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Learn MoreStrong + Gentle: Beginning Yoga to Cross-Train and Recover
Rating: 4.6 out of 54.6(100 ratings)
6,147 students
What you'll learn
- Incorporate yoga into their warm ups, cool downs, rest days, or cross-training.
- Learn how to practice intuitive movement as you become familiar with basic yoga poses and flows.
Explore related topics
Course content
7 sections • 28 lectures • 1h 16m total length
- Introduction1:09
Hello!! Welcome! So glad that you're here. Welcome to the Strong + Gentle program, which will teach you how to cross-train and recover with yoga, seamlessly incorporating it into your existing workout/training routine. If you're already an experienced yogi, this program may not be for you. But if you want to become more familiar with yoga, I think you'll find some gems in here. :)
Included in this program are a series of short yoga flows. You can use them to warm up, cool down, or use on your rest days. You can put them together in different orders. You can repeat the same one multiple times. You can do full body flows or focus on stretching a particular area. At the end, I have a couple longer practices that show you how you can put a full practice together, and even throw in some strength training moves. I hope this program will teach you how to make yoga work for YOU as an individual, with all of your athletic and personal endeavors.
Part of the Strong + Gentle program is a free podcast available on iTunes and Stitcher, where I have interviewed different athletes and friends of mine about how they incorporate yoga into their lives. You can find the podcast by searching Strong + Gentle. Here are some of my favorite episodes that you may be interested in:
In episode 4, I share about my own journey as an athlete and yoga instructor, and why I decided to start Strong + Gentle. If you want to learn more about me and this project, this episode is for you!
Episode 2 features Sam Monsivais (@picbait), an up and coming ultra-runner who used yoga to recover from an overuse injury at the beginning of his running career. We also talk a lot about injury prevention and hydration.
Episode 5 features Jill Kaufusi (@jillkfitness), a personal trainer and gym owner who shares how she uses yoga in her own life. We also talk a lot about the importance of different types of exercise for a well-rounded exercise routine.
Episode 6 features Chelsey McNeil, a dancer and yoga instructor who shares how she uses yoga and yoga philosophy to help her dance students better connect with their movement.
Last little tidbit here before we get started: If you don’t already track your workouts, I encourage you to do so! You can use a notebook, write it in your calendar, or use an app like Strava (if you’re on Strava, add me!). Track your regular workouts (including duration, distance, reps, weights, etc.) but also perhaps take note of the yoga flows from this program that you incorporate into your routine. As you record your workouts, you’ll be able to see your progress, see how incorporating different yoga flows helps in your progress, and perhaps see where you can improve more, and how.
P.S. Thank thank thank you to Megan Mitchell for filming these beautiful videos! Thank you to Jill Kaufusi for letting us use The Station Fitness Studio in Orem, Utah for filming the practice videos in the rest of this course!
- Introduction1:37
- Injury Prevention3:16
As most workout programs advise, and I’ll just say this here too, you should check with your physician before starting any new exercise program.
But above all else, listen to your own body above anything I say! Practice body awareness—always, but especially if you are recovering from an injury. Don’t go deeper into a stretch if it doesn’t feel good. Modify as needed. Or if you feel like you could go deeper into a pose, try it! But if you feel pain, ease off. You want to play with the boundaries a bit—as is the case with progressing in any physical endeavor—but do not push yourself to the point of pain.
If you have any questions, email me or find me on Instagram (alliebarnesyoga@gmail.com; @alliebarnesactive). Or, attend a yoga class at a local studio or rec center to work with an instructor in person. There is value in practicing in live classes, at home with videos, and just alone, doing your own thing.
- Injury Prevention0:43
- P.S. Modifications for Pregnancy1:31
- Start Here: Sun Salutation2:03
Most yoga classes start with sun salutations to warm up the body. This is a great basic flow to become familiar with.
- Warm Ups0:11
- Spine Flexibility 11:59
I usually begin my practice seated, warming up my spine and neck before progressing to deeper stretches. Here are two options to play with. This is a great way to practice intuitive movement, leaning into tightness, and noticing areas to stretch out deeper later.
- Spine Flexibility 23:08
I usually begin my practice seated, warming up my spine and neck before progressing to deeper stretches. Here are two options to play with. This is a great way to practice intuitive movement, leaning into tightness, and noticing areas to stretch out deeper later.
- Full Body Flows0:17
- Full Body Flow 12:07
I like to get the most out of my practice, so a lot of my flows work different areas of the body one after another. Here are three examples for you to try out. As you become familiar with them, I encourage you to begin creating your own flows—taking what you've learned and combining those things into the most beneficial flow for you in the moment (intuitive movement!)
- Full Body Flow 22:18
I like to get the most out of my practice, so a lot of my flows work different areas of the body one after another. Here are three examples for you to try out. As you become familiar with them, I encourage you to begin creating your own flows—taking what you've learned and combining those things into the most beneficial flow for you in the moment (intuitive movement!)
