Best Yoga Poses for Off Ice Figure Skating Training

By now you’ve probably read or heard many times that yoga can help skaters with issues they have to tackle: 

performance anxiety
breath control
distractions
negative self-talk
improper goal setting
unconstructive training environments
and more…

Plus, there are other  “fitness” based areas that yoga can help skaters improve–balance, strength, flexibility, proprioceptive awareness, etc.

Yoga is not enough to fix all our problems, but it can help us see them in a new light and learn to stand steady and undisturbed while facing them.

​It can help us turn a journey based on comparison into a journey of self-actualization. 

How Yoga Fits into Off-Ice Training for Skaters

In the past few decades, Western society has turned yoga into just another fitness trend, overcome with commercialization and commodification. 

The roots of yoga go back thousands of years, though, and have a much deeper purpose and meaning than trying to skim off body fat or achieve a “look” promoted by the beauty standards of the moment. 

Yoga began as a spiritual practice and a way to become closer to one’s true inner purpose. To fulfill this path requires consistent, dedicated practice. 

There are lots of sacred teachings regarding yoga going back thousands of years. The most commonly referenced text today is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which begins with this definition of yoga. 

yogas citta vritti nirodhah

Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind
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-Yoga Sutra 1.2

The 8 limbs of yoga

Patanjali also outlines an 8-fold path to achieving this fulfillment, often called a path to self-realization. 

The 8-limbs are as follows:  

1. Yamas – guidelines and practices for how to treat ourselves and others
2. Niyamas – standards of self-discipline. habits
3. Asana – the physical practice of yoga postures
4. Pranayama – breathwork practice involving retention and internal energy locks
5. Pratyahara –withdrawal from the senses
6. Dharana—effortful focused concentration on a fixed object, idea, or deity
7. Dhyana – easier, sustained concentration
8. Samadhi – state of enlightenment and bliss

When applied to the skating journey, the 8 limbs can turn a path obsessed
​with comparison and achievement into an individual path of self-realization. 

See the image below for an skating journey application of the 8 limbs. You can also visit this earlier post for a slightly more in-depth explanation. 

Practicing the 8 limbs teaches us to redirect our focus from the outcome to the process.  The "goal" listed here is the experience--those moments where it all comes together and the skater finds the zone. 

Really, though, the goal is just to experience the process in the most fulfilling way possible. The practice is the path. 

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Applying the 8 limbs of yoga to the skating journey

Figure Skating Off-Ice Training with Yoga Asana

If yoga is more about the mental journey to a blissful experience–for a skater, this could be performing while in the zone, for example–then where does Asana fit into the picture?

As you see in the graphic above, asana is the third limb of yoga, but for most people, the easiest way to jump on this path is to bring awareness to what it means to be a person living in a body. 

Sounds a bit new-age, but it’s true. 

We spend so much time lost in our heads, often without contemplating anything meaningful, that we have no true awareness of our bodies or connection to our intuition. 

We are attached to external stimuli, lost in TikTok videos, bites of chocolate, cups of coffee, snuggles with puppies…. (Hopefully, we are able to stick with these positive stimuli and not resort to drugs, alcohol, calorie restriction, abusive relationships, and other maladaptive coping mechanisms.  

The point is, though, that we don’t know how to create our own joy, and until we can be content in our own skin, no external stimuli will create lasting happiness for us. 

So, the answer for most of us is to turn inward, and the physical practice of Asana is often the easiest place to start. 

Especially for skaters, it’s a very powerful experience to move the body in new ways that invite them to feel sensations, rather than strive for a GOE.

And if you choose poses especially beneficial to skating movements, you have an even easier entry point to the 8-limbed journey. 

Adding Yoga Poses to Your Off-Ice Training Plan

To get started, do a quick warm-up of 3-5 sun salutations or a couple of minutes of jumping jacks, then start with this list of asanas I’ve compiled- top yoga poses for figure skaters.

​Virasana (Hero’s Pose) and Supta Virasana (Reclined Hero’s)

This is called a gateway posture by many yoga teachers, as it works internal rotation of the thighs. In jumps, the landing leg is internally rotated while the free leg is very slightly externally rotated. Much of the traditional “stretching” for skating is all about external rotation. Virasana combats that. Plus, the reclined version is great to work the chronically overworked quads and hip flexors of skaters. 



