Yoga for Runners
Not only am I an avid practicer of yoga, I am also a marathon runner. These two might sound completely opposite, but they have much more in common than you would think. Especially if you are the kind who likes to learn something deeper from what you do. Both activities provide many metaphors for life.
I have talked about the lessons of yoga, and how they apply to life. Well, the same is true for running. The insights I learn from yoga help my thinking and performance in running. Occasionally it is the other way around. Both benefit me tremendously in my daily life. The management of your mental chatter in these activities allows you to do the same in the rest of your day.
One of the greatest benefits of doing both yoga and running is physical. Things get tight with running. Yoga helps loosen muscles, stretch tendons and ligaments, and provides a nice full body massage. People are experiencing a decreased risk of injury when adding yoga as part of their total running program.
I have been having IT band issues this year. This is a very common injury for runners. I have definitely seen improvement with this after doing some hip opening exercises. The secondary benefit of hip openers is the tendon stretch — it has been working miracles for me. I actually really enjoy hip opening exercises now that I relax into them (runners tend to be very tight in the hip area).
The Runner’s World website has a link to yoga. The awareness is growing of the beneficial connection. I do fear runners will mentally minimize the benefits of yoga. They may be robbing themselves of a crucial tool that can have a profound effect on training and performance (not to mention injury prevention).
If you’ve only done yoga, or you’ve only been a runner…consider dabbling into the other realm. Running won’t be for every yogi or yogini. Yoga certainly won’t appeal to all runners. However, it can be such an experience to push yourself into new areas of the physical wonderland.
July 19th, 2009 at 9:30 am
[...] Go here to see the original: Yoga for Runners | Yoga [...]
July 26th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
after enrolling on a Yoga Class, i am not stress free and is more relaxed than ever. Yoga is really very helpful both in physical and mental health.
July 28th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Thanks for writing, I very much liked your newest post. I think you should post more frequently, you evidently have natural ability for blogging!
August 3rd, 2009 at 1:41 am
i am currently enrolled in a Yoga class. the health benefits of Yoga on myself is great. I am more relaxed and i can sleep well at night.
August 5th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
I wanted to ask, is there any chance for a modified version of the directory listing script, with an iphone-stylish like design?
August 6th, 2009 at 6:29 am
OMG…totally!
August 6th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Amazing news, thank you!
November 5th, 2009 at 3:46 am
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