Yoga for Runners

Yoga for Runners

I have had a number of requests for hand outs, resources and specific yoga asana to help with different sports and conditions, so I thought I would share some of my responses. Iam going to attempt to make some video tutorials, but anyone who knows me knows I'm not one to be in front of the camera so it might take a while! The first is a request for information on yoga for runners...

Yoga and running complement each other well; whilst running helps to strengthen muscles yoga helps to stretch them out. The breathing exercises (pranayama) in yoga, and even the long, deep breath throughout a yoga practice, help improve breathing when running. For me, running is a way to feel a sense of freedom - from my surroundings, my thoughts - I have constant itchy feet and it's a way to feel like I'm moving even when I'm staying still! Since running more I have altered my yoga practice, especially post run, to complement the running and minimise aches and injury. Below are just a few of my favourites:

Half splits is a great pose to stretch out the hamstrings and calves. Come into a lunge with your back knee down, and place your hands on the floor or on blocks. Point your front foot up and start to sink backwards almost so that you are sitting on your heel, but not quite (too far and you loose the stretch!). Keep your back straight, drawing your chest towards your chin. 

Upward Facing Dog (Urdvha mukha svanasana) helps to lengthen the front of the body and open up the chest. (You can come down into a Cobra but simply bending your elbows and lowering your body if this is too much for your back.) This area is often overlooked for runners, but can get tight as you work your core and hold your arms up! Keep your shoulders over your wrists and draw your shoulder blades together on your back, rolling the head of the arm bones back. Press into your toes and, if you can, lift your thighs, all the time engaging your core by drawing your belly back to your spine. 

Downward Facing Dog (Adho mukha svanasana) helps to stretch out the back and backs of the legs. Ground through the base of your fingers, soften through your chest as if you were trying to get your chest to touch your thighs, and draw your navel back towards your spine. Then lift your sitting bones up, firm your thighs and press the backs of the knees towards the back of the room. If your heels touch the ground great, but if not don't worry. 

Parsvottanasana is another great stretch for the backs of the legs and the back. Square your hips to the front of the mat, turning your back foot in deeply. bring your hands to the ground (you can also bring them to a block, or bring them behind your back to hold your elbows/reverse prayer to open the chest and shoulders).  Inhale to lengthen your spine and exhale, folding in towards your leg. Focus on your foot, keeping your back and neck long. 

Virasana helps to stretch out the quadriceps and hips. You can sit up on a pillow or block if you find it hard to sit all the way down. For an even deeper pose, slowly lower yourself into Hero (supta virasana) with your back on the ground. Keep lengthening your tailbone towards your heels, trying not to over arch your lower back. If you feel any pain (especially in the knees) come out of the pose gently. 

Supta padangusthasana helps to lengthen the hamstrings. Lying on your back, place a strap around the ball of your raised foot keeping your arms straight. Draw the toes towards you whilst extending through the heel. As you breath out, gently draw the raised leg towards you trying to keep it straight. Repeat on the other side.

Viparita karani is the most relaxing way to end a practice. Simply shuffle yourself towards the wall and lie with your legs up, supported by the wall. You can place a cushion under your head for comfort, or you can place one under your hips helping to elevate them slightly. 

Enjoy... ! 

To look or to feel

Whenever I go on facebook, instagram, twitter or any other form of social media I see  conflicting messages such as 'real women have curves' VS  'best exercises for a flat belly' etc. To say these messages are confusing is an understatement! There is no doubt that fitness has become fashionable, and this is a great thing; it’s far better than it being cool to slob around doing nothing. However, the backlash of ‘beach ready’ photos is as un-nerving as the multitude of blog posts on how to get the ‘perfect beach body’.

It's got me thinking... why do I practice yoga and work out? Why do I eat healthy, clean food and take care of my body? What is it about the things I do that I enjoy? The more I focus on these things, the more I feel like I am looking after my mind and my body for me, not because it's the 'in thing'!

As we live in a voyeuristic world, the emphasis on how ‘healthy’ looks is more and more apparent. And so I remind myself… I do yoga because it makes me feel calm. I do crossfit because it makes me feel strong (and when I moved to a new part of the country the prospect of a ‘community’ made me feel safe), I surf because it makes me feel alive, I run because it makes me feel free. I eat clean healthy food because the thought of putting rubbish in my body just doesn’t make sense to me. The body I have is a result of all the emotions that I am lucky enough to feel due to my actions, and these are what I enjoy. I’m still working out how to capture all of this in a witty image that will grab people’s attention, because it's not about how it looks, at least not for me.

I spend a lot of my time delivering yoga and fitness sessions to young people, many of whom have no interest in sport, low self esteem and a multitude of stresses placed on them either through home or school life. I try my hardest to remind them of the way they feel after a class. The focus may not be on their sporting achievement but on the fact that they have participated, enjoyed themselves and maybe done something they didn’t think they could do.  Developing a connection with these intrinsic motivators in my opinion is the only way that we, as a society, will grow to be healthy, fit, strong, happy and resilient.