Yoga at CFC – Have you been missing out?

Yoga for CrossFitters and using Props – by Kat Kosci

It’s common knowledge that the body is comprised of larger muscle groups held together by smaller muscles and fascia (in simple terms). When faced with gravity, it’s the body’s natural defense to tense up and in many times it’s useful.

Consider CrossFit, when performing a clean we use force to pull the barbell up and let gravity do it’s thing as we drop and tense the body to catch the barbell effortlessly in a squat position. Without the body’s strength in pushing back against gravity, we would fail the lift. We use scales and accessory work to strengthen and prep these smaller muscle groups and fascia to avoid injury and practice the movement as we move up in weight.

Using strength to foster mobility can actually lessen flexibility and push the body closer to injury. Forcing the body into a stretch and holding it can put immense strain on the smaller muscles and fascia, regardless of the level of flexibility the body holds. To offset the discomfort of a stretch, we tend to shift eliminating the focus of the stretch or even causing more strain to smaller areas of the body. To defend itself, the body will often tense itself in these areas to avoid injury rather then benefiting from the stretch. So how do we avoid this? Props!!

Think of props as the yogi’s scale or even accessory work. Placing a prop in a stretch allows for support so that the body can actually relax into a pose, maximizing the true benefit. This allows the yoga pose to actually stretch the body, rather than force the body into fight mode to support itself.

Practice these three movements with props 3x a week for two minutes each. If you don’t have yoga blocks, pillows are great substitutes!