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Combination yoga holidays – part 2

Continuing our article on combination yoga holidays ...
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Adventure yoga, adventure activities and yoga
In addition to the ever popular yoga and walking holidays a host of other combination yoga holidays are now on offer, and why not, the relaxing stretches, strength building, flexibility, balance and breath control of yoga benefits a host of activities. To find the right combination for you go to our yoga holiday pages and check the list of activities shown below each review.

Diving and yoga holidays
A few companies now offer combined diving and yoga holidays where yoga is offered as a means to support and enhance the diving experience. Yoga practice is usually carried out on land before the dives take place, but it is also sometimes even practiced underwater! The courses will use all aspects of yoga; physical, breath control and yoga meditation; in particular pranayama, (yoga breathing) can help novice divers learn to control their breath during the dive. For more experienced divers yoga can help improve buoyancy, decrease air consumption and increase stamina and flexibility.

Yoga holidays with diving are available in Egypt and Thailand.

Surfing and yoga
Surfing and yoga make a great combination! Many top professional surfers are now turning to yoga to help their training; it’s great for building stamina and strength, not to mention flexibility, breath control and the sort of ‘Zen’ that’s needed to ride the big waves. Combined surfing and yoga holidays are taking off in Spain, Portugal, Australia, The Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, Costa Rica and other top surf destinations. You’ll also find surfing combined with yoga’s complementary close cousin, Pilates, with surfing and Pilates holidays showing up in Spain and Portugal for starters. With its emphasis on flexibility and core strength Pilates is another excellent activity to help you ride the surf – even better if you can pick a course offering all three; yoga, Pilates and surfing!

Skiing, snowboarding and yoga
Yoga can benefit your skiing or snowboarding experience by increasing energy levels, building stamina and core strength, and by improving flexibility, balance and co-ordination. Starting the day with a yoga session is an excellent way of stretching and warming up the muscles, thereby helping to avoiding skiing injuries. Ending the day by warming down with a relaxing yoga practice has the same benefits; while the yoga will also help set your body up for the actual skiing or boarding, as this excellent ‘Yoga for Skiers’ article explains.

A number of holiday companies now offer to combine the two activities and you’ll find yoga and skiing holidays in the French Alps, Swiss Alps and in various resorts in the US and Canada.

Other adventure combinations
Yoga practice compliments and benefits many, if not most, other active and sporting activities too, particularly those that call on flexibility and strength. You’ll find a few ready-made holidays offering yoga with climbing, skating or mountain biking for example. In addition many of the companies we list can arrange activities for you as add-ons to a advertised ‘pure’ yoga holiday, these tailor made combinations are an excellent way of combining your yoga practice with a particular activity that may not be catered for with a ready made package, or of setting up your preferred combination in the location of your choice.

Creative and cultural activities with yoga
Holidays and courses are available that combine yoga with a wide range of creative and cultural interests in ready-made packages. The benifits of yoga to these activities are not as obvious as its benefits to the more active and sporty ones, but yoga practice does help to focus the mind, create mental clarity, sharpen concentration and set participants up, relaxed and ready to learn.

It will be of physical benefit in activities, such as painting, where participants can find themselves sitting for long periods in one position; and yoga will aid the digestion of those taking part in cooking and culinary activities. But benefits aside, these sorts of combination yoga holidays are just an enjoyable mix of activities, a chance to relax and/or stretch both the body and mind.

Painting/yoga or cooking/yoga combination holidays
Painting and cookery are the most popular combinations and ready-made holiday packages are offered by several of the companies listed in our directory section. On the cooking side look out for, French cooking, cooking in Umbria, Ayurvedic, Thai, Italian, vegetarian and vegan cooking as well as culinary and gastronomic holidays teamed with yoga.

Artists have the options of painting in Turkey and the Greek Islands, sketching in the English Cotswolds, discovering sculpture and mixed media in Ireland, and watercolour painting in France – all combined with yoga practice of course.

Other creative and cultural combinations
Other yoga combination holidays include, yoga and massage in Thailand and Turkey; yoga and dance (particularly belly dancing) in the UK, Greece and Tunisia; yoga and creative writing in Turkey; yoga and digital photography in Costa Rica and Ireland; and yoga and Thai Chi in Crete. Animal lovers could even try yoga safaris in Kenya or yoga and dolphin swims in Hawaii.

Many of the yoga holiday companies we list don’t offer ready-made combination holidays but do often offer a range of additional add-on activities, provided either in-house or by local specialists – theses will allow you to make your own combinations. Use the list at the foot of the reviews to find primary activities and remember that most travel businesses will be more than happy to arrange a particular activity for you if it’s available locally, so if you can’t see exactly what you want just ask.

Text and photos © Travel-quest 2008