Your body has taken a beating.

Between a full season with variable conditions, maybe working at a desk full-time, and now slushy spring skiing, it’s time for a refresher. Yoga can be a powerful tool to help extend your season and keep you on top of your game on the mountain. We’ve teamed up with LiveYoga.com to explain why it’s so great and bring you resources to get started.

Why yoga?

There is a seemingly endless list of options for ways to improve your skiing/riding. Here are just a few reasons why yoga should be the primary activity you fold into your routine.

• Improved stability and balance
  • Ever ended up on one ski when you didn’t want to? Yoga can help you right the ship.
• Better endurance
  • Skiing and riding involves holding positions for a long time, otherwise known as isometric exercise. Yoga involves holding positions for extending periods of time, which can help build the strength needed to ski/ride all day.
• Injury prevention
  • Doing the same movement over and over again opens you up to injury. By incorporating a cross-training routine such as yoga, you can increase flexibility and build supportive muscles to the ones used while skiing. In turn, you create a more balanced muscular system in your body.
• Stress reduction
  • Do you hate heights? Do chairlifts freak you you? Or maybe you’re looking for a way to remain calm when staring down a tight chute? Well, they may remain freaky, but with consistent breath practice you can at least find some calm in the madness. Yoga can teach you the basics of focusing on and following your breath, which can pay massive dividends when stressful events pop up in your life.

Now to the resources.

Want to get started with ski/snowboard specific practices? We’ve put together a short list of guided video yoga sessions to keep your body limber and ready to take on anything these finals weeks of the season may throw at you. Oh, and legend has it that summer is coming right up? What are you doing to prep for warm-weather activities?

Après-Ski Yoga – 30 min.

No doubt, slamming beers after a long ski day is a tremendous experience, but it doesn’t bode well for long-term ski performance. Nothing says “long season” like a tall glass of cat-cow pose. Do your back a favor and check out this restorative 30 minute yoga session filmed right in the ski haven, Crested Butte, CO.

Yoga for Skiers and Snowboarders – 25 min.

Want to switch it up a bit and take your class from Aspen? Anna with MoveWithAnna has you covered. She’ll take you through a quick routine that will have you limbered up and ready for day 2 or day 98.

Relaxing Scenic Yoga for Skiers and Snowboarders – 9 min

Quick, relaxing, and beautiful. This routine won’t take up much of your time at all but will have your body and mind feeling at ease. This is a great option if you’re busy or just getting into yoga. Have a seat and enjoy the beautiful mountains!