or the feathers

               of some unimaginable bird

that loves us,

that is asleep now, and silent—

         that has turned itself

          into snow.

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I’d love to hear your thoughts on what this poem says to you.

Drop me a line, I read every email I get. 

May we all be our best by remember those essential phrases:

• I love you.

• I’m sorry.

• How can I help?
  
  

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Live Classes, In-person and Online:

• Yoga For Stiffer Bodies on Saturdays at 7:30–8:30 am at Mosaic Yoga

• Live online Yoga Nidra class Sundays at 9 am. Access the live class or its replay from anywhere in the world.  

• Vinyasa Mondays at 12 pm at Mosaic Yoga

• I teach a Restore Yoga and Yoga Nidra workshop on the first Sunday of every month at Mosaic Yoga

• Plus, mark your calendar for January 1 because I’m hosting an in-person yoga class to begin the new year. Together we’ll plant our Sankalpa, the seed of our intentions, through ritual, movement, meditation, and breath. Mosaic Yoga.

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Yoga Retreats 2024

Yoga for Runners

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I recently wrote a blog for Hugger Mugger about yoga and running. It was fun to write and I wanted to give you a snippet here with the option to check out the full article on their blog.

Yoga and Running

Forever, I’ve heard that yoga and running just don’t mix but I don’t believe that to be true. I’ve had runners tell me that doing yoga hurts their running and yogis tell me that running hurts their yoga.

Personally, I’ve been running and doing yoga most of my life and I understand how both practices complement each other. This article focuses on how yoga can help your running practice and perhaps I’ll write another article about how running helps your yoga practice.

Do you run and practice yoga? I’d love to hear from you about your experiences with both. Leave a comment below or reach out here.

Here is the article.

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INTRODUCTION

Growing up, I was never very athletic. I never really enjoyed team sports. I was average at baseball, soccer, and basketball—scrawny and uncoordinated. I didn’t even bother to try out for football. 

But early on, I discovered a love for running and have been running most of my life. I found joy in running, not in running the fastest or the longest but rather just in the running itself. For me, the joy comes from the solitude of a long run and from the full-body movement of running, especially when I manage a comfortable and sustainable pace. Running also clears my mind and often even feels spiritual to me. Growing up, I never felt better than during and after a long run, especially a trail run.

That is, until I discovered yoga. 

When I started practicing yoga in my early 20s I was excited to discover another activity that wasn’t a competitive sport and also left me feeling as good in body, mind, and spirit the way running did. But when I told my yoga friends that in addition to practicing yoga I also enjoyed running, they’d often raise their eyebrows above their bindi and matter-of-factly inform me that yoga and running just don’t mix. Yet as someone who does both I beg to differ. On the contrary, yoga has improved my running and has kept me running well and largely injury-free for decades. 

In many ways running has improved my yoga practice by giving me more stamina, focus, and breath capacity. However, in this article I want to explore some of the many ways that yoga can benefit runners and how incorporating yoga into your training routine can make a significant difference in your enjoyment, performance, and longevity of your running.

THE PHYSICAL BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR RUNNERS

1. BETTER FLEXIBILITY

One of the biggest benefits of yoga for runners is better flexibility. Running primarily involves repetitive movements in a forward direction which almost always leads to tight muscles. Tight muscles contribute to reduced range of motion which means that the tighter a runner’s muscles get, the more effort they have to use to make their body move. Yoga postures stretch and lengthen muscles and help runners enjoy greater flexibility and mobility, a benefit that feels like  finally, someone has released the parking brake on your running. 

Live Yoga Nidra & Worst-Case Scenario

Today, just a quick note and fun read. 

I hope you’re having an amazing week. I hope you’re opening your eyes to majesty which is around us all the time, the miraculous in the mundane, the beauty in the boring. 

I have been nursing an achilles heel injury for many months but finally was able to get out onto the trails above Salt Lake City today for an incredible run. It was like heaven!

Live Yoga Nidra Class Tonight, August 30th.  

When: 6–7:15 pm MDT 

Where: Integrative Health, 1174 East Graystone Way #15. 

No need to pre-register, just grab your bestie and head on over. 

Suggested donation is $15. I take cash or Venmo  or original, signed, and authenticated copies of John Coltrane’s 1957 album, Blue Train.

Bring a yoga mat, a blanket, and an eye mask. We’ll move a little, breath, talk a bit, but mostly get into our very relaxing Yoga Nidra practice. 

