English-speaking yoga teachers often evoke space in their posture names, with examples including “crescent moon” and “star” positions.
Now an astronaut is making these movements during the microgravity exercise on the International Space Station.
Expedition 67 astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti recently shared a photo of herself on Twitter doing a “triangle pose” at the Japanese lab Kibo, a popular place for astronauts to pose for photos and press conferences.
“Who says you can’t do yoga in space! At least you can try it,” tweeted the European Space Agency astronaut (opens in a new tab) on Tuesday (June 21st), along with the photo . The Italian spacewalker added that he wants to try an even more ambitious routine soon.
Related: Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti makes history with the first TikTok from the International Space Station
Cristoforetti, who is on TikTok to reach younger audiences, recently partnered with Cosmic Kids Yoga (opens in a new tab) (a private company in operation since 2012) to develop a yoga routine optimized for space exploration.
“You know what? I love doing yoga here on Earth, and I wonder, would it work up there in space?” Cristoforetti asked in a May 23 video posted on the Cosmic Kids YouTube channel (opens in a new tab).
In response, certified yoga teacher Jaime Amor represented a possible space routine for Cristoforetti in the 20-minute video, adding a package of Yoga activities in space (opens in a new tab) for young people who they want to stretch and do endurance training along with the astronaut.
Who says you can’t do yoga in space! At least you can try it 😁 Looking forward to trying the full @CosmicKidsYoga yoga plan ready for me! ▶ ️ #InternationalDayofIoga pic.twitter.com/uIUFMxzBYr21 June 2022
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Other astronauts have successfully done yoga in orbit before Cristoforetti. For example, NASA astronauts Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson showed some balance postures in 2017, although Fischer joked on Twitter (opens in a new tab) that they are much easier to maintain “without gravity “.
In addition, NASA’s Christina Koch, who spent nearly a year in space, lists yoga as one of her leisure activities in her official biography of the agency (opens in a new tab).
Yoga has many health benefits, including improved strength, balance, and flexibility, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine (opens in new tab); Yoga is also associated with more energy and better stress management, among other health outcomes.
The United Nations celebrated International Yoga Day on Tuesday (June 21st) and noted that yoga has been crucial to global health since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.
“People around the world have adopted yoga to stay healthy and rejuvenated and to fight social isolation and depression during the pandemic,” the UN wrote (opens new tab).
“Yoga also plays an important role in the psychosocial care and rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients in quarantine and isolation. It is especially helpful in relieving their fears and anxiety.”
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