Yoga for Runners

It's running season!

That's a bit of a joke, as it's always running season.  Much like yoga and bowling, running is the kind of sport an active person can keep up throughout the year.  If you're weather-adverse, there's always treadmills (but seriously, watch out for those things--one misstep and you're being flung across the fitness room for everyone to see), but a lot of runners enjoy the challenge of varying weather conditions.  To me, one of the nice things about running is that it gets you outside year-round.

Running, however, like most endurance sports, has its pitfalls--the most common health issues runners face is a variety of repetitive stress injuries.  I've not met a runner who hasn't dealt with at least one of the following:  shin splints, patellar tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, hamstring/calf pull, Achilles tendonitis, piriformis syndrome (to name a few -- for a little more insight, GQ--of all sources--has a decent piece on it here: https://www.gq.com/story/5-most-common-running-injuries).  The bad news is that 'curing' yourself of these conditions can take hours of physical therapy and might take you off the road for a few days or even weeks.  The good news is, they can be (to an extent) prevented with a little bit of daily prophylactic 'prehab' (namely, yoga).

Yes, dropping in on a weekly 1-hour class is a fantastic way to keep your chill and get a nice communal yogic experience, but doing simply 10-15 minutes a day of mindful stretching can keep those pegs pounding the pavement longer and farther with fewer injuries than a once-weekly stretch session.  If you're less familiar with yoga than running and unsure what you can do on your own, here are a few classic poses to support your running obsession--er--I mean, hobby.

Forward Fold -- Uttanasana

It's exactly what it sounds like.  You fold forward.  You don't have to touch your toes.  You don't have to touch anything.  Just fold. Things to keep in mind in forward fold:  keep your core engaged, and keep a slight bend in the knees.  If you want to deepen the stretch, think of lifting the hips higher to the sky, rather than pushing the knees back.  Maybe take this time to shake out your head gently and knock loose the tension that tends to build up in neck and shoulders.

Downward Facing Dog -- Adho Mukha Svanasana

This is possibly one of the most well-known yoga poses, and for good reason.  This will lengthen the muscles of the back, hamstrings, and calves.  Also, you get a (technical) inversion any time you put your heart above your head, giving blood a chance to circulate in a different relationship to gravity than usual.  Simply fold forward and walk either your feet back or your hands forward until you're in a nice triangle shape.  Hang out for a while.  Walk out your feet one at a time, and play around with picking up one leg to make 3-legged dog.  This is pose generates both power and restoration.

Pyramid -- Parsvattonasana

For this pose, simply place your one foot just under meter forward of your other foot (depending on leg length, this will be different for different people).  Back foot will be diagonal; front foot is pointing forward.  With a flat back, fold forward.  Hands can be on hips, touching the floor, or in any position you like, really.  I've chosen a reverse prayer position (Paschima Namaskarasana), which I find is helpful for opening the chest and releasing shoulder tightness.

Wide Legged Forward Fold -- Prasarita Padottonasana

It's exactly what it sounds like--spread your feet wide and fold forward.  Like the standard forward fold, you want to keep a slight bend in the knees and maintain a strong core.  Like the pyramid pose, there are a multitude of hand positions from which to choose.  Here you can see the reverse prayer from a better angle.

Crescent Lunge -- Anjeneyasana

You may want to place a blanket under your back knee for this pose.  You want to really think about keeping that back leg back, so that you can get a nice stretch in your psoas muscle (the one and only muscle that connects your torso to your legs, and it gets verrrrry tight on runners.)  Lift arms up and back while gazing at your thumbs.  Front knee should be steady and tracking toward the pinky toe side of the foot.

 Lizard Lunge -- Uttan Pristhasana

It's a little hard to see here, but both of my hands are to the inside of my front foot.  I've also heard this referred to as a "Spiderman" lunge.  I like to stay up on my hands for a bit to move around in my hips and dig into the aforementioned psoas.  For greater flexibility, you can lower yourself to one or both elbows, but keep the back knee lifted.

Pigeon -- Kapotasana 

One leg is extended out long behind, knee side down, while the other crosses in front of your body, diagonally or parallel to the front of the mat.  This pose has loads of variations, including the two pictured (backbend or forward fold).  This is a great pose for digging into the glutes, and, again, that psoas.  If you like to challenge quads and hamstrings, option to bend the back leg and grab the foot from the inside (arch) with the same hand (in this case, I'd pick up my left foot with my left hand and pull it toward my backside).

Lazy squat -- Malasana

This is a great pose to work on balance, grounding, and opening the hips.  You can add a twist (or even a bind) to work on torso strength, flexibility, and opening the chest & shoulders.  Also, it's simply fun and feels nice to do.  Try to keep your feet flat (rather than come up on your toes).  If you need support, you can do this inside an open door and grab onto the sides as you work your way down (and, eventually, back up).

There are at least 5 thousand more poses you could find to help you prepare for and recover from running, but hopefully this short list can help you get started on your path to being a running yogi, which is way cooler than being a non-yogic runner.

Keep calm, and run on!