I’m not racing this season so my goals are to focus on strength and flexibility.
I’m doing P90X for strength- does anyone have suggestions for getting bendy?
I have several Gaiam yoga DVDs that I like, but I wonder what else is out there.
thanks!
–L
Definitely yoga.
+1 for yoga.
These are worth a look if you prefer home practice - or beach, or park etc… www.yogadownload.com and the quality is great.
I find the mp3 version works much better than video as it’s far easier to concentrate on what you’re doing rather than focusing on what someone is doing on a screen.
Yoga! I have some Rodney Yee dvds that I really like.
I like yoga for flexibility, it helps with my Brazilian Jiujitsu. EkhartYoga on YouTube for all the free at home yoga you could ever need 
Primal Yoga is also really cool but just getting started and i’m not sure if she has DVDs out yet or not.
If you want a full body workout for strength and flexibility try Gracie BJJ! It’s a martial art that is ideal for women both as a workout and a means of self defense.
Good luck. 
To mix it up, I recommend a ballet dvd - I do The New York City Ballet one sometimes. It has a lot of strength and stretching that I find soothing, and the classical music is lovely. Very good for working on opening up your hips, too.
I’ll recommend a book - “Stretching” by Bob Anderson. Its now in its umpteenth edition and has generally been regarded as the bible on that topic.
Like everybody has said, Yoga is great, try mixing it up a bit with a Bikram yoga session. personally I find a dynamic Yoga class works best for me, yoga positions mixed up with stretches and balances that really help me with focus and strength as well as flexibility. I had a bad back and Yoga was recommended to me to improve my posture which in turn would help my back and I’ve never looked back. I’m not quite doing the splits but there’s hope yet!
How do you like taking a season off from racing? I’m thinking of doing something along those lines next year–do a run focus in the winter, cycling focus in the summer, with primary focus on strength and flexibility. No long stuff but might do a few sprints just to mix things up. Goal is to be in top shape when I move into a new AG in 2015.
I’ve done a lot of different yoga classes. You name the method I’ve done it. I found it took a long time to see any significant flexibility improvements from yoga. For me personally doing a dancers type of stretch will yield results quickly. I agree with the ballet suggestion. There are plenty of fun dance/barre studios around that offer just stretching classes. It just depends on your goals and what appeals to you Good luck!