Yoga for Runners

Running is so much fun! Running with tight muscles and misaligned body parts is not. Many of us runners focus so much on the joy of the run that we might be tempted to skip the steps that maintain our flexibility. Lack of flexibility in hip flexors and hamstrings for example, limit their range of motion. When our body senses this lack it starts to demand it from other joints. Joints that are usually not meant to produce that motion (achy knees and tendons anyone?). I have suffered from my own share of aches and pains. I decided to throw away the outdated “no pain, no gain” mentality and switched to the “suffering is optional” school of thought. I decided to merge yoga and running to keep my body in optimum condition.

Yoga improves balance and strength. Best of all it increases flexibility. Flexible muscles are stronger than tight tense muscles. Thus, minimizing your risk of injury. As an added benefit, yoga increases your mental focus.

Warrior II helps return flexibility to your hips region, legs and ankles.

Let’s say you’re in a challenging pose, rather than shying away from it you pay attention to your breath and deepen it and suddenly the situation is manageable. The same skill can be applied to a challenging moment in a run. Rather than panic you bring your attention back to you breath and tap into deeper strength.

From my experience, gentle yoga stretches enhance your body’s recovery after a long intense run. On a day when you are resting from running, a power yoga class is a great opportunity to strengthen parts of your body that are usually not exercised during your runs.

Future posts will include routines useful for days you rest, pre and post-runs.

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