Morning Challenge – Taking the Time
February 22, 2018
March Partner: Clear Float Spa
March 2, 2018
FEBRUARY 26, 2018
Faye Stenning – Spartan Racer Finds Balance with Yin Yoga
For Faye Stenning, Yoga Santosha go-er and professional athlete obstacle course racer, yoga has become a necessary part of her training regime.
This girl is no jokes. Faye travels all over, primarily to the States, running Spartan races nearly every other weekend. When she is in Calgary, she trains hard – typically two training sessions per day.
“We have hard training days and active recovery,” explains Faye. “An active recovery day for me is an easy 5 mile run – dead easy – and coming to a yoga class.”
Faye finds that yoga balances out the intensity of her training schedule. In a sport that is so competitive and often super intense, finding that balance is paramount. Faye has learned the benefits of Yin Yoga, a style of yoga that she focuses on.
“It has been a huge part of my recovery. I really like going to the yin classes. I am not too big into the flow, because I do a lot of high intensity training outside of yoga, so I use it more to balance out that intensity. I do a lot of yin postures with long holds, just because I am pretty tight, so I like to make sure I am working deep into the fascia and holding the postures for a good 3-5 minutes, which is more beneficial for my flexibility and range of motion. If you are able to increase your range of motion you can lengthen out your running stride and move more efficiently.”
Faye also points out that Yin Yoga for her reaches further beyond the physical benefits.
“It has been great mentally to have something that is slower paced and not so intense and fast. With my lifestyle and with the intensity of the racing, and then with all the travel and changing time zones, it can be pretty exhausting. It is my time to mentally recharge and I do like to shut my mind off or even visualize my races in long holds and use it as time for visualization and meditation.”
Faye lives in the Mission area, but aside from it being a convenient location, she finds the knowledge of the instructors at the studio to be critically important.
“I think that they have a good variety of different classes, so you can get what you want and there are a lot of classes in a day which is awesome. The instructors seem really knowledgeable. They know the fascial lines and how they are interconnected.”
From an intense race to a passive hold, Faye Stenning has found the gift of balance. Yoga Santosha is grateful to hold the space and to celebrate this amazing athlete and Yogini.
– Chelsea Lees
