Oakley Progression Sessions – Loon Mountain

Oakley’s Progression Sessions hit their last stop this past weekend at Loon Mountain.  Ending where it all started, the Loon group of riders, coaches and staff park ended the four stop all-girls snowboard camp with a bang.  I felt so lucky to be apart of this amazing experience, and thanks to Loon, Jenny Earnshaw, Kirsten Beninato, and the coaches: Mary Walsh, Marie-France Roy, Lauren Perkins, Gretchen Bleiler, Ellery Hollingsworth, Christine Savage, Chanelle Sladics, Silvia Mittermüller, and Kristi Leskinen.

Morning yoga with 80 girls!  They rocked it and we had so much fun.

Head Coach Mary Walsh and her crew of shredders

The park set up was so much fun with the soft snow, and coach Lauren Perkins showing the girls the skills.

With Spring riding conditions, we even had a snowcone machine! ZICO coconut water snowcones anyone?

Oyster shots with Coach Ellery Hollingsworth..love her!

Final dinner with coaches and crew!  Wish that this pictures could have turned out better, but thanks to each and every one of you for such an amazing event.

Cheers to next year!

xoxo

Lacey Calvert

Yoga for Runners with Lacey Calvert

Check out California Yoga Sport‘s latest Webisode on Yoga For Runners!

After long or spring training runs the body needs to strrreeeetch out. The above video walks you through trainer, Lacey Calvert’s, yoga demonstrations & posture suggestions to relieve pain & tension in overused running muscles. Yoga is a great way to help reduce the after run burn you experience, stretch out tense muscle groups, and will definitely add balance to your heavy cardio regimen.

Find out more how Yoga can help your running in this Runner’s World Article, Running and Yoga go Hand-in-Hand.

Want to see more?! Subscribe to calyogasport’s youtube channel.

Also, be sure to tell us what videos you’d like to see more of to help with your athletic training needs! Triathlete, cyclist, surfer, snowboarder… you name it & we’ll be sure to give you some fool proof yoga plans to help balance your body out!

GrindTV Blog’s Interview with Lacey Calvert: Stretch to Shred

Check out GrindTV‘s interview with California Yoga Sport trainer, Lacey Calvert, and learn about how she got into yoga, her inspiration to start athletic training, & where she would want to spend the rest of her days practicing yoga… hint: its somewhere in Central America.

Professional Snowboarder, Shayne Pospisil, in Eagle pose during Lacey's yoga class held at Mimi's Cookie Bar

Here are some snippets of the GrindTV Blog article:

What steps did you take to get to where you are today? How did you get involved with Oakley?
It seems like with all my hard work and by following my heart, everything just keeps falling into place. I started my career post-college as an elementary school teacher and after a few years working in LA Unified, I realized that career path wasn’t for me. I began practicing yoga, and it became my true passion. Then, I had a friend ask me to teach yoga for some pro surfers in HB, and realized that my love for action sports and yoga could turn into a career. Word spread; I got more clients, branched out into snow, football, baseball and BMX.

California Yoga Sport was born after I saw how yoga can benefit these professional athletes. From there, I worked my butt off to get sponsors like Oakley Women and ZICO coconut water. I think when what you do and who you are represents a brand naturally, then opportunities like Oakley Women comes along. The brand represents myself as a female athlete and strong person, with some sweet shades.

What was behind your core idea of yoga specific for action sports athletes?
Because I grew up riding a board on snow and land, I can see how beneficial yoga can be for someone in this career. I make sure that whatever sport my client is involved in, I have tried before. That way I can feel what muscles in the body are used. Yoga allows lengthening and strengthening in the targeted muscles, and overall make you a stronger, better athlete.

What would you suggest to riders that want to get involved with yoga in their local spot? Just get a hold of one of your videos?
Definitely! I am in the process of making more videos to put online for riders to download, and while on the road this is great to keep in shape and cross train. But in the meantime, I suggest everyone to just go out and try all the different styles of yoga there is. Find one that feels good for you, and keep it up.

Lacey leading a donation yoga class at Mimi's Cookie Bar in Mammoth Lakes, California

Thank you GrindTV for the interview & great adventure in Mammoth Lakes, California! Also huge thanks to Mimi’s Cookie Bar for hosting such a great yoga class with world class athletes & professional snowboarders!

Want to learn more?! Feel free to get in touch with us!

Pictures Worth A Thousand Words: Images to Stay Motivated

Visual reminders are important for staying positive & motivated. Print out one of the below images & post it where you will see it most often. We promise there will be a huge change in your attitude & energy towards pushing yourself to new heights this year. Be sure to put it in a place you will see it often, we suggest inside your bathroom cabinet or right by your light switch on the way out the door!

