As with all forms of exercise, mixing up our movement will always improve our performance. But how exactly can yoga make us better at running?
Yoga could be considered the perfect counterpart to a running practice – Yoga improves your running ability by soothing, strengthening, and adding flexibility to your joints and muscles. It also helps us to return to a slower pace of breathing. Runners who practice yoga can avoid injuries and faster recoveries after a long and hard training session. So if you’re considering adding yoga into your routine, know that practice is one of the very best things that you can do to get better at running.
In this post, we’ll tell you all about why yoga can make you a better runner, as well as a few of the best poses to practice before and after running to improve your performance.
Yoga vs. running
Yoga and running share a lot of similarities but are also different in many ways, both require focus, regular practice, and a structured breathing pattern to get the most from either of these two popular forms of physical activity. However, they both require very little equipment, making them both highly accessible and affordable forms of sport – which could be one reason you turned to run in the first place!
Where they differ is also important. Where running takes your breath away, yoga is there to bring it back. And where running has a high impact on your joints and muscles, yoga is there to soothe them back to stability. This is what makes the two forms of movement a perfect pair!
Finding balance with yoga
Because running is a very repetitive movement, we can sometimes lose out on the benefits of a practice that requires us to practice balance and coordination – two things that are great for both the body and the mind and something that yoga can offer us.
By flowing through yoga poses, we can get to know our bodies in an entirely different way from how we know them about running. For example, a regular yoga practice will notify us of the areas of pain and tension that we may not otherwise have noticed – something that could have otherwise led to injury while running.
Yoga is an intuitive way to tune into what our body needs and how it feels on any given day.
How to add yoga into your routine
Ideally, we’ll use yoga to warm up before running and to cool down after running. However, to get to know our bodies in a profound way, it’s also a great idea to practice a full yoga flow or class 1-3 times per week.
Using yoga to warm up
When practicing yoga to warm up before a run, it’s important to remember not to spend too long in deep stretches. If we stretch our muscles too much before exercise, we risk injuring them. Instead, the best thing to do is move through a few poses that target the hamstrings, hips, and quads, holding each pose for no longer than three breaths before moving on to the next pose.
You might also like to incorporate a little core activation and opening through the chest and shoulders.
Keep reading for a simple pre-run yoga warm-up!
Using yoga to cool down
Using yoga to cool down is where we get to treat our muscles to some well-earned TLC. Set aside a little time after your run (or at some point later in the day) to spend time in some deep stretches that will aid recovery and decrease tightness in the muscles.
We’ll look at a short post-run cool-down further on in the article.
Pre-run warm-up
Sun salutations
Sun salutations are a great way to warm up the body before any strenuous physical movement – they’re also a wonderful way to start your day!
Use sun salutations to wake up any achy joints and stiff muscles before you go for a run, and you’ll thank yourself. Follow a sun salutation video on Youtube, or use the following list to flow through a simple salutation routine.
- Mountain pose
- Forward fold
- Halfway lift
- Forward fold
- Plank
- Chaturanga
- Upward-facing dog/cobra
- Downward-facing dog
- Forward fold
Repeat as many times as you like!
Hamstring stretch
Happy hamstrings don’t happen overnight; we need to give them a lot of love and attention – especially if we’re using them to run!
Grab yourself a strap or band and lay on your back with your left leg straight and your right leg bent into the chest. Wrap your strap or band around the sole of the right foot, then kick the foot towards the sky. Keep the leg straight, ensuring that there is no bend in the knee, and flex the right foot.
If you have any pain behind the knee or coming up into the glute, lower the leg a little.
Stay here for 1-2 minutes before repeating on the other side.
Figure-4 pose
The figure-4 pose is a gentle way to open the hips before running without the risk of overstretching and causing injury.
Start by laying on your back with your knees bent and the soles of your feet on the floor. Bring the right ankle to rest on the left knee. If this is enough of a stretch for you, stay here. Otherwise, interlace your hands behind your hamstring or around your shinbone and gently pull the left leg in as you “push” the right knee away from you.
Stay here for a few breaths before repeating on the other side.
Warrior II
Warrior II is a quick way to wake up the lower body in preparation for a run. It can also feel pretty empowering – and who knows, maybe that will help you run further and faster?!
Start by standing on your mat with your feet about one-leg-width apart. Next, turn the right toes to face the front of your mat and bend deeply into the right knee (without letting the knee overhang the ankle). Next, lift your arms on either side, stretching through the fingers in opposite directions as your gaze over your right fingers.
If you would like to make this pose more intense, bring the feet further apart to allow you to drop the hips closer to the ground.
Stay here for 5-10 breaths before repeating on the other side.
Post-run cool-down
Seated forward fold
A seated forward fold allows us to passively stretch the hamstring muscles so that we’re able to relax and settle into the pose after a long run.
Start by sitting on your mat with a cushion or folded blanket underneath the sit bones. Keep your legs straight out in front of you and point your toes towards the ceiling.
Stay straight through the spine as you exhale to bring your tummy towards your thighs, leading with the chest as your fold. Once you’ve found a good stretch, try and relax. You might like to build a tower of yoga blocks between your knees to rest your head-on.
Remember to be gentle with yourself as you come into this pose. Stay for 3-5 minutes and allow yourself to fold deeper into the forward fold as your body invites you to with more space. IF you have any pain behind the knee or in the glute, come out of the pose a little.
Butterfly pose
Butterfly pose is a wonderfully restorative pose that’s going to feel oh-so-good on your hips after running.
Find a comfortable seat and bring the soles of your feet together – alternatively, you can do this lying down! Let our knees fall out to the sides and allow your hands to relax. If this feels too intense in your hips, bring a cushion or block underneath each knee to reduce the sensation a little.
If your knees are above your hips in a seated butterfly pose, bring a cushion, block, or blanket underneath the sit bones to lift the pelvis.
Stay here for 3-5 minutes.
Pigeon pose
Pigeon pose offers a deep stretch in the hips and glutes that will help you to recover post-run.
Start on all fours, with your wrists underneath your shoulders and knees underneath your hips. Bring your right knee towards your right wrist, then let your right foot come over towards the left wrist – it doesn’t have to touch it!
Slide backward on the left leg until it’s laying straight behind you, then get heavy in the hips, trying to keep the weight evenly distributed between both hips as though your pelvis is a bowl of water that you don’t want to spill.
Stay upright in the chest for a few breaths before coming down to the forearms or bringing your head to a block/your folded hands.
Stay here for 2-5 minutes (in total) before repeating on the other side.
The takeaway
Yoga is one of the most complimentary forms of movement to practice alongside regular running. It aids recovery, reduces the likelihood of injury, and can improve your overall performance.
Set aside a little bit of time before and after your run to move through the poses discussed in this article, and your muscles will thank you!
Do you practice yoga alongside running? We would love to know!
