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Try Yoga to Improve Your Running

Although running is a great exercise and one of the best workouts to burn calories, it does have some side effects such as the tightening of muscles and joints. Runners who stick with running are most likely structurally balanced individuals who can handle the physical stresses of the workout with minimal discomfort. Yet, many runners don't survive the imbalances that running introduces. Often, they suffer from chronic pain and are sidelined by injury. Runners complain of sore knees, hamstrings and backs from the pounding they absorb. The pain they endure isn't necessarily from the force of their feet hitting the ground but from the imbalance caused by running. Cross-training with yoga improves balance, flexibility, coordination, concentration and endurance which equates to a reduced risk of injury and shorter recovery time after races. Yoga also removes physical and mental stresses. Runners can benefit immensely from the fitness provided by yoga practice and it will make your running a more pleasurable experience.

During the course of an average mile run, your foot will strike the ground 1,000 times. The force of impact on each foot is about three to four times your weight. A typical runner experiences too much pounding, tightening, and shortening of the muscles and not enough restorative, elongating, and loosening work. Without opposing movements, the body will compensate to avoid injury by working around the instability. Compensation puts stress on muscles, joints, and the entire skeletal system. If you're off balance, every step you take forces the muscles to work harder in compensation. Tight muscles get tighter and weak muscles get weaker. A tight muscle is brittle, hard, and inflexible. Because muscles act as the body's natural shock absorbers, ideally they should be soft, malleable, and supple, with some give. Brittle muscles, on the other hand, cause the joints to rub and grind, making them vulnerable to tears.
It's not surprising, then, to hear runners complain of bad backs and knees, tight hamstrings, and sore feet.  The pain most runners feel is not from the running in and of itself, but from imbalances that running causes and exacerbates. If you bring your body into balance through the practice of yoga, you can run long and hard for years to come. Although yoga and running lie on opposite ends of the exercise spectrum, the two need not be mutually exclusive. In fact, running and yoga make a good marriage of strength and flexibility. Yoga is a valuable form of exercise for runners to add to their routines. Runners primarily work certain muscles, mainly in the legs and core. Yoga, which utilizes all of the body's muscles, including the often neglected stabilisers, makes the runner stronger and better able to function as a whole.  It stretches and loosens your muscles, helping you to avoid pain and injury. While you may choose to take a yoga class, you can also add yoga poses to your warm-up and cool-down routines to take advantage of their benefits. Truly flexible runners rarely injure themselves and benefit greatly from combining running and stretching, especially when they take advantage of the many benefits yoga offers. 
Try these yoga poses to improve your running:
  • The Downward-Facing Dog pose. Start with your hands and knees on the floor, then slowly push your hips up until you form a triangle. Press your heels and hands down to the floor, straightening your knees. You should feel a stretch in your calves, hamstrings and lower back.
  •  The Hero pose. Start with your hands and knees on the floor, with your feet slightly wider apart than your ankles and pointing backwards. Slowly lower your hips to the floor (or as close as possible) and sit tall and straight. You should feel a stretch in your quads and knees.
  •  Hold the Warrior 1 pose. Stand with your feet about half a metre apart with your hands raised above your head. Turn your back foot 90 degrees to the side, bend your front knee over your ankle and reach for the sky.
  •  The Spinal Twist. Sit with your legs extended ahead of you, and your hands on the floor behind you. Lift your left leg, moving your left foot over your right knee and placing it flat on the floor beside your knee. Twist your upper body the opposite direction and place your right elbow outside your left knee. Your left hand goes on the floor behind your spine. Repeat twisting in the opposite direction.
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