In-Person Asana Classes

When: Friday September 1st
Where: Mosaic Yoga 1991 South 1100 East, Salt Lake City (map).
All Mosaic classes are by donation. I accept cash, Venmo, (or John Coltrane records) 

Power Hour 6–7 am MDT:
An all-levels hour of wake-up yoga with an easy warm-up including Sun Salutations and full-body mobilizations, followed by standing, balance, and grounding poses.

Mindfulness 7:15–8:15 am MDT:
This is an opportunity to sit and meditate with a group of other mindfulness practitioners in a welcoming environment. It’s perfect whether you are a new or experienced meditator. 

Power 1 8:45–10 am MDT:
This 75-minute class weaves a spiritual or conscious theme into a Wanderlust format of poses which alternate between short flowing and static sequences to arrive at a therapeutic, cohesive, and well-rounded yoga experience. This class will feature warmups, sun salutations, standing poses, approachable standing and arm balances, core work, hips, and a solid cool down and savasana. I’ll be bringing the clarinet!

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Finally, the other day we were walking through the mall and as any self-respecting father would, I bought my 8-year-old a copy of The Worst-Case Scenario Survival handbook, cuz you know… you never know, and I was pleased to see him so enthralled by it. Here he is walking through the mall glued to the entry about how to deliver a baby in the back seat of a car. #proudparent. 

Well, come to find out that this book was actually written by our pediatrician’s son. Small world. Brilliant world, but small world. 

I was originally introduced to this book many years ago (so I’m happy that the family has an updated version) and as a throwback, today, I wanted to share with you a piece I wrote called The Yoga Worst-Case Scenario Survivors Handbook. Just like yoga, though it’s a little dated it’s still relevant. Also, I originally wrote it about surviving yoga in the arid climate of the Utah deserts so if you don’t understand the arid air reference, now you will. 

I hope you’ll enjoy the article and I hope to see you in class. I’ll be leaving  back for France early next week. 

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One of my favorite and most useful books in my library is one called The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook.

Its bright yellow hard-backed cover makes it durable so I can take it with me everywhere, and easy to find when I’m in a pinch. This Survival Handbook contains a lot of information; you know, practical and essential know-how for things like giving your cat the Heimlich Maneuver, how to escape your car when it has been completely submerged in water, and how to escape from killer bees.

Live Yoga Nidra, Live Yoga Classes, Yoga Retreat Tuscany, Mountain Biking

We’ve had a great time visiting the US and I’m heading home to Nice in only about 10 days!

I have a few more classes I’m teaching before I leave and I’d love to see you before I go. 

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In-Person Asana Classes
Friday, September 1, 2023
Mosaic Yoga 1991 South 1100 East, Salt Lake City (map).

All Mosaic classes are by donation. I accept cash, Venmo, or original, signed, and authenticated copies of John Coltrane’s 1957 album, Blue Train. Thank you.

Power Hour 6–7 am MDT:
An all-levels hour of wake-up yoga with an easy warm-up including Sun Salutations and full-body mobilizations, followed by standing, balance, and grounding poses.

Mindfulness 7:15–8:15 am MDT:
This is an opportunity to sit and meditate with a group of other mindfulness practitioners in a welcoming environment. It’s perfect whether you are a new or experienced meditator. 

Power 1 8:45–10 am MDT:
This 75-minute class weaves a spiritual or conscious theme into a Wanderlust format of poses which alternate between short flowing and static sequences to arrive at a therapeutic, cohesive, and well-rounded yoga experience. This class will feature warmups, sun salutations, standing poses, approachable standing and arm balances, core work, hips, and a solid cool down and savasana. I’ll be bringing the clarinet!

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Live, In-Person Yoga Nidra Class

Wednesday, August 30th 6–7:15 pm
Integrated Wellness 1174 East Graystone Way #15, Salt Lake City, Utah 84106

This class will feature opening to sacred space with some shared breath, a discussion about the benefits of Yoga Nidra, some pre-Nidra breathing & mindfulness practices, then a 30-minute Yoga Nidra practice, followed by some brief integration practices.

Bring a yoga mat, blanket, bolster (or extra blanket) and an eye mask or pillow.

Price $15 ($10 if you’re a subscribing member to Sunday’s class). No need to register or pay in advance. Just show up and you can pay in cash or with Venmo.

