Downward Dog Days: Yoga/Pilates for Cyclists Sampler Workshop


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Caught mid Warrior II on Arizona Desert Camp 2010, where I taught a
daily Yoga for Cyclists class.  See a shot clip.
By cyclists, for cyclists ... I'm going to be doing a workshop in January in collaboration with Pilates teacher and cyclist Karin Fantus. For the yogaphobic and pilates-curious, it's a little back-to-back intro for newbies that demonstrates flexibility techniques (yoga), resistence techniques (pilates) and core strength (both).

Karin Fantus with a client in her pilates studio
Details below. It's sponsored by the New York Cycle Club, which is always coming up with fun and interesting ideas for its members - the last one was a group visit to the Bespoke Handmade Bicycles Show at MAD.

You can sign up on my Facebook Event page, which will simply help organize responses and let you post questions and comments

... or, if you can't access that for some reason, there's a PayPal button at the end of the blurb below ...


NYCC January Special Event Two Mondays: January 10 & 17, 2011. 6:30-8:30pm
[limited space available]

Location: The Breathing Project, Inc. 15 W. 26th Street (between 5th/6th) 10th floor New York, NY 100 NYCC presents: Stretch it. Flex it. Bend it. Feel stronger.

What’s your plan for staying strong and flexible in the off season? NYCC is sponsoring a special Sampler Session of YOGA+PILATES for cyclists, by cyclists.

Sixty-something Colin Freestone demonstrates a
great shoulder opener for we hunched-over cyclists
More about Colin:
http://bikefriday.com/colinfreestone/yoga
This is an opportunity to experience two of the most popular and beneficial fitness methods for cyclists in one easy, introductory session: Vinyasa yoga, and Pilates 45 mins each. Taught by two certified instructors and NYCC members Absolute beginners encouraged! Learn some useful techniques to greatly improve your cycling, and hopefully you'll want to make it a regular part of your fitness program:

  • Become aware of the breath and its importance to centeredness on the bike, beyond gulping and wheezing as you try to keep up with the pack 
  • Develop core stability to stay upright when riding through potholes, and if someone crosses your wheel 
  • Become way more flexible to both "counter the crunch" of hunching over your bars, and get more "aero" = go faster! 
  • Know how it feels to NOT HURT on and off the bike and how to keep it that way, with some quick home-exercises, and exercises you can do on the bike. 

Dates: Two Monday sessions: January 10, January 17. You're encouraged to take both – the second session will be a progression and include new material

Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm – be on time!

What you’ll need to bring - Loose clothing, A small towel, water

Cost:
$30 for both sessions, $20 single session - available if space allows. Limited to 10 participants to ensure individual attention.

The Instructors

KARIN FANTUS - PILATES INSTRUCTOR:

Karin teaches how to become stronger and more flexible as we age. Clients come to her with joint issues (ankle/knee/hip/shoulder/back/neck, etc.), which get better as she teaches them how to use their bodies better.

Karin's done PILATES for about 20 years, and been teaching since 2002. She runs a her own, fully-equipped PILATES studio, and teaches at the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan. Once-upon-a-time, Karin was a TV news producer for the major networks and nationally-syndicated shows.

Karin is one of the few Pilates instructors also certified to teach M.E.L.T. (Myofascial Energetic Length Technique). It's a self-help treatment, to release deep-rooted tension throughout the body.

For more years than she cares to mention, Karin's been an avid road cyclist, riding ultra-distance events (Paris-Brest-Paris 1991 & 1999), and crewing for them (Race Across America 1987 & 2003). After 150,000+ miles of cycling, she attributes her healthy knees, back and hips to PILATES. Karin on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/karin-fantus/11/365/562



LYNETTE CHIANG (aka Galfromdownunder) - YOGA INSTRUCTOR:
Lynette is a certified Vinyasa yoga teacher and has practiced yoga, ballet and meditation for 20 years. While being a "more fun than fast" cyclist, she believes yoga has helped her stick on the wheels of clients "Coach" Fred Matheny and RAAM/PAC Tour legend Lon Haldeman. Her most recent wheel-sticking feat being 22 mp/h for 10 miles - on a 16-inch wheel bike.

She toured the world solo and self-supported for five years, authored a New York Times reviewed book, "The Handsomest Man in Cuba : a bicycle escapade", created bicycle adventure films about Route66 and Peru, and was the Customer Evangelist for Bike Friday for 9 years where she taught Yoga for Cyclists at PACTOUR's annual training camp.

Currently she teaches yoga to private clients, as well as at Chelsea Recreation Center and the Hudson Guild Community Center, where she hosted an inspiring presentation by NYCC / 5BBC "super seniors": http://bit.ly/superseniorcyclists
Lynette's Yoga Webpage: http://www.galfromdownunder.com/yoga
On Facebook: http://facebook.com/galfromdownunderyoga
Questions? E-mail LYNETTE CHIANG galfromdownunder@gmail.com or KARIN FANTUS bikek@nyc.rr.com

NYCC will provide some lite bites at the end of the program So join your friends, bring some of you own and make some new ones at The Breathing Project, Inc. for YOGA+PILATES

We’ll have fun. We always do. Hal Eskenazi, NYCC Director of Special Events events@nycc.org


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1. We would love you do it via th Facebook Event Page: http://www.tinyurl.com/yogapilatesnycc

*but* if you're Facebook-phobic ...

2. Sign up with PayPal here (it's perfectly safe, I use this button all the time):


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