Instead of going to Disney World after winning gold in the women’s snowboarding slopestyle event, Jamie Anderson said she’ll be headed to Wanderlust — a yoga retreat on the North Shore of Oahu — to celebrate.
Anderson credits yoga practice with helping her stay physically and mentally strong, and she’s not the only one who feels that way in Sochi. In fact, we discovered so many Olympians-cum-yogis that if the United States Yoga Federation ever succeeds in making yoga asana, or posture yoga, an official Olympic sport, we’ll most likely see some cross-sport competitors.
As the below images illustrate, women athletes tend to share their practice more on social media, but they aren’t the only ones benefiting from yoga. America’s coed luge team, for instance, is partnering with Indian rival Shiva Keshavan in order to gain stretching tips.
“Yoga is something we have had with the team for a few years now,” U.S. coach Mark Grimmette has said, “but Shiva and his wife know yoga well so they have been facilitating those sessions.”
The below Olympians take yoga practice to the next — and, very often, gorgeous — level, proving that there is so much more to Olympic gold than the judges’ score or the time on a clock.
The Handstand Guru: Jamie Anderson
The 23-year-old snowboarder told the Today show that she always practices yoga. “My favorite poses are variations on the handstand and the scorpion,” she said. “You have to use your whole body, it’s physically and mentally challenging. You have to find your balance in this uncomfortable position, so when you do it, you feel like you’re really overcoming an obstacle.”