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It’s been a while since I’ve posted about my workshops on here… with moving house only recently I’ve either been doing them on the sly, privately or not at all!  But now that I’m settled back in London it feels only right that I get back into my usual routine of trying to do some workshops here and there again and as these two will be in a new location it seems correct that I tell you all about them!

So, on that note, I have two workshops coming up in Surrey on Saturday 17th September.  Not for a while I realise, but something to look forward to towards the end of summer at least!  The first will be a Yoga for Sports workshop for those of you more active folk and is following on from all the Yoga for Sports series I wrote for Yoga Magazine last year.  The second will be a wonderfully relaxing Restorative Yoga workshop.

Both of the Surrey workshops will be held in the new studio of Camilla Campbell Yoga in Cobham, opening in July and full information can be viewed by clicking the image here or by visiting the Camilla Campbell Yoga website: www.camillacampbellyoga.com

Camilla Campbell Yoga
22b High Street
Cobham
Surrey
KT11 3EB

Special Offer!  Book both workshops and save £10!

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I am thrilled to be writing a new monthly feature on Yoga for Sports for Yoga Magazine, a wonderful UK based publication with a growing worldwide following.  Each article will focus on a different sport dependant on the season and will take an indepth look at the sport in question and exactly how yoga can be used to aid both training and performance as well as reduce injury and improve lifestyle.  This is a great opportunity for me to share my passion on Yoga for Sport and will hopefully help more athletes and yogis to see the wonderful benefits of combining an active lifestyle with a regular yoga practice.  The first article is published in the June issue, out now, and is available in larger magazine retailers such as WHS.  Alternatively subscriptions are available through their website.

Over the past several years Yoga has gained acceptance among athletes and triathletes and with very good reason; its effects are both physical and mental and it has endless benefits including increased strength, balance and flexibility, injury prevention and improvement in existing injuries and general health.  It even helps increase lung capacity and function which is a key part of any endurance sport and is something I will be elaborating on much more in the future.  But this isn’t anywhere close to where the benefits end for on top of all the physical benefits it also teaches the art of relaxation and improves concentration and focus.  It teaches the practice of integrating the body and the mind.  If you’re already competing then you should know the importance of a healthy mental attitude when racing.  If you haven’t realised this then be sure that you’re nowhere near hitting your potential!  And for anybody considering a future that may include swimming, biking and running for anywhere between 2 and 10 hours then I promise you, it’s the mental attitude and focus that will get you through it.  Train as hard as you like but if your mind isn’t in the right place then the finish line will feel a lot further away!

Many of you may be wondering how you might find the time to fit yet another thing into your already full schedule but a decent yoga practice can be incorporated into your existing training programme in many different ways.  Many professional and amateur triathletes choose to do a yoga class or practice on their rest day but you can also use yoga as part of your warm up and cool down routine and a restorative yoga practice once in a while can be massively beneficial to help open up tight muscles and help relax your body, particularly after a gruelling training session or a challenging race.  No matter how busy your schedule there is an element of yoga that is right for you and your lifestyle and ultimately, wouldn’t you rather spend an extra 15 minutes here and there improving your body and decreasing the likelihood of injury than spending a potential 3 weeks or more not being able to do anything at all because of an accident, injury or illness that could well have been avoided if you’d only spent a little more time focusing on the recovery and maintenance part of your training?

If you’ve not tried Yoga before, then give it a go and see if in a few months everything feels a little better, maybe even a little easier and a little more enjoyable.  You tweak and tune your bike to perfection, you expect the best out of it and so you should.  Why not make 2010 the year you tweak and tune your own body to perfection and see what you might be able to get out of that too.  Imagine the possibilities, expect your best!

Article also available through

A great friend of mine Tony has recently started a brand new company called UK Bike Skills, a progressive bicycle skills coaching company based in Hertford but offering training all over the UK.
Tony has been riding since the age of 4 and has since been a competitive Triathlete and Time Trial Racer but now commits his riding mainly to technical freeride mountain biking.  He rides like nobody I’ve ever seen before!  With a very professional and experienced team of instructors between them they can offer the best coaching you will find anywhere in the country, with a little more time I’ve no doubt they’ll have taken over the world!  They truly raise the stakes in progressive bike riding and I would be happy to recommend them to anybody as they really ooze passion and professionalism in what they do.

For more information please see their website www.ukbikeskills.co.uk and mention my name if you take the wise decision to get in contact with them!

‘When our feet hurt, we hurt all over’  SOCRATES

Surprisingly many people don’t experience pain directly in their feet when there is a problem there, instead the pain is transferred to the body, mainly the knees, hips, back and neck as when the feet aren’t right the body has to work twice as hard to keep the body balanced and upright and even then, with bad feet you’re highly likely to suffer from bad posture making you appear shorter and wider than you probably are!

Did you know that 80% of people over 40 will suffer from bodily distortions such as a hump due to their feet rolling in (pronation) or out (supination) resulting in fatigue and sometimes pain

Most runners take their feet entirely for granted but without a healthy pair of feet running would be a very hard thing to accomplish!  When running the body weight is multiplied by up to 3 times and with over 1000 strides being taken for every mile that is an awful lot of stress to cope with.  It’s no wonder that runners and sportspeople in general have a multitude of feet problems to put up with; achilles tendonitis, ankle sprains, plantar fasciitis to name a few.

Foot Facts!

• An amazing 25% of the bodies bones are in your feet – each foot contains 26 bones!
• Each foot contains 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles!
• Your feet contain about a quarter of a million sweat glands and can excrete as much as half a pint of moisture every single day – that’s 2 espresso cups per foot!
• On average a person takes 10,000 steps every single day, enough to walk around the globe 4 times in your lifetime!
• Women walk approximately 3 miles more than men everyday – go girls!

So……..what can we do?

There are some real common sense rules to think of when it comes to our feet.  Firstly make sure we wear properly fitted shoes, keep them clean and in good condition and keep them flexible!  The following are some good stretches and techniques to keep your feet in tip-top condition:

Kneeling - with a blanket underneath you for comfort come into a kneeling position and then slowly sit back onto the heels.  If you experience discomfort try a block under your buttocks.  This is great for stretching the top part of the foot.  Repeat this process but next time with the toes tucked under so that you stretch the bottom of the feet.  This can be quite intense so take your time when beginning.

Squat – with your feet flat on the floor come into as low a squat as you can manage.  Initially this might take a bit of practice with your balance but persevere because this is a great way of strengthening the lower legs, toes and feet.

Air Alphabet – no I don’t want you to write the alphabet literally with your feet!  Sitting in a chair simply point one foot out in front of you and visualise the alphabet in your mind.  Use your foot  and ankle (not your leg!) to “write” the letters of the alphabet in the air then repeat on the opposite side.  This is fantastic for ankle flexibility and strength and utilises every joint you have in your feet!

Go Barefoot! – we weren’t born with shoes on our feet so once in a while get back down to nature and take off your shoes!  Besides from feeling wonderful it is actually beneficial to the musculoskeletal structure of your feet and ankles, and therefore your whole body!

There are so many ways to take care of your feet that can benefit your health and body and also some wonderful yoga postures and balances but I can’t possibly give away all of my secrets on here…..

Wishing you many happy healthy feet days!
Clare
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