February 1 already. How did that happen? Looking back on January, I am pleasantly surprised with how much skiing I got in. My goal was to get a regular Nordic ski thing going on and get Morgane and myself up to Big Sky for alpine skiing, despite husband not being able to join us post-knee surgery. I feel pretty pleased to have at least one thing on my New Year’s list that I can check off.

Yoga is soooo important to my skiing success. While many other activities emphasize what you should do to warm-up, I’ve found that what you do après-ski is even more important in terms of managing soreness and maintaining flexibility. So, when skiing either alpine (downhill) or Nordic (cross-country), make sure to plan a few après-ski yoga moves for when you come inside — preferably before you indulge in your après-ski adult beverage. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at your lack of soreness, and you can almost hear your muscles say aaaaahhhhhhh as you pamper them with a little TLC as thanks for tackling the mountain or the trail. Check out my latest yoga tutorial on the Athleta Chi, Aprés-Ski Asana. Fave poses include virasana (pictured above) and pigeon for après-alpine, and yogic lunges and prasarita padotanasana for après-Nordic.

Want to further explore yoga and skiing? Join me for our March 7-12 yoga and ski retreat in Big Sky, where we’ll combine downhill and Nordic skiing, practice yoga before and after, take a sleigh ride, and eat dinner on the mountainside in a yurt. Mention that you read this blog and you’ll get 15% off if you book by Friday, February 5. Tell your ski bunny friends! Namaste.