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Plus, I had the really, really cool opportunity to be interviewed by two amazing women, Danielle LeCourt and Jamie Bangerter, on their amazing podcast called The Art of Mountain Biking. 

We discussed how rest is an often underemphasized skill that supports, everything we do including sports such as mountain biking, but also the full-contact sport of every-day life. As with any skill, we need a systematized way of approaching it. I loved where our discussion went and I hope you’ll take a moment to enjoy it too. 

Listen by clicking here or click here to listen on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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Last but not least, I’ve been brushing up on my Renaissance history because in about 6 weeks, I’ll be in Tuscany offering a retreat with an optional pre-treat—walking tours through Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance. We have a few spots left both in the retreat as well as the pre-treat (I say “we” because I’ll be hosting the retreat with Kim Dastrup). Please grab your bestie and join us for this incredible adventure. 

Become a Leader In Your Field: Teach Yoga Nidra

Who Should Teach Yoga Nidra?

Want to stand out as a yoga or meditation teacher? 
Teach Yoga Nidra.

Want to be an extraordinary therapist with a powerful resource that can access ANY client’s deepest needs? 
Teach Yoga Nidra. 

Want to be the kind of school teacher who can meet, welcome, then and neutralize stress and anxiety of your students? 
Teach Yoga Nidra. 

Want to learn how to guide a team to unheard of levels of performance? 
Teach Yoga Nidra.

Want to help yourself and others resource their next-level creativity?
Teach Yoga Nidra. 

Want to learn how to make lasting changes in relationships for yourself and others?
Teach Yoga Nidra.

Yoga Nidra is an efficient and effective catalyst for massive personal and group growth. 

Truly, anybody can do it. 

That said, learning to be a skillful facilitator, one who can speak from the power of their own voice to meet the individual needs of their clients, is rare indeed. 

My passion is not only to teach you about what Yoga Nidra is and why it’s so crucial for today’s world, but more importantly how to uncover the incredible facilitator that is already inside of you, the one who knows how to make a massive and positive impact on your audience in ONLY the way you know how. 

Yoga Nidra Teacher Training

My live, in-person Yoga Nidra training runs August 17–20, 2023 in Salt Lake City. Please, walk, run, fly, or teleport to Salt Lake City and join us. It will be such an honor to work with you.

If you’re not close to SLC (or your teleport machine is in the shop), now’s the time to join my pre-recorded online Yoga Nidra teacher training program. 

I’d love to have you join me in this conversation of understanding ourselves and making a powerful and positive impact on the world by learning to facilitate Yoga Nidra and learning to Wake Up with the Yoga of Sleep. 

Please reach out with any questions. 

Scott Moore (E-RYT 500, YACEP, RYS) is an American-born international yoga and Yoga Nidra teacher, mentor, and author. He’s been a career yoga teacher since 2003 and has logged over 25,000 teaching and training hours. He is the founder of Waking Up with the Yoga of Sleep, a method of Yoga Nidra instruction and teacher training which celebrates students and teachers in 43 countries. He is the author of three books, Practical Yoga Nidra, 5-Minute Manifesting Journal, and 20 Yoga Nidra Scripts Vol. 1. Scott teaches trainings, classes, and retreats in the US, Europe, and Asia and is currently living in Southern France. When he’s not practicing or teaching yoga, he loves to play the sax and clarinet, trail run, and travel with his family. 

Best Online Yoga Nidra Training YET!

How are you?

You’re receiving this email because you’ve either registered or shown interest in my Yoga Nidra teacher training.

Whether you would like to learn to teach Yoga Nidra like an expert or have previously registered for my training and would like to dive deeper or have support to finish this in-depth training, I’ve built a course just for you. 

When: June 10–11; 17–18, 2023

8 am to 12 pm MDT or 4–8 pm CET

This is a 20-hour live and online course designed to support anyone who is going trough my Yoga Nidra teacher training, Facilitating Transformation with the Yoga of Sleep. 

My Yoga Nidra teacher training is rated among the best online Yoga Nidra teacher trainings in the world. This course allows you to go deeper into the vast and fascinating subject of Yoga Nidra than you could with just the online course alone.

It gives you the motivation and encouragement to finish the course so you’re ready to teach when it’s done. It also provides you with opportunities to teach to a wonderful cohort and gives you personalized attention about how you can make a unique impact on your students with Yoga Nidra

Returning Students

If you have already purchased my online Yoga Nidra training, this course will support you to complete the course, offer you a wonderful opportunity to work with a cohort to practice teaching, and will allow you to receive personalized attention about your UNIQUE perspective and need for Yoga Nidra.

