Jake Greenbaum leads Alex Muck and Kincaid Wurl down the Entres section of the Claro. Waterfalls Abound!

It is waterfall season here in Chile! Pucon, like much of Chile is a mecca for clean waterfall runs,  with the Nevados and the Upper Palguin in close proximity. This equals a lot of fun for kayakers, but can result in a lot of stress on your spine.

I have been meaning to write this post for a while now. New River Academy spent our last week of school up at the Claro river, where we made the most of the three waterfall runs with in a few miles of river. Upstream of our campsite was the 22 Saltos run, (Salto being Spanish for waterfall). Just below the campsite was the Entre Saltos run, leading into Garganta canyon, and a short drive below that is the Siete Tazas, or 7 teacups. 7 clean lipped waterfalls ranging from 5-20 feet.  It is a truly amazing stretch of whitewater, and should be classed as a Chilean national treasure.

With the school, we shunned our regular morning workouts in favor of yoga, yoga, and more yoga, to help stretch out and relieve some of the pressure caused by the compression on landing. The Claro river is gorged in, which made it necessary to hike boats in and out, putting even more stress on our bodies. Carrying boats for long distances, whether you put it on your shoulder, or your head creates high amount of stress on muscles in your back, neck and shoulders.

On my recent trip south to the Cochamo region of Chile, some members of our group hiked their boats in 12 kilometers to run the Cochamo river. After our trip to the Cochamo, we moved south to the Negro, where one of our group suffered from a severe back spasm. It put him out for 6 hours or more- and made me even more motivated to maintain a daily yoga practice- even if only for 20 minutes. New Years Resolution for 2012: A happy spine!

Here is a short and sweet series I do to warm up and or cool down before paddling. It usually takes me around 20 minutes, and hits all six movements of the spine- Flexion, Extension, Lateral (Side to Side) and Rotation (Left and Right). Moving your spine in every direction will help keep it happy and healthy.

Happy Yoga and kayaking!

Short and Sweet Yoga series

Lay down on your back. Inhale, reaching your arms up over your head. Extend your arms and legs away from each other, lengthening in opposite directions. Inhale and extend. Exhale, lengthen your left foot away from you as you arc your arms slightly to the right.  Inhale, back to center, Exhale, repeat on the opposite side: lengthen your right foot towards the end of your mat, reach your arms up and over to the left, maintaining your hips and pelvis in contact with the mat.

Return your arms to your side. Inhale, Exhale as you draw your knees up to your chest. Reach your arms up around your legs, clasping your hands. Again, try to maintain as much contact as possible between your lowerback and the mat. I tend to spread my knees wide, so that they fall into the crook of my elbows. Rock gently back and forth, massaging your lowerback into the mat. Return to center, inhale, and as you exhale, gently press your knees further in to your chest. Imagine your lower back widening out onto the mat.

Inhale, exhale, drop both of your knees down to the right, coming into a gentle spinal twist. Allow your left arm to extend out to the left, and look back at the fingers on your left  hand. Your right hand can apply gentle pressure on the top of your knees. Take several breaths here before inhaling your knees back to center. Repeat on the opposite side.

Return your feet to the mat,  so that you are lying with a flat back, knees bent, feet firmly planted about hip width apart. From this position, we are going to play with a small little micro-movement of the spine to warm it up.  Inhale, and allow your lower back to arch up off the mat, pressing your hip bones towards your thighs. Exhale, and roll your pelvis back towards your shoulders, pressing your lower back flat on the mat. This is a really tricky motion! Give a fake cough, and notice what happens as your stomach contracts. Your hips and back should press firmly into the ground. I often have people place a few fingers in the hollow created by arching your lower back, and then attempt to flatten your fingers as you bring your hip flat. Repeat several times. If you like, you can press into a bridge from here. Bring your arms flat by your sides, inhale, exhale, press into your feet as you  lift your hips, driving your belly button to the sky.

Come to a seated position. (Sukhasana or cross-leg) Inhale, arms lift over your head, gaze looks up. Exhale, Chin and arms lower. Repeat 3-6 times.

Inhale, Arms lift. Exhale, allow your belly button to rotate over your right knee. Right arm drops down behind you, Left hand drops and resists against the outsides of your left leg. Gaze looks over your right shoulder. Hold for 2-4 breaths. Inhale back to center. Exhale repeat opposite on the opposite side.

Inhale, arms lift. Exhale, allow your hands to clasp together behind your head. Thumbs are pointed down your neck, fingers interlaced, elbows are bent. Imagine your elbows like a pair of wings. Inhale, allow your head to drop back into your hands, opening your throat and chest,  opening your wings as your elbows move further away from each other.  Exhale, tuck your chin to your chest, and allow your upper back to round, as you try and close your wings by touching your elbows together in front of your face. Repeat 4-6 times.

Come onto all fours in a table position. Start with a gentle cat/cow stretch. Inhale as your belly fills with air, and your belly drops  to the ground, as if it was a cow with heavy udders. As you exhale, draw your bellybutton up into your spine, and feel your spine arch like an angry cat. Start the motion from the base of your spine, tucking your tailbone under you as you arch, drop your chin to your chest, gaze looks back between your legs. Hold this pose, imagine your shoulderblades widening out away from eachother, sliding down each arm. Move back and forth between the two postures, inhale as your belly fills and drops, exhale as you draw your bellybutton to your spine and arch.

Return to a neutral table, Exhale, look over your right shoulder for your right hip, curving your spine into a c-shape. Inhale back to center, exhale repeat on the opposite side. I do 2-3 each side.

Allow your tailbone to drop back onto your heels, bringing your chest to your knees for childs pose. Relax here.

Press into your palms to return to all fours. Tuck your toes under, straighten your legs, leaving your arms on the ground infront of you as you come into a forward fold. Allow yourself to hang here. Head is down, back is relaxed, relax your jaw. You can grab opposite elbows, and allow your self to dangle. Shake your head yes, shake your head no, and slowly roll up, moving one vertebra at a time to come into a standing position.

Swing your arms gently from side to side as if you were were wearing a coat with empty sleeves. Smile, and have a great day !