Yoga - Stretching your ability to run

To stay healthy, active and engaged in sports, runners and other endurance athletes need corrective exercises to amend muscular imbalances, prevent overuse injuries and ensure longevity.

Yoga is not just about physical postures. A huge part of it is pranayama or yogic breathing, and meditation. Pranayama teaches us how to breathe fully and in a sustainable way. It helps build lung capacity and, like meditation, helps keep you calm and centered and balanced when you’re practicing yoga, running or really doing anything. It can change your runs.

If injury prevention is the goal, Yoga offers one of the most dynamic returns on the time investment, as it increases strength, flexibility, agility, balance and mental acuity, and can assist with recovery from high-intensity training.

Some runners will prefer a slower, more restorative style of yoga, while others will prefer the movement and energy of a more dynamic flow of asnaas.

Try to practice yoga at home for 10 minutes to cool down after a workout or as part of a dynamic warm-up.

These are the most helpful poses for runners in specific…

Ardha Hanumanasana (aka Baby Hanuman aka Runner’s Stretch):

This one is a major hamstring opener and is great for everyone. From a lunge, drop your back knee and straighten your front leg without hyperextending your knee (if you’re feeling extra tight, it’s ok to keep a slight bend in your knee). Keeping your hips square to the front of your mat, move your back knee back and front foot forward according to your comfort level.

Start by sitting more upright with your hands on blocks or the floor. To move deeper into the pose, engage your core and carefully lengthen your stance or walk your hands forward and fold towards your front leg. For an extra bonus, place a foam block underneath your front leg and gently rock side to side so that the block massages out your hamstrings.

Sucirandhrasana (aka Eye of the Needle Pose aka Supine Pigeon Pose):

This pose is a variation of everyone’s favorite hip opener: Pigeon. Lay on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Cross your right shin over the top of your left thigh and lift your left foot off the mat to bring your legs closer to your chest. Thread your right arm through the space created by the cross of your legs and interlace your fingers behind your left knee. Flex both of your feet strongly. This will protect your knees from injury during the pose and will help open the hips more fully. To move deeper into the pose, pull your lowest belly in and start to gently draw your left knee in towards your chest and press your right knee out away from your chest. Repeat on the second side.

Mandukasana (aka Frog Pose):

Frog pose is always a favorite with my athletes. It’s a profound inner thigh and groin opener and is just fun. Start on hands and knees in a table pose. Lower down onto your forearms and begin to walk your knees out to either side away from each other. Once you have reached your first edge, look back at your shins and line them up so that they extend straight back from your knee.

Flex your feet so that the inner edge of your foot is touching the mat and so that your toes are pointing out to either side. Engage your core, hug your inner thighs toward each other, and begin to shift your hips back. Be gentle and try not to force anything. Try to soften deeper into the pose with every exhale.

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