​To practice: 

1) Begin in a kneeling position with the knees together and the feet just to the outside of the hips. 
2) Place a block horizontally between the feet, take the thumbs to the calves and roll the calf muscles outward, and sit on the block, so the front of each sit bone is grounded into the block. Make sure the tops of the feet are firmly pressing into the floor with the toes spread apart. 
3) You can add another block to raise yourself a little higher, sit on a blanket instead, or ditch the block, if you can sit with sit bones firmly on the floor. Do what is right for your body today! 
4) Press the lower legs and feet into the floor and feel the spine extend towards the ceiling. 5) Stay here, breathing fully and steadily, for 1-3 minutes, noticing what your body feels.

If you feel pain, either sit higher, or don’t hold the posture as long. 

For the reclined version:
​

1. From virasana, lift the hips slightly and tuck the tailbone towards the front. This may be enough of a sensation for you. 
2. Keep the legs and feet firmly pressing down to keep the muscles engaged–you never want to stretch a passive muscle! 
3. Take the hands behind the hips and begin to walk them backwards to your comfort level. You may be able to come down onto elbows… just make sure the knees stay pressing into the mat!
4. Stay here and breathe for several rounds of breath, continuing to press the shins into the mat, and opening the chest and rib cage. Notice what your body feels. 
5. Slowly walk your hands back in and use your core and strong legs to bring the torso back up. 
6. Come off the block and stretch your legs out in front and gently move them around, if needed.

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Tadasana (Mountain/Palm Tree Pose) and Utthita Tadasana (Extended Palm Tree Pose)

​Tadasana is the foundational standing posture used to inform all standing postures. It offers us a chance to really break down how we stand and pay attention to our alignment, as well as practice breath awareness. 

We come back to standing in Tadasana after other standing postures and short sequences to take time to pause and check in with our breath and notice the effects of each asana on the body. Much of the practice involves cultivating awareness and observation with curiosity, rather than judgment. 

To practice:

1. Stand with the feet parallel and together or about a fist distance apart. 
2. Lift the toes and spread them wide, and lay them down one at a time. Lift the arches of the feet, like the middle of a suction cup. 
3. Make a circle with the shoulder–forward and up towards the ears, then down the back squeezing the shoulder blades together. Keep them here, with the shoulder together in the back and the chest lifted, arms by the sides with the fingers extended. 
4. Keep the gaze soft down the bridge of the nose. 
5. Engage the low belly–like your skating pants are a little too tight. 
6. Squeeze the quadriceps to the thigh bones and lift the kneecaps, and feel the legs pressing into the mat, like the deep roots of the palm tree. 
7. Breathe fully and smoothly, noticing the movement of the rib cage with each breath, while the rest of the body stays still. Stay here 10-12 breaths. 

For Extended Palm Tree: 

1. From Tadasana, step the feet wide and take the arms out to shoulder level.
2.  Keep the legs and feet pressing into the mat as described above, and feel the energy extending in all directions, like in a 5-pointed star. 
3. Stay here and breathe for 5 rounds of breath. 
4. You can play around with the direction of your gaze–tilt the head back and take the gaze up, or turn the chin upwards toward 10 o’clock or 2 o’clock. Be mindful of the neck and only do what feels appropriate for your body today. 
5. To turn this into more of the “power pose” that I have previously recommended for helping build confidence, you can turn to palms upward, take the chin and gaze slightly upward, and hold for 1-3 minutes. 
6. To exit, lower the arms, take the hands to the hips, and step or hop the feet back together. 
7. Repeat Tadasana for a couple of breaths.

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Virabhadrasana I  (Warrior I Pose) 

​Warrior I is similar to a lunge on the ice – much more so than the actual “lunge” in yoga, due to the external rotation of the back leg.  It is a powerful pose for developing stroking. It works both internal and external rotation, builds strength in the quadriceps, opens the chest to encourage fuller breathing, stretches the psoas and hip flexors, work to lengthen the latissimus dorsi, and improves ankle mobility.

But, wait. You thought the first precept of yoga was non-violence? Why are we practicing a pose called warrior?  Warrior I is not an actual translation– Vir (as we saw in our first pose above) means “hero”  and bhadra means “friend”, and together as virabhadra is sometimes translated to English as “auspicious hero”.  

The mythology behind the name is quite interesting and beyond the nature of this post, but sufficeth to say that the story is often seen as a metaphor for killing the ego and getting rid of fear and doubt, so we can reach our full potential and purpose. 

