Escapees January-February 2023

full-time. I’m still tight in areas, and I know if I stick with it, I’ll keep improving. I used to play soccer and apply the same methodology that performance improves with practice. Now, I watch my posture. I catch myself if I am slouching. I don’t round my shoulders forward. I know how to roll them back and down to improve my posture. I’m stronger, my core seems tighter, and my tight hamstrings feel a little more loose. I confess I’m a lazy bum by nature, and RV life can be very sedentary. I have to be careful not to sit too long at the computer and let my muscles get lazy. I learned deep breathing techniques that reduce stress and tension while driving in crazy traf fi c.” “The mental and health bene fi ts are real,” he said. “You will feel better, breathe better, get stronger

Bene fi ts of Yoga While RVing With yoga, strength, fl exibility and balance improve to aid in the physical demands of operating and maintaining any RV:

• bending and pulling to get things in and out of storage bays • climbing ladders to get onto the roof • stretching in crazy directions to clean off slides and awnings • twisting awkwardly to wash the rig • kneeling to check tire pressure or put on tire covers • wrestling with hoses to fi ll and fl ush tanks • stepping in and out of the RV onto differ ent surfaces or heights. • crawling to level up or get under the RV • lifting bikes on and off storage racks • driving and sitting too long on travel days All these physical demands get amped-up and intensi fi ed when boondocking.

and your fl exibility and balance will improve. RV life offers a great sense of community, and taking yoga classes together provides for an even deeper community. I didn’t think it was something I could start later in life and continue for the rest of my life. Now I realize that is a myth. Grab your guy friends and get them to a yoga class!” We had a chance to reminisce about their early experiences with yoga at the 61st Escapade. Since the Homebase event, they’ve fallen off the yoga wagon a few times. However, they got right back on after noticing how tight their muscles were getting and fi nding that the physical demands of RVing were getting harder. Yoga classes are offered at many Escapees and Xscapers events. Take Mike’s advice and grab your friends and go. After all, it is just focused movement paired with breathing, and nobody will turn into a pretzel. THERESÉ JULO has been a yoga teacher for nearly 25 years and a full-time RVer for fi ve years. Theresé saw how yoga and RVing fi t together naturally and could aid the physical and mental demands of RVing. She teaches wellness workshops, adult and kids yoga classes at many Escapees events and hosts the Yoga BOF.

sitting a lot at the computer. Yoga is helping me keep my muscular strength, tighten my core to protect my lower back and helping my overall fl exibility.” “It’s easy to access,” he added, “and it’s fun in a group when you’re laughing with each other and cheering each other on. I was surprised at the class age ranges. People in their 40s to 80s came. The older folks were more fl exible than I. My mom always said, ‘motion is lotion,’ and ‘medi cations can’t cure everything.’ Now, I know what she meant. I was surprised that poses can be modi fi ed for people with illnesses and injuries. Poses can also be deepened for folks with more experience. You don’t need a lot of space or equipment and I’m incorpo rating stretches into my outdoor activities.” “We did so many different varieties of classes: chair yoga, mat yoga, bike yoga and couples’ yoga. It was challenging in a good way. I felt a sense of accomplish ment being able to touch my toes again and fully stretch out,” he concluded. Re-establish Your Fitness Routine Mike said, “Doing yoga three times a week helped me re-establish a fi tness routine that I was lacking since starting to RV

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ESCAPEES Magazine January/February 2023