Bring. It. On. Life.

Life of an Athlete

Be Inspired by Greatness.

Don't waste time making excuses. Just run.

Aim high for your goals. It'll be worth it!

Create Yourself.

Run because you can.

Find the Perfect Gift, Fight the Holiday Food Bulge, & Look for Merriment in Your Holiday

Happy Holidays from California Yoga Sport!!! Hopefully you beat the rush to find the perfect gift for your loved ones this holiday season, but if not, here are some of our ideas in case a belated present won’t get Santa into too much trouble! 😉

As you gear up for those New Years Resolutions we understand post holiday eating guilt can factor into your optimism or heavy goal setting in 2012! Have no fear because there are tricks to fighting the one-too-many-Christmas-cookie caloric intake in the meantime. Check back soon to see the events CYS plan on participating in for 2012!

Also, its your last chance to sign up for Lindsea & Lacey’s Holiday Special Offering for a 50 minute heath consultation & 60 minute private individual yoga session! Don’t miss this opportunity to get on track & expand your practice through special hands on coaching & follow up!

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Namaste

Top 5 Gifts to Buy a Yoga Athlete this Holiday Season

Are you struggling to find that perfect gift this season for your active family members or even yourself?! What kind of gift can you give to those close family & friends that want to step up their yoga practice, athletic performance, or both!?.. well California Yoga Sport has done the research for you! Check out some of these high performance gifts for your fellow athletes this season.

Top 5 Gift Ideas for Yoga Athletes:

1. Manduka PROlite Yoga Mat– This yoga mat is a fresh alternative for people who like travel yoga mats with superior quality and comfort. The PROlite is a lighter, zero-waste, non slip yoga mat for in the studio and on the go.

2. Moji Neck+– This product is an innovative all-in-one garment that provides soothing heat to the neck and middle to upper back. The Neck+ wraps around the contours of the body to deliver Moji’s signature warm hug and provides ample coverage for the neck or can be flipped over and worn to heat the middle to upper back. This product provides instant tension release in the upper back & neck which is a common place that most people hold all of their holiday stress. 😉 Yoga assists in relieving this tension, but throwing one of these on after a challenging vinyasa flow with one too many downward dogs is Ah-mazing!

3. Polarized Oakley Stockholm Goggles for those Ski Bunnies or Tanner Hall Signature Series Crowbar Snow Goggles for the Snow Men – Oakely is famous for its high level performance sunglasses & goggles tackling every sport that needs superior eyewear. This ski & snowboarding season don’t lose sight of your performance goals and be sure to pick up yourself or your snow hungry friends a set of these snow goggles.

*Perks to this perfect eye wear is the O Matter Technology that uses premium materials to provide its’ customers with flexible design, strap outriggers to distribute pressure, and the moisture wicking comfort of triple-layer fleece foam. The impact resistance meets ANSI Z87.1 standards and the UV filtering is 100%. They even tune the lens sizing for a greater visual range and hit it with F3 anti-fog treatment. CYS’s ULTIMATE buy for this Holiday Season!

4. Polar T31 Heart Rate Monitor or an over the top holiday buy with the Polar RCX5 Supreme Precision for Endurance Athletes – From improving fitness to enhancing athletic performance, Polar makes some of the best heart rate monitors around. If you know someone looking to up their game & gain serious competitive edge in their training than these two heart rate monitors, though very different, can do just that! Of course Polar T31 is the best basic heart rate monitor out there to introduce to a novice & the RCX5 is the ultimate holiday gift that would be an undeniable advantage in anyone’s training for those marathon runners, triathletes, or Ironmen/women. If you know someone training for a marathon or their first triathlon the Polar T31 is definitely the gift for them! *Benefits to using a heart rate monitor while training – accuracy & ease, helps monitor your fitness, prevent over or under training, helps track pace during training & in a race, and allows for pure constructive feedback on your athletic ability & improvements. Highly recommended for a personal purchase to start 2012 off on the right beat- no pun intended!

5. Lululemon Recognition Pants or Lululemon Core Short for Men – Looking for a new way to jazz up your wardrobe or your friend’s yoga attire for class? These gifts are perfect! I know for us here at CYS new clothes can give us that New Years Resolution boost we need in our practice. Another pair of yoga pants never hurt anyone..right?!  For the male friends & family members out there it’s always tough to find functional & comfortable clothing to practice yoga in as well as feel good wearing it – the Lulu Core Short is the pair for you! Lululemon’s clothing line & quality of fabric helps those novice yogis feel like advanced practitioners during those unpredictable hot vinyasa flow classes. Help your friends & family members, who may be trying out Yoga as a New Years Resolution, to start their practice off feeling good from the inside out!

