I’ve written briefly about yoga on the blog; I speak about it all the time. If you ask any of the parkrun family, I’m sure many tire of me singing its praises. For anyone who’s not had the talk, I wanted to share a little about why it means so much to me and how it could help you improve your running. If you’ve never wanted to go to a yoga class and don’t necessarily think yoga is for you, this is the blog for you
I discovered yoga in 2016 after various unconnected contacts had recommended it to me. I knew roughly what yoga was but had little interest in it. This was largely due to my aversion to attending classes and being unable to see/understand what was being demonstrated.
After doing some research though, I realised that yoga has a rich tradition of being taught 1 to 1, directly from teacher to student, in precisely the manner I needed to be taught. So, I went and found myself a teacher and decided to give it a go. My first class was tough, painful and awkward due to my complete lack of flexibility. Even with all those aches and pains, I already knew I was hooked and that yoga would be a practise for life.
Yoga is an Indian wellness practise which sits within the banner of Ayurveda, an ancient school of healing similar to traditional Chinese medicine. Yoga practises are wide and varied with differing practise styles and lineages. Most have originated from India but some take their origins from Chinese Martial arts. There is some evidence to suggest that yoga was practised among tribes in Western and Northern Africa.
The school of yoga I mainly practise is ashtanga yoga. Ashtanga means 8 limbs, and of these 8 limbs, physical practises, known as asanas, form a small part. Arguably it is this part that is most relevant to us as runners.
The other 7 limbs are comprised of attributes (such as non-violence, non-attachment, discernment etc), as well as breath control, meditation and focus.
How can ashtanga yoga help me as a runner?
So, how can ashtanga yoga help us runners? On a physical level, the ashtanga primary series is fantastic for building strength, endurance and flexibility, which are all key for runners. It helps to open the upper body and the chest, while the breathing practises contained within the series help to build lung capacity which is critical for long, healthy runs. Many of us in the West breathe through our mouths, which can be detrimental to our health and can impede the breath when running. Ashtanga helps to build strong, deep nostril breathing as well as combining breath to sync with movement, which is key when running.
Practising ashtanga yoga was my first introduction to free movement, and I now realise I would not have had the confidence to run without this grounding. Ashtanga is mainly taught 1 on 1. Even in group classes, students will come and practise the sequence alone, at their own pace and according to their own ability. The teacher will come and adjust/give feedback, based on the students need, like a 1 to 1 in a group setting. This way of working really empowered me, but also helped me understand my own body movements in relationship to others, and improve my proprioception/understanding where my body was in space, critical if you’re doing a headstand.
Practically though, ashtanga has kept me strong, resilient and relatively injury free. Lots of runners tell me they don’t practise yoga, because they aren’t flexible, which always makes me smile. After all, if we were flexible already, we wouldn’t need it.
Long runs will tend to tighten the hips, knees and ankles, but yoga is the perfect way to strengthen the muscles and reverse any tightness or unnecessary tension that we carry.
The ashtanga yoga primary series can be off-putting, it takes about 90 minutes to complete, and a traditional student will practise 6 days a week, with 1 day off. If you run, work and engage in other sports, you probably won’t have that time, or even the inclination. That doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate elements of ashtanga yoga into your life to improve your runs.
Here are a few links to teachers I know and follow, and some of their resources you might use to get more familiar with yoga practises to improve your runs.
Leading Yoga teacher David Swenson created ‘short forms’ which are extracts derived from the primary series which makes fantastic warmups before any run, and only take about 15 minutes to complete when you know them well. Check out one of his short forms here:
Glasgow based yoga teacher Mark Russell works extensively to Taylor yoga practises to meet the needs of runners. In this blog post, he shares thoughts on why yoga is so important for athletes:
https://www.fionaoutdoors.co.uk/2013/10/guest-blog-benefits-of-yoga-for-runners-and-triathletes.html
Finally, when it comes to your warm downs, yoga can be just as helpful. I think we’re all guilty of missing out the stretches when we get home, but they are critical if you want to build flexibility and stay injury free. Slower yoga practises such as yin yoga, can be incredible for helping ease tired muscles and aid recovery post-run, try this lovely gentle weekend flow that will take you less than 30 mins.
I hope some of the above do inspire you to try incorporating some yoga into your fitness routine. I’d love to hear about ways in which you use yoga to improve your running.
Ruth X
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