Any runner understands the level of soreness and tightness that could be caused by the sport to the lower body. As a result, failure to stretch out the muscles before and after running may result in ongoing pain and tension. Consequently, the pain and tension increase the likelihood of getting an injury. However, engaging in a yoga routine for runners can help ease your muscles, thus easing mobility between runs and calming your body.

Below are 3 of the best yoga positions for runners that can help release tightness in crucial body parts, including the quadriceps, hips, calves, and hamstrings. But you will need to ensure that you perform each flow on both sides of the body, holding each of the poses for about five deep breaths.

Downward-facing dog position

1. While on all your fours, have your hands at separate positions, about shoulder-distance apart
2. Focusing the pressure on your arms, draw your hands upwards and backward.
3. Lengthen your legs while pressing your heels firmly on the floor and feel your lower back straighten.
4. Ensure that you relax your neck and head, gazing toward the feet.
5. Hold this position for five deep breaths before continuing to the next pose.

The down-facing dog pose is a fantastic way to open up the legs. This position can assist you in lengthening your hamstrings, calves, and glutes. By remaining flexible in these areas, you minimize the tension in your legs, thus reducing the possibility of injuries.

Reverse warrior

1. While on the downward dog position, raise your leg upwards before bringing it forward and have your foot on the ground inside your hands.
2. Next, ensure that your back foot makes a 90-degree angle against your body.
3. Arise and have your hands spread away from each other at a shoulder height distance.
4. With your legs still intact, lean to the back leg with the left hand resting there.
5. Raise your right hand, ensuring that it stretches over the face and behind your body.
6. Hold this pose for the recommended time of about five full breaths before proceeding to the next position.

By working most of the vital muscles, the reverse warrior helps build a strong foundation for the leg. It also delivers an additional benefit of helping to stretch out the obliques and side body. It also works the upper body too.

Runner’s lunge

1. Picking up from the reverse warrior position, incline your upper body until it faces forward.
2. With your hips assuming a square position, gently lower your knee on the back leg towards the ground. Do not forget to align your shoulders above your hips as you sway your hands upwards before finally resting them on the knee at the front leg.
3. Hold at this position for effects to take place before carrying to the next step.
   
   In this pose, you provide a luxurious stretch to the often-overlooked hip flexors. Tight hip flexors might result in pain in the lower back, thus ensure that they have as much attention as is required.

Conclusion

Yoga routine for runners ensures that you remain fit as an athlete before and after running. Therefore, regardless of the distance, you run, ensure you perform the above yoga tips and it will reduce your chances of experiencing any post-run effects, especially your leg muscles. Follow each position step by step to ensure effectiveness of the poses.

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The Simple Yoga Flow for Runners!

Best Yoga for Runners, A shout-out to all sports lovers out there, for those who practice indoor or outdoor sports. In this article, we’ll share a simple routine of Best Yoga for Runners to help you warm-up before your activity.

You may be questioning yourself, but why warm-up?

Firstly, warming-up is highly recommended before any activity and also afterwards. Stretching after your run helps your body to cool-down.

It is such an important part, and at the same time one of the most neglected. According to the National Sports Medicine Institute a warm-up consists of a series of exercises to:

• Increase circulation;
• Increase body temperature;
• Bring the heart rate up;

Your muscles will be more prepared for the movement they will make during the practice of an activity.

Best Yoga for Runners

A good warm-up should last between 15 minutes and half-an-hour. That is enough time to gradually get the body ready. It also gives you some time to get mentally prepared and focused.

It is proved that a proper warm-up helps to avoid injury. This process will help to reduce the chances of hamstring strains and muscle soreness by allowing the body to prepare steadily and safely.

With those recommendations in mind, we prepared a simple, but powerful yoga routine for runners.

Yoga strength and routine for Runners

And why to stretch with a Yoga flow for runners?

Our intention is to avoid the monotony of stretching by introducing a flow to activate your entire body. Integrating your mind, breath & body – ensuring your best overall performance.

At elearningsport we aim to share some easy exercises that everyone can practice and improve their performance.

If you are looking for some inspirational quotes: check out our Instagram page, filled with a bunch of nice ones.

We know that running is an exercise that heavily impacts the legs, hamstrings, knees, ankles, and feet. The following Yoga for runners sequence was designed aiming to stretch those areas.

A simple flow of Yoga for runners with 9 poses to practice before running, to warm-up your body and avoid injuries:

1 – Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

As simple as the Mountain Pose may look, it is extremely powerful.

This posture is the beginning of most Yoga sequences, bringing you into the moment. To start, you should equally balance your weight and distribute it between your feet.

How-to:

• Stand-up with feet parallel on the floor;
• Breath in and straight-up your posture;
• Let your shoulders relax and release your arms next to your body;
• Keep the awareness at all times on your legs;
• You can shift your weight left & right, front & back until your find your weight balanced evenly on the feet;

2 – Toes Stretch

How-to:

• Gently lift your left foot and take it back;
• Press your toes against the floor, releasing a nice stretching sensation;
• Hold it for a few seconds and then repeat it with the other foot;

3 – Forward Fold (Uttanasana)

Forward Fold deeply stretches and lengthens your hamstrings and calves. It opens the hips and can relieve tension in the neck and shoulders.