New Students

If you are a new teacher, you will also purchase and watch the online course in tandem with attention this live support course. This allows you to have the best Yoga Nidra leaning experience possible. It gives you a wonderful cohort of like-minded people, allows you to ask live questions, gives you the opportunity to practice teaching with other students, and gives you individualized attention to your comments, questions, and how YOU will make a difference by teaching Yoga Nidra. 

Let me (re)introduce myself or reintroduce myself. 

I’m scott Moore, senior yoga and mindfulness teacher, author and creator of Waking Up with the Yoga of Sleep, a celebrated and revolutionary style of Yoga Nidra, rated among the top 2 online Yoga Nidra teacher trainings in the world. I’ve been teaching yoga since 2003 and Yoga Nidra distance 2008. I’m also a registered school of yoga and Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider. My books include: Practical Yoga Nidra, 20 Yoga Nidra Scripts Vol. 1 (included in this course), and 5-MInute Manifesting Journal. 

I’ve spent the past 20 years studying, practicing, and teaching yoga , Yoga Nidra and meditation. I’ve been teaching and mentoring other teachers for over 15 years and I’ve discovered that EACH TEACHER is unique and powerful in their ability to reach  certain people better than anybody else. 

It’s my passion to help you find your voice as a teacher and to show you how to find those students who are waiting for you. 

This course is designed to give you the personalized attention you need to maximize your impact as a Yoga Nidra facilitator. 

How this course works:

On your own timeline, you will review the contents of the pre-recorded online training and then we meet for 4 5-hour live, online Zoom sessions to go deeper, expand the concepts, ask questions and offer comments, and especially to practice teaching each other Yoga Nidra.

Pre-recorded online portion

The online portion is a robust course with:

• Engaging video lectures where we study both the what and why of Yoga Nidra as well as how to become an extraordinary facilitator that makes a difference in the lives of your students. We explore stories and myths, science and psychology.

• Specialized Yoga Nidra practices designed to help you become an extraordinary Yoga Nidra facilitator (cool!)

• PDF with breathing and mindfulness practices that you can use for yourself and print off to give to your students

• Sections about how to become a successful Yoga Nidra instructor, meaning how to incorporate your Yoga Nidra skills into an existing class, create a stand-alone Yoga Nidra class, create workshops, courses, retreats, etc and market yourself to get paid what you’re worth to offer this amazing skill to the world. 

20-Hour Live Zoom Portion

Then when we come together online, we can go deeper into the subject and practice teaching. I understand that every teacher brings something unique to the mix and I want to help you discover or optimize what your gifts are. 

When you’ve completed the course, you’ll receive a certificate of completion as well as continuing education hours for Yoga Alliance if you are registered with them. 

Included in this course is:

• 160+ page detailed manual

• Lifetime access to the complete 50-hour online training

• Lifetime access to the full audio and video recordings of the live online training

• A library of dozens of Yoga Nidra recordings

• Over 100 pages of Yoga Nidra scripts so you can start teaching right away

• A course of profound relaxation (think how much your family members and coworkers are going to love you!)

• A deeper understanding of Self through the practice of Yoga Nidra

• Certificate of completion

I believe in the principle of adopting, adapting, then innovating. Like I mentioned, you get my booklet of Yoga Nidra scripts so you can adopt the principles right away and teach quality and specialized Yoga Nidra classes such as:

• Yoga Nidra for Grief

• Yoga Nidra for Goals

• Yoga Nidra for Healing

• Yoga Nidra for Sleep

• Yoga Nidra for Stress

• Yoga Nidra for Relaxed Alertness

• And more

You’ll begin to adapt those scripts to sound more and more like you. Then using the principles you learn in the training, you’ll be able to innovate by creating your own style of Yoga Nidra done in only the way you can do it, and more importantly made for the people who are going to receive this practice from you better than anybody else. 

If you’ve been thinking of becoming a Yoga Nidra teacher this is really the opportunity to maximize your training and truly become the best Yoga Nidra facilitator possible. 

If you’ve already taken some version of my training and would like to get a refresher or some support to finish the course, this is both the opportunity to have the most support possible as well as to get the most up-to-date information. 

I’m so confident that you’ll love this training that I’ll offer you a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Please join me!

