6 Essential Yoga Poses for Runners

Whether you run as part of your workout routine or to keep your body active, practicing yoga can offer some great benefits.

From enhancing your flexibility and improving your body awareness to building your focus and developing breathing patterns, doing yoga poses can potentially improve your overall running performance. The key to making the most out of your yoga routine is to perform the asanas correctly and focus on your breathing.

So, whether you perform them as part of your warm-up or cool-down routine, a few yoga poses can help prepare your body for your next run and promote post-run muscle growth and recovery.

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Yoga Poses Every Runner Should Practise

Here's a look at six such yoga poses:

1) Downward Facing Dog

Called 'Adho Mukha Shvansana' in Sanskrit, the downward facing dog is a classic asana that helps lengthen and strengthen your body muscles. This pose offers a great stretch to your ankles, feet, hamstrings, calves, lats and glutes.

How to do it:

• Start on your knees and hands, and keep your wrists under your shoulders. Your knees should be directly under your hips.
• Push through your hands, curling your toes and straightening your legs so you can raise your hips.
• Spread your fingertips, and move your shoulders away from your ears.
• Make sure to keep your tailbone high, and allow your heels to press on the floor.
• Stay in this position for a few breaths, and release your body back on the floor.
• Repeat.

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2) Reclined Pigeon

Called the 'Supta Kapotasana' in Sanskrit, the reclined pigeon is a great pose for tight hips. It offers an amazing stretch for the connective tissues that go along from your hips to your shins.

How to do it:

• Lie straight on your back, with your right foot crossed over your left ankle.
• Keep your foot flexed, and reach both your hands behind the leg on the ground. Hug that leg, and bring it towards your chest.
• Keep your neck and shoulders relaxed throughout the pose.

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3) Forward Fold

Called the 'Uttanasana' in Sanskrit, the forward fold is an excellent pose for tight hamstrings. Practising this asana daily can improve your flexibility.

How to do it:

• With your feet hip-width apart, stand straight and tall.
• Slowly bend at your hips keeping your spine flat, and bend your elbows.
• Hold each elbow with opposite hands, and allow your head to relax.
• Press onto your heels, and raise your sit bones.
• Breathe easily, and lift your torso, and as you exhale, try to go deeper in the pose.

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4) Triangle Pose

Called the 'Trikonasana' in Sanskrit, the triangle pose offers a great stretch to your groins, hamstrings, hips, calves, chest. shoulders, spine and the muscles around your knees. This yoga pose also helps strengthen your abdominal muscles, legs and back, and improves balance and coordination by strengthening your ankles.

How to do it:

• Stand tall with both your legs straight, and keep your feet slightly wider than your hip width.
• Lift your arms at your shoulder height, and make sure they are parallel to the floor.
• Stretch your body to your right, and go as lower as you can while keeping your back as straight as possible.
• Reach your arm down, and make sure your weight is distributed evenly on both your legs.
• Return to the starting position, and perform the movement on your left side.

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5) Bridge Pose

Called the 'Setu Bandha Sarvangasana' in Sanskrit, the bridge pose helps ease lower back pain and tension by engaging your glutes and flexing your abs to maintain a straight spine.

How to do it:

• Start by lying down face up, with your knees bent and feet on the floor.
• Bring both your feet close to your sit bones, and place your arms on your sides.
• As you exhale, slowly raise your hips while keeping your feet and thighs parallel.
• You can also hold your hands under your pelvis to maintain proper balance.
• Raise your hips as high as you can till your thighs get parallel to the floor.
• Make sure to keep your knees over your heels.

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6) Tree Pose

Called the 'Vrikshasana' in Sanskrit, the tree pose is one of the best yoga poses that can help improve your body posture. As a runner, you should perform this pose regularly to improve your running form and mechanics.

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet at a hip distance, and press your hands together in a prayer position.
• Shift your weight onto your right foot, and lift your left foot off the ground.
• Put the bottom of your left foot on your right thigh, and make sure your pelvis is straight and your toes are pointed towards the floor.
• Slowly bring your arms over your head, and press your palms together.