Om The Slopes

During the time Erin Bakersmith has been running the Yoga Mat studio, she’s noticed some parallels between two popular physical activities, yoga and snowboarding. There’s the body-awareness aspect, as well as yoga’s calm, meditative feeling that some skiers and snowboarders also experience on the slopes, but the commonalities go beyond that. “A lot of the benefits that come with yoga are amazing,” she says. “Like the balance, the focus you need, the flexibility, being able to prevent injury. It just seemed like a natural progression.”

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More About

• Erin Bakersmith
• Copper Mountain
• Winter Sports
• Skiing

That progression led naturally to Snow Salutes: A Yoga Retreat for Snowboarders & Skiers, which starts today at Copper Mountain. “In the morning, we’ll be meeting at 8 a.m. for the first yoga class — get everybody warmed up, and we’ll have a really awesome playlist going,” Bakersmith explains. “It’s definitely going to be more of a punk-rock, let’s-stretch-and-get-excited-to-hit-the-slopes class, stretching core muscles that everybody’s going to use. Then everyone will ski and snowboard for a majority of the day. And once the slopes close, we have a 4:30 p.m. yoga class as well, like an après-ski, restorative yoga. It’ll be way more calming — stretch out and relax and give those muscles a break. After that, we have a really awesome dinner planned. Then we’ll get out on Sunday and do it all over again.”

Snow Salutes will run you $150 for two days’ worth of classes and healthy meals; Copper is also offering discounted lift tickets ($45 per day) and rooms for Snow Salutes participants. And, Bakersmith promises, the first three people to sign up and mention this West-word story will receive their two days of lift tickets for free — a $90 value. Register at www.ontheyogamat.com/copper or call 314-680-6374.
Sat., Jan. 29, 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m., 2011