Yoga and Bushcraft

Yoga and bushcraft are two very different hobbies. At first they appear to be completely different. The average person going to a yoga retreat will be dressed nicely, have clean hands, had a shower that morning, slept in a warm comfortable bed the night before, and have a look of calm serenity.
   On the other hand you see the average bushcraft enthusiast. He has been sleeping outside all weekend, his hands are somewhat clean but has scratches and they look rugged, he dipped in the mountain creek for a bath that morning, slept in a warm and comfortable bed that he made from debris and moss, and also has a look of calm serenity.

   Do you see any similarities? Okay, the woodsman didn't have a double non fat extra foam soy latte for coffee. He didn't have the vegan low carb raw food breakfast either. Both the yoga practitioner and the outdoor types have ways to reach a quietness within themselves.
   I don't wish to create a stereotype for yoga people. I am one of them. I have spent long weekends on yoga retreats. I seldom have had a foo-foo coffee and I eat raw foods all the time. It's called seaweed, wild salads, and catkins.
   There is a more obvious crossover between bushcraft and yoga. We bushcrafters are a hardy lot who spend a lot of time out of doors. We need to be in good physical shape in order to get the most out of our time in the woods.

   Yoga can do that for us.

   Yoga is a great way to stretch the muscles we use in the woods. We spend a lot of time crouching around the campfire, bending around low branches, and walking through waist high gorse and heather. If you want to talk about a good cardio workout, I would suggest walking through one hundred metres of gorse and heather.
   In my yoga practise I do not do a lot of the exotic stances. I basically spend twenty minutes every morning stretching the lower back, the front and back legs, and strengthening the body core. These are the things that we use most out in the woods. As we get on in the years the back seems to need even more attention. Yoga can do that for you.

   It also calms the mind.

   There is a large amount of research out there that shows that a daily yoga practise can lower your apprehension, your stress, and improve your digestion, immune system and put you in a slight meditative state.
   This quiet mind is what we need in order to interact on a more profound level with Nature. If you are more mindful you will have fewer of those annoying little accidents with your bushcraft knife,  you will not get lost, run out of daylight or loose your equipment.
   The benefits of yoga or stretching for bushcraft people are becoming more healthy, strengthening yourself and your abilities, being able to see far more wildlife, and reducing musculoskeletal injuries.

   Why not try it for a month and then see for yourself.