How-to:

• After stretching your toes, find your balance back at the centre, inhale deeply and bring the attention to your hamstrings;
• While exhaling, from the hips, forward fold towards the floor, maintaining the back straight;
• If you can’t touch the floor, gently bend your knees;
• Bring your weight to the balls of your feet;
• Keep your hips aligned over your ankles;
• Hold this position for a few breathes, you can sway side-to-side if you feel like it to add some movement to it;

4 – Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana) & 5 – Half Splits (Ardha Hanumanasana)

Those 2 postures combined are great to stretch the thighs, groins, and open the chest.

How-to

• Once you’re ready, bend your knees generously, place both your palms flat on the floor, bringing the right legs backwards;
• Lower your knee on the floor;
• Find your & balance and raise your torso with hands facing the sky;
• Hold it for a few breaths;
• To flow into the next pose, bring the hands back to the floor;

• With the help of your fingertips, “walk” your body backwards straightening your front leg;
• Hold the posture for a few breaths;
• If it is the case for you, bring some movement, moving gently forwards & backwards;

6 – Plank (Phalakasana) & 7 – Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Shvanasana)

Plank and Down-dog are extremely helpful to increase your core strength. Also stretching the back body and strengthens the shoulders and core.

• Pose your hands on the floor as wide as your shoulders;
• Bring both of your legs backward;
• Feet as wide as your hips;
• Spread your fingers wide, on plank pose;

• Hold it for a few seconds, moving to Downward Facing Dog;
• Reach your tail bone towards the sky behind you;
• Feel the nice stretch on your entire body, hamstrings, legs, core;
• Hold the pose for a few breaths;
• Once you are ready, exhale & bring your right leg forward, repeating steps 4 & 5;

Repeat: 4 – Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana) & 5 – Half Splits (Ardha Hanumanasana) on the opposite side.

Once you’ve finalized the sequence on both sides, you can come back straight up, positioning yourself like in 1 – Mountain Pose (Tadasana).

Once again balancing and distributing your weight evenly on both feet, feeling the warmth and the energy growing on your body;

8 – Standing-up knee hugs

• After a couple respirations, you can shift your weight on one leg;
• Interlace your fingers, catch your right knee & give it a hug ;
• Rotate your right ankle clockwise and anti-clockwise for a few moments;

• Take the same leg backward, maintaining your balance;
• Feel all the stretch on the quadriceps muscles;
• Slowly release, & get ready to repeat the same stretch with the opposite leg;

9 – Mountain Pose (Tadasana) with hands up

Once you finalized warming-up your ankles and legs, you can bring your attention back to the centre to finalize and close this flow.

• With both feet firms on the floor, spine straight;
• Raise the arms overhead & stretch;
• Hold it for a few breaths;
• Release it & congratulations, you are ready for your run;

With this simple Routine of Yoga for runners, your body is warmed-up & ready for a run!

Those are some exercises to get your body warmed up before an activity. We also recommend a light stretch after your exercise to help the transition of your body to cool-down.

This way, avoiding strains on your muscles, keeping them flexible & toned bringing a good sensation to your body.

If you have really thigh hamstrings, check out this video with some nice stretches for your legs!

What did you think about this sequence? Does it feel right to you? Would add any other pose to it? Let us know!

If you are interested in more Yoga Routines & material, check our Yoga section. We are posting weekly content from many yoga teachers from all around the world!

Not only Yoga for Runners, on our website we have plenty of material (blogs & courses) to help you improve your performance.

Check out our: Top 10 tips to improve your running during the pandemic & lockdown time.

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Running and Yoga or Yoga and Running, no matter the order and your preference are both among the two most popular sport activities in many countries.

Personally I am doing more running than yoga, but not too say I am not doing yoga at all. I think yoga more as a complementary stretching activity after my runs to keep my body muscles flexible in and in shape. Here is what I think why:

• Stretching:  extremely important as you grow older. If you don’t do that, you feels your legs like to piece of woods and heavy to carry
• Breathing: yoga teaches you to breathe properly during various posture. Optimal breathing is obviously also a keep element of running efficiently (and even more important if you are a long distance runner)
• Positive long term visualization: yoga helps you to focus on the present, on the now, the current and at the same time helps to create a positive visualization of yourself now and in the future. During long running, you tend to forget that and focus on the current pace and pain. However with good mindset changes and visualization, you are looking into the future you and it enables you to carry on, one step after another
• Running = Body vs Yoga=Mind: Sounds cliché but there is a truth in this, even some popular brand like Asics (which stands for Anima Sana In Corpus Sano) were built around this conceptand much more…here is a good picture

Find out our new course Can Regular Yoga Practice Improve Sports Performance?

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