You’re looking to improve your running and stamina.
Or maybe you’re looking for a way to calm your body after a long run.
Whether you like to run competitively or recreationally, you may benefit from adding yoga to your exercise routine.
• The benefits of yoga for runners • Which type of yoga stretches you’ll want to focus on • And more
• Is Yoga Good for Runners? • What Type of Yoga Is Best for Runners? • How to Incorporate Yoga Into Your Running Routine • 8 Benefits of Yoga for Runners • Yoga Stretches for Runners: 4 Areas You Should Focus on • Looking for Ways to Improve Your Running? Attend a Body & Brain Yoga Tai Chi Class Today In-Person or Online
Yes, yoga is a great supplemental activity for runners
Many runners find running to be a stress-relieving, meditative activity. Similar to running, yoga is an integration of mind, body, and breath.
There are many physical and mental benefits of yoga that can specifically cater to runners.
Keep reading to learn more about the specific benefits runners can experience from adding yoga to their routine.
Most types of yoga are beneficial to runners.
• Restorative yoga • Power yoga; and • Korean yoga
At Body & Brain Yoga Tai Chi, we offer Korean yoga classes in-person and online.
• Strength • Flexibility • Breathing, and • Energy
... all of which are beneficial to runners. Visit our website to learn more about our yoga classes today.
There are many ways that you can incorporate yoga into your running routine.
• Warm-up routine before running • Cool-down routine after running; and • Weekly exercise routine
To help stretch your muscles before a run, consider adding some yoga movements into your warm-up.
• Increase the flexibility of your joints • Warm up your muscles before your run • Put you in a positive mindset • And more
Rest and recovery are extremely important for runners, especially those that run more than once a week.
To help your muscles recover from a run, try incorporating yoga into your cool-down routine.
• Helping you relax after a strenuous run • Ease post-workout muscle soreness • Increase blood flow and circulation • And more
Another way to incorporate yoga into your running schedule is to make it a weekly routine by attending yoga classes.
Attending classes weekly is a great way to achieve the long-term benefits of practicing yoga as a runner.
• Improved strength and flexibility in key muscles for running • Improved endurance and stamina while running • Improved mental focus and confidence while running • And more
Yoga is beneficial to runners in many ways, mentally and physically.
• Improved strength • Improved flexibility • Improved posture • Relief from soreness or discomfort • Improved breathing • Improved balance • And more
• Improved mental strength and confidence • Reduced performance stress • And more
Let’s go over some of these benefits in detail.
• Core abdominal muscles • Quads • Hamstrings; and • Hip flexors
Yoga can also strengthen underused muscles that runners may forget to focus on while stretching, such as the ankle and hip joints.
Strengthening your joints and muscles can not only improve running performance but also potentially help prevent common running injuries from taking place.
When it comes to running, flexibility is just as important as muscle strength for performance and injury prevention.
• Muscles • Joints • Ligaments; and • Connective tissues
This can help you run more freely while experiencing less discomfort or tightness in your body.
Posture is the foundation for efficient movements in running.
• Decreased efficiency while running • Discomfort while running; and • Potential injuries
Yoga places an emphasis on correct posture, teaching you how to elongate the spine without creating tension.
Not only can yoga help you be more mindful of your posture during your run, but also when you are doing other daily slouch-prone activities, like working at a desk or sitting on the couch to watch TV.
Addressing posture throughout your everyday life can potentially help avoid injuries that may make it feel more difficult to run.
Yoga can be a great way to relieve post-run muscle soreness or discomfort.
• Reducing tension • Loosening areas prone to muscle aches; and • Promoting healthy blood flow and circulation
Additionally, yoga can be a great “mental cool-down” after a long or difficult run and can help return your body to a state of relaxation and mindfulness.
Being able to control your breathing while running can greatly improve your stamina.
One of the key practices of yoga is learning how to breathe correctly and intentionally.
• Reducing performance anxiety • Increasing mental clarity • Increasing efficiency and stamina
Yoga can help balance the body and mind.
Physically, regular practice of yoga has been found to improve the body’s equilibrium receptors, which are responsible for your body’s state of balance.
Improving your balance helps increase the ability of proprioceptors in your legs and feet to anticipate movement changes, which can allow you to run smoother and faster.
Yoga can also help runners improve the balance of their mental state, as mindfulness is a huge component of practicing yoga.
Through yoga, we learn to become more mindful of our body’s needs. For runners, finding a healthy balance between training and recovery is an important part of maintaining physical and emotional health.
One of the primary goals of yoga is to nurture your well-being.
By focusing on improving concentration, overcoming the ego through reflection and meditation, some runners may begin to feel more confident in their performance while running.
With a new sense of confidence and mental strength, runners may notice a difference in their stamina and endurance.
Professional or competitive runners often feel stress associated with their performance.
Yoga can help you learn how to control your emotions and breathing, which is particularly beneficial for before-the-race jitters in competitive runners.
Relaxation techniques taught in yoga can help clear their mind of worry and manage their stress before a race.
• Improve joint mobility and range of motion • Decrease discomfort while running and after running • Increase joint flexibility • Strengthen key muscles for running • And more
When it comes to ideal yoga stretches for runners, you want to target the key muscles and joints that are utilized during running.
• Hip joints • Hamstring • Quadriceps; and • Plantar flexors
Tight hip joints are a common issue that can be overlooked by runners while stretching.
• Imbalance • Further weakening of the joints; and • Injuries
• Strengthening • Stabilizing; and • Promoting flexibility in the hip joints
Stretching your hamstrings before and after a run is also important.
• Prevent lower back pain while running. Tight hamstrings can limit the mobility of your pelvis and put pressure on your lower back. • Prevent hamstring injuries while running. Running with tight hamstrings can increase your chance of straining or tearing muscle fibers while running. • Increase the range of motion in your hips. Tight hamstrings can be responsible for a limited range of motion and flexibility in your hips. • Improve your posture. Tight hamstrings can rotate the pelvis backward, flattening the natural arch of the back and increasing the strain and tension on your muscles as you run.
Stretching your quadriceps before a run can help increase your stamina and performance.
• Prevent injury to the quadriceps while running • Increase the flexibility and range of motion in your quadriceps to help increase your performance while running • Improve circulation and blood flow during your run • And more
Plantar flexion plays an important role in the movement aspect of running.
Plantar flexion, a muscle movement that allows you to stand on the tips of your toes, is controlled by a wide range of muscles in your ankle, foot, and leg.
• Injury or muscle strains while running • Limited range of motion in the ankle, foot, or leg • Discomfort while running • And more
Including yoga stretches that target your plantar flexors in your warm-up and cool-down regimens can keep your plantar flexors strong and flexible so you can perform your best while running.
Are you looking to improve your running and experience the physical and mental benefits that yoga offers? We can help.
Sign up for an introductory yoga class online or at one of many locations nationwide.
Improve your running by aligning your mind, body, and breathing with Body & Brain Yoga Tai Chi today.