To practice:

1. Stand in Tadasana in the center of the mat, facing the long edge of the mat. 
2. Step the feet as wide as comfortable possible. Turn the R foot out and the L foot in slightly.
3. Square the shoulders off to the front foot an sit deeply into the front hip by bending the knee. Keep the back leg straight.
4. Be sure to keep the outer edge of the back foot grounded and press the back leg down into the foot. It sort of feels like the moment as you’re preparing to stroke, right before you step onto the new foot. 
5. Reach the arms forward and up. Palms can touch, or arms can stay shoulder distance apart.
6. Hold for 5 steady, full rounds of breath.
7. Parallel the feet, lower the arms and repeat on the other side.
8. End with Tadasana and notice the effect of the asana. ​

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Vasisthasana (Side Plank Pose)

​Vasisthasana is a must do for skaters. Very few poses can be applied as many times to skating as this one. Literally, every time you are gliding on an edge, you apply vasisthasana. It works on stabilizing and strengthening the hips, which is a key component of skating. 

​

To practice:

1. Start in plank pose and lower the heels to the right, coming on to the outer edge of the right foot.  Stack the feet to the left foot is on top of the right. 
2. Lift the L arm so it is in line with the R arm. 
3. Lift the hips, press into the mat with the R arm and R foot, and squeeze everything. 
4. Gaze can stay neutral or look up to the L hand. 
5. Avoid dipping or lifting the hips–the intent it to be in a straight line. 
6. Hold for 5 rounds of breath, or you can time yourself and try to hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute. 
7. For variety, you can lift the turn the L leg out and lift the L to take hold of the big toe. Another less strenuous option is to place the L foot on the mat about halfway toward the hips.
8. Come to plank position and repeat on the other side. 
9. Take a child’s pose afterward to rest, and repeat 1-2 times, if you wish. ​

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Purvottanasana (Upward Plank Pose)

​Purvottasana is a great pose to strengthen the posterior chain, an often neglected yet crucial series of muscles for skating success. A strong posterior chain is key for propulsion (i.e. stroking and liftoff), air position, and landing jumps, and it’s key for preventing injuries related to the overuse of the front of the body (i.e. quads and hip flexors). A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and this pose works the entire back body, with a special focus on the muscles around the spine and the glutes.


To practice:

1. Sit in Dandasana (staff pose)--seated with the legs extended in front of the body. 
2. Place the hands under the shoulders and behind the hips, with the fingertips pointing forward. 
3. On an inhale, lift the hips directly up toward the ceiling, pointing the toes toward the mat. If you point too hard, the feet may cramp, but if you don’t point enough, you miss the plank position and the hips sag. 
4. Take care to roll the shoulder blades down he back to avoid strain on the neck. 
5. Hold for 5 rounds of breath, and slowly lower the hips to the mat. 
6. Sit in Dandasana and breathe. Notice the effect of the asana. You may repeat 1-2 more times, if you choose.

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​Savasana (Corpse/Relaxation Pose)
 Be sure to build in 5-10 minutes (20 minutes is even better!) at the end of the asana practice for relaxation. This is where the magic happens–where the nervous system can recalibrate itself and we are given a chance to observe the mind and body from a place of stillness.

​This is where skaters begin the empowering shift from “doing” to “being”. 

To practice:

1. Lie on the mat with the legs falling open and the palms facing upward. The more props here, the easier it is to relax. The body will feel like it’s going to stay a while and doesn’t need to be ready to get up. 
2. You may place a pillow or rolled-up blanket under the knees to relieve tension in the low back or in the legs. 
3. A narrowly folded blanket under the head and neck is a good idea, too, to help soften the neck. 
4. Eyes can be closed or open–whatever feels safe and can help you keep them still. I like to cover my eyes gently with a scarf or eye pillow to help calm the mind, but you should do what feels safe. 
5. Try to have the hands free, so nothing is touching them and sending sensory information to the brain. 
6. Finally, you might cover up with a blanket–the weight can be comforting to the nervous system–and put on socks to keep the feet warm. 
7. Allow the breath to soften and do a body scan to release tension throughout the body. If you are uncomfortable, get more props or make adjustments to help you get more comfortable.
8. Finally, stay still and witness the body and mind practice learning to be still. ​

The 8 limbs of yoga are a powerful framework to help transform the skating journey into one of self-actualization, rather than comparison and competition.

For most skaters, the easiest way to get started in the 8 limbs is with the third limb - asana, or the physical postures of yoga.

These poses are a great way to do that.  ​Read next week’s post to learn a few more. 

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