Christina Koch says yoga is “more fun” while on a space mission

Hours before the four-person NASA crew arrived He boarded Artemis IIthey launched into space, began orbiting the moon for 10 days, and engaged in the pre-flight tradition of a card game.

It’s “a little moment of fun in what can be a very long day for them.” According to a video Posted by the Kennedy Space Center, it shows astronauts laughing, waving their fingers, and handing out cards.

It’s a seemingly rare moment when astronauts prioritize fun. And it doesn’t end there. Given the seriousness of the task, you might assume there’s no time for hobbies, recreational activities, or…yoga. However, among the Artemis II crew is Christina Koch who, by the time of landing, will become the first woman to orbit the Moon. never. Koch previously shared that she found that while aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2018, it was helpful to continue doing the things she loves — even hundreds of thousands of miles away from the planet she normally does those things on. Yoga included.

in Interview with Space News ReportKoch explains that yoga played a prominent role in her previous in-flight routine. “I did (a lot of) yoga while I was on the International Space Station,” she says. “It’s actually not that hard to do.” “In some ways, there’s a more fun way to do it.”

“There are some difficult situations,” she continues. “the Standing standing I don’t necessarily get the same amount of. But a lot of the stretching positions are great. So, yes, yoga is great. Koch explained in an online message that although exercise is a NASA mandate in space Q&A with the University of Queensland That the “small stabilizing muscles” are the ones that are “really hard to work on.”

However, even in microgravity, there are plenty of pose variations to explore.

In 2022, Cosmic Kids Yoga YouTube Channel She teamed up with ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti while in microgravity on the International Space Station. Cristoforetti showed that he floats freely eagle Standing side stretches as well as standing Camel pose Difference and Triangle position With her feet locked in place under the beams inside the spacecraft.

Perhaps the unfettered sense of space can inspire us all the next time we resist the Earth’s pull Downward dog or Wave. But whether practiced in space or on Earth, yoga is clearly still yoga.

“I think one of the great things about humans in space is how the things we love on Earth have been adapted to space,” Koch explained to Space Report News. “This really shows why exploration is ‘human’ – it’s in our DNA, and adapting what we like to new environments is just something we do naturally.”