Yoga For Walking, Hiking, and Trekking

What’s up?! How are you?

Today I want to share with you the perfect yoga poses for walking, hiking, and trekking. But first, here in Nice, the weather and temp has been such a dream and our family has been taking advantage by exploring the trails and hiking in this area. There’s an exciting network of great trails (and steps) leading up the craggy mountains of the Azure Coast that tops out at a mountain-top castle, situated right next to Elton John’s lush villa, overlooking the cerulean waters of the bay below. So beautiful!

(Elton, if you’re reading, I’m available for yoga sessions at your house and I’ll bring my sax!)

How about you, do you like walking, hiking, or trekking? Maybe you have any plans this year for travels which include walking the Camino, trekking through the Himalayas, or exploring the cobblestone streets of European medieval cities. 

Lately, several friends and clients have asked me for some suggestions for yoga poses they can do to help them to recover after a long day hiking trails or walking destination cities so they can stay mobile and energized. 

So, whether you like to hike or walk near your home or are planning a trekking vacation sometime this year, I thought I’d offer a few suggestions for some essential poses you can do to help you stay in top shape and maintain your wellbeing. 

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Yoga for Hiking, Walking,
and Trekking

Here’s a few of my favorite prep and recovery poses for walking, hiking, and trekking. 

First, remember to always incorporate conscious breathing into every pose and even try to be conscious of your breath while you’re walking or hiking. Keeping a good flow of oxygen supports everything from your heart, your brain, your muscles, and even your joints. 

Breathing is not optional!

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Pre-Walk/Hike/Trek

Better than starting your day with stretches, it’s much more important to take just a few minutes to warm up the body. A lot of wear and tear on the body occurs when we subject it to force and movement when it’s simply not prepared. Here’s a few of my go-to warm up poses.

Sumo Squat to Forward Fold or
Utkatasana to Uttanasana Variations

Start with your feet a little wider than your hips, hands on thighs, blocks, or the floor. Inhale and bend your knees up to (but not more than) a 90° angle, flatten your spine, stick your butt out, and look forward. 

As you exhale, straighten your legs, round your spine, tuck your tail, and look between your calves. 

This combo helps to loosen knees, spine, and calves while warming up your quads, the front thigh muscles. You may also find this stretches your hamstrings, calves, and lower back. Make the stretch very light because remember that more important than stretching, your primary goal is to warm up joints and muscles while oxygenating your system.

High Crescent Lunge Pose or Asta Chandrasana 

Hold this pose for 5–8 breaths on each side. It helps you to warm up your quads, the front thigh muscles, as well as offer a gentle groin stretch (the psoas). It also builds the proprioception (your sense of movement, body position, and force) in both your feet so you are more connected to and feel sure with the ground beneath your feet. Poses like this help your feet to navigate uneven ground. 

Figure-4 Chair or Utkatasana Variation

I love this pose! Inhale, bend your knees and as you exhale, cross one ankle over the other thigh in a figure 4 stretch and stick your butt out until you find a light stretch. Hold it for 6–8 breaths each side. This pose may challenge your balance so you can also opt to hold onto something while you do this pose. 

This pose also helps to warm up and build your proprioception muscles in your ankles, feet, and calves. It also gives you a light stretch in the performs muscle, the deep muscle under the glutes that get sore after a long day of walking, hiking, and strangely enough, sitting (read a long flight). 

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Post-Walk/Hike/Trek

Kneeling Lunge or Anjaneayasana 

Kneel down, perhaps with a cushion or towel under your knee. Extend the opposite leg forward and then bend that knee up to a right angle (not more). Find a moderate stretch in the groin of the back leg, especially as you press your back foot into the mat, toenail-side down, and lifting your pubic bone slightly. Hold this pose for 8–10 deep breaths on each side and visualize your breath dropping into the muscle you’re stretching. 

This is meant to be a groin stretch (psoas muscle). The psoas is like a bungee cord that connects your upper inner-thigh, through your pelvis, to the lower lumbar region of your spine. When contracted, it lifts your legs toward your trunk each time you take a step or pulls your trunk toward your legs like in a sit-up. When it gets tight, it can cause a lot of tension in your lower back making you wish you’d packed both your chiropractor as well as your infrared sauna on your trekking trip through the Himalayas.