Need more gift ideas?! Feel free to email us! We have a gift for every type of Yoga Athlete out there & plenty more ideas of self spoiling products to treat yourself to this holiday season!

Be sure to also check out our Holiday Special Offer for a 50 minute health consultation with our Health Coach Diana & a private yoga training session with our CYS Trainers Lacey & Lindsea!

Donation Yoga Class: Open Your Hearts for Oakley & YSC

Join California Yoga Sport trainers Lacey Calvert & Lindsea Swisher for a donation yoga class to support Oakley Women and the Young Survival Coalition to benefit and raise Breast Cancer Awareness. Enjoy a 60 minute vinyasa flow class with CYS and have a chance to win amazing Oakley product!

Can’t wait to see you there!

Love Your Body Day!

Wednesday October 19th, 2011

We here at California Yoga Sport constantly remind ourselves and our clients daily how important it is to appreciate your body for all that it has given you. The ability to run 5 miles, hold Warrior 3 pose for over a minute, or simply to have the energy to wake up every morning and move about your day. With every breath we should be saying thank you to our bodies for all of the wonderful work they do for us.

Take the time today to truly love yourself just the way you are.

Live Fully. Laugh Often. Love Always.

Special shout out to our fellow Oakley Ambassador, Marni Sambal, for her beautiful involvement and passion for this holistic movement!

Beats Per Minute: Why BPM is your New BFF

Are you letting your workouts get the best of you due to boredom? Routines are great, but sometimes you get stuck in a rut. Aside from alternating work out routines or adding new activities to your active lifestyle, like climbing or TRX, we’ve discovered one easy fix to getting that heart rate up as well as jazz up any repetitive work out regimen!

The CYS Solution: Pump Up The Jam

Doctors and researchers have spent decades analyzing the effects of music on heart rate and have come to a very interesting interesting conclusion. When choosing your playlist to get your sweat on studies have shown that the most important element influencing your work out and increasing your heart rate is the song’s tempo. The music must be between the range of 120 to 140 Beats Per Minute, B.P.M., which roughly corresponds to the average fit adult’s heart rate during a work out. Maintaining this B.P.M. range in your music selection can greatly influence the pace & your mental readiness to push yourself your limits.

Most commercial dance music or rock songs fall in that range. For instance,  “Don’t Phunk With My Heart” by the Black Eyed Peas is 130 B.P.M. and “Mr. Brightside” by the Killers 150 B.P.M. Furthermore, songs with high B.P.M. help cue the body and allow us to naturally utilize rhythm to coordinate movement.

…as anyone who has heard Metallica blasting from a weight room stereo knows, music is a motivator in strength training, too. “The vast majority of bodybuilders are fans of heavy metal, if not in their personal life at least in the gym,” said Shawn Perine, a senior writer at Flex magazine. Loud, aggressive music, he said, “keeps you elevated, especially in between sets.”

However there are a variety of different motivational qualities of a song depending on the physical activity. Dr. Karageorghis writes that a song “evokes a state of optimism and excitement in the listener.” We all can relate to that! Even I enjoy a good Rage Against Machine or Britney Spears throwback to boost my energy during a long run.
Tips on selecting your effective fitness playlist:

1. Select a song between 120-150 B.P.M. Not sure if your song falls in that category? compare it to the examples we gave above. It should be reasonably decipherable if you just give it a good listen or test it out during a work out & ask yourself, “Does this song really get me excited, both emotionally and physically, about the activity I’m doing?”

2. Check out PowerMusic.com for albums used in group fitness classes that could be a great addition to your playlist. They are tailored to certain physical activities, such as spin, cardio, or aerobics, so some albums may be great for your cycling routine or that tough cardio interval sprints training you do.

3. Continue to mix it up & refresh your playlist. New & motivational songs can greatly influence your work out, so be sure to dedicate time to compiling a powerful playlist to keep your active lifestyle on track. Whenever I download a new song I’m a little too excited to try it out on my morning run!

What are you waiting for?!… Download those power house tunes for your next work out!

Yoga for Hope with California Yoga Sport

Check out Calfornia Yoga Sport’s afternoon at the Yoga for Hope Event hosted in Union Square on September 17th, 2011.

We are so grateful to be a part of this wonderful and very special event as well as being able to share our love of yoga with our fellow yogis! What an incredible day! Also be sure to check out more of our photos from that day on our Facebook Page!