Get away for a weekend or five days of immersion learning with world-class faculty on 75-acre campus beautifully nestled in the California redwoods near Santa Cruz. Within easy reach of San Francisco, 1440 Multiversity is the nation’s newest learning destination.
Women Fitness recently joined Sage Rountree, endurance athlete who has taught Ironman® triathletes and Olympians, in an interesting conversation about 1440 Multiversity.
Sage Rountree is an internationally recognized authority in yoga for athletes and an endurance sports coach certified by USA Triathlon and RRCA. She is author of The Athlete’s Guide to Yoga, The Athlete’s Pocket Guide to Yoga, The Athlete’s Guide to Recovery, The Runner’s Guide to Yoga, Racing Wisely, and Everyday Yoga.
Sage competes in running races from the 400 meter to ultramarathons and in triathlons from the super sprint to the Ironman. Her classes, training plans, videos, books, and articles make yoga and endurance exercise accessible to everyone. An experienced Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance, Sage is on faculty at Kripalu and teaches online at YogaVibes and at Sage Yoga Teacher Training.
Her students include casual athletes, Olympians, and University of North Carolina athletes and coaches. She is creator of The Athlete’s Guide to Yoga DVD and contributor to Runner’s World, Yoga Journal, Ironman.com, and USA Triathlon magazine.
Women Fitness:
Introduce us to the 1440 Multiversity, opening this May.
Sage Rountree:
1440 Multiversity, the nation’s newest learning destination dedicated to teaching skills for mindful living, will open its doors May 26, 2017. 1440’s state-of-the-art campus in the redwoods north of Santa Cruz, California features an immersive, contemplative and carefully-appointed learning environment, and offers courses from the foremost thinkers and teachers in leadership, personal growth, health and wellness and more.
Named for the number of minutes in a day, 1440 Multiversity recognizes each moment is an opportunity to live fully. Beyond the intellectual training of traditional education systems, the Multiversity supports integration of the emotional, relational, and spiritual dimensions of our lives to assist in better connecting us to ourselves and others.
Women Fitness:
You are a pioneer in this field with multifaceted experience as a coach, athlete, and teacher working with endurance-sports athletes and collegiate teams. How does your background help you in teaching Yoga to Athletes?
Sage Rountree:
As an athlete, I know what it’s like to be in a yoga class while exhausted from training. What might seem easy on a rest day can be way too much for a tired athlete. As a coach, I know there are only so many training hours available in the week, so I prioritize the classes and routines that will deliver the most bang for the buck, keyed to where each athlete is in her training cycle. As a yoga teacher, I use this experience to create a noncompetitive environment for tired athletes that lets everyone work—and rest—at their individually perfect intensity.
Women Fitness:
What are the benefits of yoga for athletes?
Sage Rountree:
Strength, flexibility, focus, and balance. Yoga offers balance of the body in space; balance within the body; and balance between work and rest, all of which are key to athletic performance and recovery. And it builds mental focus and presence, skills that lead to peak performance in sports and in life.
Women Fitness:
You also take part in races from the 400 meter to ultramarathons and in triathlons from the super sprint to the Ironman. What is the role of running in your life?
Sage Rountree:
Running is my moving meditation, my social time and my alone time, my screen-free time, my outside time, and my main source of both stress release and self-improvement. I love it so much!
Women Fitness:
How are you able to integrate yoga and endurance exercise for your students?
Sage Rountree:
The yoga poses I teach develop balance in the body by targeting skills and muscle groups that can be neglected in endurance sports, and the breath awareness and mental focus and presence athletes develop in class are directly beneficial in their workouts and races. It’s not athletic yoga; instead, I presume athletes are getting their workouts in their training and come to yoga to work in: to find connection, balance, and rest.
Women Fitness:
Lastly, why should anyone join these programs?
Sage Rountree:
The weekend, Yoga for Athletes: Balance, Strength, Flexibility, and Focus, is for athletes of any sport and level of experience with yoga. You don’t have to identify as an athlete to enjoy the weekend, as it focuses on balance in the body and is useful for anyone who uses their body in a specialized way—like sitting in a chair at a desk for much of the day. The poses are simple, accessible, and fun, and students will go home with a clear idea of how to use yoga to complement whatever it is they do with their bodies each day.
The five-day intensive, Teaching Yoga to Athletes, is for yoga and movement teachers, coaches, personal and athletic trainers, and physical therapists. It focuses on yogic philosophy; the physiology and psychology of the athlete in a yoga class; concrete teaching tools; and building a career in the field. I love teaching this program—it’s always a great collegial group of peers, and we have a blast.
Finally, 1440 Multiversity is so special. The brand-new campus is first rate, from program rooms to lodging to food, and the setting is unparalleled—especially for those of us who like to spend time outside. I’m eager to run in the redwoods. Join me!