Half Splits or Ardha Hanumanasana

While in the kneeling lunge position, straighten your front leg and as you exhale, fold toward the knee, holding a comfortable stretch. You may bend your knee as much as you’d like to get the stretch in the very center of the muscle and not in the attachments, behind the knee or high in the butt. Keep your foot flexed toward your shin.  

I love how this pose because it’s such a perfect stretch for the hamstrings and the calves. 

Seated Forward Fold or Paschimottanasana

While in a seated position, extend your legs out and hold onto your feet or behind your calves. As you exhale, fold into a comfortable stretch and hold this pose for 8–10 breaths. 

This is a beautiful stretch for both the lower back as well as the hamstrings and possibly the calves. It’s also a wonderful way to get grounded after a long day of walking, hiking, or trekking. Remember to bend your knees as much as you’d like to avoid pulling the attachments of the muscles. The goal of this pose is not to have straight legs but rather to hold a moderate stretch in all the places you may feel this pose. Attempt to keep the stretch in the belly of the muscles. 

You may find it beneficial to sit on a cushion or a block as you do this stretch, especially if you’re very tight. 

Seated Twist or Ardha Matsyandrasana Variation

Keeping your spine mobile is essential to keep all the other parts of your body in top condition and twists are excellent for that. Since you’ll be coming from Paschimottanasana, seated forward fold, it’s easy to cross one leg over the other knee and wrap your opposite elbow around your opposite knee. Lift your spine as you inhale and give yourself a slightly deeper twist on the exhale. Hold this pose for 6–8 breaths on each side. You may choose to keep your other leg either extended on the floor or bent. 

This pose helps to lengthen and mobilize your spine while also stretching the deep and superficial muscles of the trunk and around the spine. 

Cobbler’s Pose or Baddha Konasana

One of my go-to poses for inner-thigh stretches. Stretching all the muscles in the legs are important, not just the hamstrings. Tight inner-thighs can make your knees track incorrectly which over time can cause knee, hip, and ankle problems.

Sit with your feet together. Inhale and lengthen your spine then exhale and fold forward toward your legs with your spine straight until you feel a moderate stretch. You may choose to round your back a little but try to bend through your hips more than bending through your spine. With each exhale you may go a little deeper. Like seated forward fold or Paschimottanasana, you may find it beneficial to sit on a cushion or block.

Lying Down Figure 4 Stretch 

This pose will add years to your life! 

Lie down flat on your back and cross one ankle over the opposite knee. Cross your right ankle over your left thigh, reach your right hand through your thighs, and clasp both hands around your left thigh. Hold this pose for 8–10 breaths. Switch sides. 

Rest or Savasana

Dedicated rest is too often overlooked but is essential for recovering your body and energy. After a long day of being out and about, and after even a short sequence of poses, give yourself 10–15 minutes (or more) to lie down and settle. You may choose to focus on your breath or set to memory all the beautiful things you experienced during your trek. Your body, mind, and spirit will appreciate it, not to mention your trail partner … especially if that trail partner has 4 legs. 

Now you’re ready for a day of exploring on your feet, be it a pilgrimage, a hike, or a walking through a city.

Drop me a line or comment below and let me know how you like this short sequence of poses. 

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If you’d like more of this, I’m offering an online yoga workshop on Saturday, April 29 from 9–11 am MDT (5 pm CET) where I’ll lead you through 4–5 short sequences like this that you can use every day to optimize your walking, hiking, and trekking. 

This class is perfect for all levels of yoga. 

You’ll leave feeling transformed in body, mind and spirit. Plus, you can take it with you wherever you go to maintain feeling amazing. 

We’ll start off with a few gentle warm-up sequences, follow up with some must-have stretching, grounding, and feel-good sequences, and finish with some luxurious cold-down and grounding sequences. We’ll have a decadent savasana and a Yoga Nidra so by the end you’ll feel like you’re floating on the clouds. 

Whether or not you join live, you’ll get the video and audio replay so you can take this class with you wherever you go. 

You’ll also get a PDF with the sequences that you can download (or print) and take it with you wherever you go. 

Register to join live on Zoom and/or get the replay so you can take it with you everywhere you plan to explore. 

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Lastly, if you’d like to join me for some in-person roof-top yoga, overlooking the Bay of Naples as we recover from some jaw-dropping jaunts around some of Italy’s most beautiful coastlines, join me at my Amalfi Coast yoga retreat May 27–June 2, 2023. 

There’s still room for you. 

I hope to see you on Saturday and happy hiking!