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- Feb 13, 2021

7 Benefits of Yoga for Runners

Updated: Dec 25, 2021

Here are the Benefits of Yoga Routines for Runners

One of the best exercises you can do is running; it is inexpensive, and you can do it at any time. Running burns a lot of calories and is very good for your heart. You can enhance your running experience by adding yoga to your exercise routine. Yoga involves various mental and physical practices that originated in India that help with flexibility, mindfulness, and motion.

Enhances Strength

Muscular strength is essential when running because it reduces the risk of injury. It corrects muscle imbalances and assists with muscle activation so that you run better. Yoga strengthens your quads, hip flexors, hamstrings, and core so that you can run injury-free and improve your performance.

Improves Flexibility

Stretching for Flexibility

Flexibility also helps improve your running performance because it enhances your range of motion so you can move efficiently. Bear in mind that enhanced hip mobility will help you run faster and better without getting injured. When you hold yoga poses for a long time, it helps loosen up your tight muscles, joints, and ligaments, ensuring you can run with ease. That also improves your stride length as well as speed.

Better Breathing

Being able to breathe properly, helps you run better and faster. Yoga routines like yoga Hatha focus on breathing exercises. Hatha teaches that slower breathing is relaxing, and fast breathing is energizing. Yoga routines will help you reduce performance anxiety and increase oxygen intake during competitive running. Conscious breathing taught in yoga will soothe your parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system and therefore reduce tensions. It will also help you conserve your energy, lower anxiety before a long run, and pre-race jitters.

Improves Your Balance

If you do not have excellent mental and physical balance when running, you might fall and injure yourself. You need to be able to focus on the task at hand and relax even when running competitively. Yoga routines teach mental discipline and concentration that can be very useful to a runner. If you learn to relax and focus using yoga, you will have better mental balance and are unlikely to freak out. Holding yoga poses for long periods enhances your physical balance and lowers the chances of tripping and falling.

Yoga Posture

Better Posture

Yoga is good for posture, and posture is crucial for excellent running performance. Poor posture when running can reduce your running efficiency and even result in injury. Yoga teaches you to lengthen your back without adding tension and ensures that you stand taller and stronger. It also involves practices that focus on hip stability and pelvis flexibility, which help improve your posture when running. Bear in mind that good posture for a runner reduces the chances of getting muscle cramps and improves your endurance.

Improves Back Health

Many runners deal with lower back pain because running puts a lot of strain on your lower back. Bending and back stretching exercises will go a long way in improving your back health. There are several yoga poses that you can use to stretch your back and lower the occurrence of back pain. Regularly doing back-focused yoga will ensure that your back is stronger and can therefore handle the impact of running. Remember that back pain can badly affect your endurance and running strength, all of which impact your performance. If you regularly participate in races or are interested in entering a marathon, consider adding yoga to your exercise routine.

Stress Relief

High-stress levels will affect your ability to sleep and relax, which will, in turn, impact your running performance. Yoga, as noted above, includes meditation and mindfulness exercises that are very good for you. They will help you relax in stressful situations, clear your mind of worry and ensure you sleep better. Yoga has a calming effect and will help you focus on what is crucial instead of freaking out before a competition. This calmness will improve your running efficiency and performance.

Your yoga teacher can customize yoga routines to your running style to enhance your running performance. There are several yoga classes for runners, so make sure you take your time to find one that suits you. You can talk to the yoga teacher about what you would like to add to your routine.