- Full Body Flow 33:13
I like to get the most out of my practice, so a lot of my flows work different areas of the body one after another. Here are three examples for you to try out. As you become familiar with them, I encourage you to begin creating your own flows—taking what you've learned and combining those things into the most beneficial flow for you in the moment (intuitive movement!)
- Upper + Lower Body Specific Flows0:08
- Shoulders + Chest3:35
If my shoulders or back are particularly tight, I'll take a little extra time on them. These are some of my go-to poses to focus on these areas of the body.
- Hip Openers6:10
If my hips are particularly tight, I'll take a little extra time on them. These are some of my go-to poses to open and stretch the hips.
- How To: Backbends0:19
- How To: Backbends0:44
Backbends! Before you jump into backbends, I suggest warming up the spine (see Section 2: Warm Ups), then following this video to GENTLY open up the back. Make sure you're extending through the whole spine and not just crunching the lower back. (Inhale as you lengthen the spine, and exhale as you gently deepen the backbend). Opening the heart is also a huge part of backbends for me—keep your heart open, and your shoulders away from your ears.
- How To: Child's Pose and Downward Facing Dog0:39
- How To: Child's Pose1:03
Child's Pose is one of the most basic yoga poses. Whenever you are practicing (at home or in a class), feel free to drop into Child's Pose at any time. It's a lovely restorative pose, and also great to balance out backbends (as you are curving the spine in the opposite direction).
Huge thank you to Corlan Robinson for demonstrating Child's Pose for us in this video. - How To: Downward Facing Dog0:53
Downward Facing Dog is another basic yoga pose. It stretches both the shoulders and legs, and I often play around in this pose before and/or after I go for a run. This video shows how to get into this pose and get the most benefit out of it. I like to keep moving around in this pose during my practice just to feel out my body and continue to work out tightness (that's something I believe I learned from Strala yoga by Tara Stiles).
Huge thank you to Corlan Robinson for demonstrating Downward Facing Dog for us in this video.
- Adding In Strength0:24
- Strength: Abdominals2:45
I love adding in core strengthening exercises to my cool downs especially, or just at the end of a strength training session. These are some of my favorites! (Feel free to take more breaks in between. If you can't tell, I was worn out by the end of this video! Haha!)
Note: I'm not a personal trainer—I'm a yoga instructor. There are waaayyy more qualified people to teach you how to do strength training moves. But I enjoy incorporating them into my own workouts, so I'm merely sharing what I know. I'm learning along with you!
- Strength: Upper Body + Abdominals1:45
Mix up your yoga practice by incorporating strength training moves throughout your yoga practice. Here are some examples for upper body + abdominals. You'll find more examples in the combo videos in the next section.
P.S. Watch your form! I admit, I'm not always the best at keeping my core engaged, especially when I'm getting tired. Just be aware of your form as you are practicing, and modify as needed. Examples of modifying (for less or more intensity, depending on what you feel you need) include doing fewer or more reps, adding in weights, dropping to your knees in push ups, etc. Whatever feels right for YOU. Start where you're at and build from there.
- Putting It All Together0:19
- Strong + Gentle 10 Minute Combo10:57
If you've been following along with these videos and incorporating them into your exercise routine, you will likely become familiar enough with the flows and poses to begin practicing without the videos, and combining the poses intuitively to make them most beneficial for you. Here is a short 10-minute practice showing how to combine multiple flows into a fuller yoga practice.
Thank you, Gary Barnes (gtbarnes.com) for the video! Filmed December 2016 in San Diego, California. - Strong + Gentle 20 Minute Combo22:27
If you've been following along with these videos and incorporating them into your exercise routine, you will likely become familiar enough with the flows and poses to begin practicing without the videos, and combining the poses intuitively to make them most beneficial for you. Here is a short 20-minute practice showing how to combine multiple flows into a fuller yoga practice.
Thank you, Gary Barnes (gtbarnes.com) for the video! Filmed December 2016 in San Diego, California. - Thank you! + More!1:19
Requirements
- If you feel the need to, I encourage you to consult your doctor or other healthcare profession before beginning an exercise program.
- Helpful items: a yoga mat, water, comfortable clothing to move in.
- An awareness of your body (such as areas that are tight before/during/after activity, injuries, limitations, etc.), though you can always develop this as you progress through the course!
Description
This program teaches athletes and other active individuals how to cross train and recover with yoga. Through a series of instructional yoga videos, you'll learn how to incorporate yoga into your existing training plan. My goal is for you to eventually build your own flows intuitively as you become more familiar with these basic yoga practices and how they work with your individual body.
Who this course is for:
- Anyone living an active lifestyle who wants to learn how to easily incorporate yoga into their cross-training and recovery.