Yoga For Runners: The Best Moves To Strengthen Running Joints And Muscles
Yoga isn't just for stretching and relaxing - it can be a great tool to improve your body for other sports. We found out some of the best yoga moves to help with running
Running can take its toll on your body. It's a high-impact sport and however good your shoes, you can still end up with sore joints and running injuries.
But as well as good kit and a healthy running technique, yoga is one of the things you can do to protect your body from running stresses and strains - and it can improve your stamina and running skills at the same time.
After knee issues saw us pack in running for months, we joined Merrell Pack Leader, yoga and running coach Faith Shorney on a gentle 3k jaunt around the Serpentine in Hyde Park followed by a yoga session to see how it could help us put our trainers back on.
And it seemed to make all the difference.
“Yoga facilitates the loosening and lengthening of all muscles within the body to reverse the tension caused by running which will, in turn, make your body more supple and settled," Faith explains.
"It also helps align the muscles and bones allowing your body to function more efficiently and therefore reducing the risk of injury."
She tells how she noticed that after a few months of regular yoga practise she realised she was running further and faster during training, and felt better than ever.
"I think one benefit is that yoga is a full body workout that can greatly increase your overall strength and stamina whilst controlled breathing helps strengthen the respiratory system – both key elements of running performance.
"Plust the awareness of breath, taught by yoga, will also relieve stress and tension that competitive running can cause."
To make a real impact on our running, Faith shared some of her favourite moves:
1. Knee strength
Trikonasana (triangle pose) and Utthita Parsvakonasana (side angle pose) because they require a slight twist in the knee and a lot of strength and stability, Vrksasana (tree pose) and any other balancing poses really as they focus on stabilising the knees and ankles.
2. Good for ankles
Anything that lengthens the ankles either way such as Virasana (hero pose), Bhekasana (frog pose) and Balasana (childs pose) which all lengthen as well as strengthen the ligaments, tendons and musculature around the ankle. Also balancing poses such as Virabhadrasana 3 (warrior 3) which requires a lot of stability, or Garudasana (the eagle) which is both a balancing and twisting posture for the ankles.
3. Stretching running muscles
Baddha konasana (the butterfly), Upavistha konasana (seated wide leg forward bend), Gomukhasana (cow faced pose), Prasarita padottanasana (standing wide leg forward bend), Uttanasana (standing forward fold/ragdoll), Parsvottanasana (intense forward bend/side stretch), Sucirandhrasana (eye of the needle pose), Ardha matseyendrasana (seated cross-leg twist), Paschimottanasana (seated forward bend) – single leg and both legs together, Balasana (childs pose) and Viparita Karani (legs up the wall).
Faith Shorney is a Merrell pack leader. Shop her kit at Merrell.com.
