For years, many snowboarders have been keen practitioners of yoga. Snowboarding is a very dynamic sport and can be quite strenuous on your body (even if, at times, we choose to not admit it and ride through the pain), so having a way to help offset this is something we’d all probably like a little more of in our lives.
“Having a greater full-body awareness gives me better control on my board, whether that’s body position for carving pistes or riding powder”
Yoga helps us to recover from days spent up the hill. Different poses also help us gain strength and balance, which both improve our riding. But it isn’t just about the physical aspects, yoga is also a great way to work on the mental side by helping us to remain calm and focused.
As someone who’s practised yoga for a few years now, I have felt it complementing my snowboarding. Not only has it helped me recover more quickly, but it’s also improved my balance and coordination on the board, giving me more confidence and precision in my riding. I’ve felt that it’s made me more aware of the imbalances in my own body, and by recognising these I’ve been able to play that to my advantage in my snowboarding.
Emily Ruth is a snowboarder and yoga teacher based out in Morzine, France. Her passion for the mountains has taken her around the world, from learning and exploring yoga in Queenstown, New Zealand, training in the Himalayas to teaching in Morzine, Whistler and Fernie.
With group activities essentially cancelled for the past 12 months, Emily’s been busy uploading a bunch of Yoga practices on her YouTube channel to help us keep up with our Yoga routines from home. Her ‘Yoga for Snowboarders’ series is designed to have you riding fit for the start of the season and to help remain injury-free throughout.
We sat down with Emily to find out about her relationship with yoga.
