Every snowboarder can benefit from improved mobility, balance, strength, and stamina. Building these attributes with yoga will let you be creative and have WAY more fun on a snowboard.

Your confidence will sky-rocket and you will feel rock-solid on top of the snowboard. This allows you to try new things and master untapped skills. With the Snowboard Yoga Series, you can nail that trick you’ve been dreaming of, or master the mountain and ride any run!

Snowboarding + Yoga = The Ultimate Union ☯️

3 Yoga benefits investigated in this article:

• Flexibility + Mobility
• Balance + Proprioception
• Strength + Stamina

You Don't Have To Be Flexible To Start A Regular Practice

People (especially males) can be hesitant to start practising yoga. Many see yoga as being not a hard enough workout or too "woo-woo". Some even think you have to be flexible to do yoga, this is not true!

There are however three huge benefits to regularly practising yoga: increased mobility, balance, and strength. The many mental and physical benefits can help take your snowboarding to the next level. Just 10 minutes of yoga a day before or after you ride goes a long way for the health of your body and longevity of your snowboarding.

3 Reasons Snowboarders Need & Love Yoga ❤️

Adding yoga into my exercise regime is one of the most beneficial things I've done for my health and snowboarding. It becomes a lifelong practice and opens you up to a whole new relationship and way of understanding your body.

1. Flexibility + Mobility

When snowboarding we need to be able to move how we want and when we want. Getting total control of your frame lets you effortlessly flow down the mountain. Getting your snowboard yoga on will give you a greater range of motion and freedom of movement in your body. Being able to move easier will mean you can be more dynamic on top of your board which will result in increased performance and fun!

This increased flexibility will mean you can snowboard harder for longer. Yoga also makes snowboarding more sustainable meaning you can ride well into your old age!

2. Balance + Proprioception (Knowing where your body and limbs are in space)

Balance and boarding go hand in hand. Having great balance is going to aid you tremendously while riding. You will be able to quickly recover from getting bucked or if something catches you unaware. With improved balance, you can rip down terrain like moguls and trees with ease, while also carving faster, and getting lower to the snow.

Know Your Body ▶️ Master Your Snowboard

Yoga is a potent tool for restoring natural balance, coordination and improving your proprioception skills. There are many poses in a yoga practice that will challenge and test your balance. You will discover your body in a whole new way because you will be able to feel exactly what position your body and limbs are in. This allows you to be able to analyze your own riding and make positional changes that will help you to excel on snow.

3. Strength + Stamina 

Yoga isn’t for wimps! It will push your physical and mental comfort zones. After some dedicated practice you will feel like you are inhabiting a whole new body and be doing things with it you never thought possible. Poses will test and build your endurance and strength. There have been many times that I have shown up to the mat, especially in a Bikram or hot yoga class that I have asked myself “Am I going to be able to make it through this whole class?!”

All the poses are based on body weight and this will boost your strength in a functional and integrated way. This is so important for snowboarding and the gains you make in sustainable strength will dramatically elevate your skills on the board. Your legs will reap the benefits, as they will get toned and have much more stamina, meaning you won’t fatigue as quickly or get the leg burn feeling that can pop up towards the end of a run.

Practice Makes Progress

Practice makes progress and the sooner you start, the faster your skills on a snowboard will increase. The improvements in your balance, strength, coordination, and endurance from undertaking a yoga practice will be eye-opening when applied to riding on the slopes. You will have a much better awareness and understanding of your body, so you will be able to easily apply new techniques and refine old ones. Check out the Watch & Ride store for any of your yoga gear needs.

Try this invigorating active flow from Watch & Ride and Moksha studio in Kelowna before or after snowboarding: