Sublimely Fit

Creating a healthier, more satisfying life.

  • Home
  • About
    • About Beth
    • About Sublimely Fit
      • Affiliations
      • Disclosure
  • Yoga for Runners
    • Free Guide! Hip Openers for Runners
    • Book
    • Yoga for Runners Course
    • Blog Posts
    • Running
      • Running for Beginners
      • Free Training Plans
      • Training Tips
      • Fueling + Nutrition
      • Gear Reviews
  • Yoga
    • Free Yoga Jump Start
    • Yoga for Beginners
    • Yoga Sequences
    • Yoga Poses
    • Mindfulness
  • Soul
    • Mental Health
    • Self Love
    • Body Image
    • Motivation
    • Goal Setting
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Smoothies
    • Snacks
  • Store

Top 4 Yoga Benefits for Runners

08.02.16

If you’ve been following me on the blog of social media for any length of time, you probably know that I am a huge proponent of getting runners to do yoga. Yoga has helped me immensely in my own running training. I fully credit yoga for helping me get to my PRs, PDRs, and even for helping me get through difficult training runs. It’s really transformed my life, inside and outside of running. That’s why one of my big goals is to help other runners see the benefits of yoga, too.

The top 4 yoga benefits for runners: why every runner should give yoga a try. Learn why yoga really will make you a better runner!

So, today I want to share my top 4 yoga benefits for runners with you. Runners who aren’t yet practicing yoga, I hope this post will convince you to at least give it a try. I truly believe that if you commit to consistently practicing yoga for a month, it really will change you as a runner and as a human. And, if at the end of the month you totally hate it, well, you never have to look at your yoga mat again.

FREE Hip Openers for Runners Guide

Sweet relief for your tight, sore hips!

Get the best hip-opening yoga poses sent straight to your inbox.

Here’s why you should be doing yoga, runners:

Benefit #1: You’ll Build Strength

Having a strong body is incredibly important for runners. Strong muscles not only help you run faster and for longer distances, but they also help you keep good running form. Even the elites strength train, because they know how important it is to build strong muscles throughout their bodies. One of the beautiful things about yoga is that you do build strength while also getting a lot of other benefits too. Multitasking at its finest.

Learn the top 4 reasons why #runners should be doing #yoga! #runchat

Click To Tweet

It’s particularly important to make sure that you strengthen the muscles that stabilize your body as you run, particularly the stabilizers in your hips and your feet and ankles. When all you do is run, your body gets used to going in a forward plane, which easily leads to weakness in the stabilizers. Yoga will help you strengthen those stabilizing muscles, which will dramatically reduce your risk of getting an injury that could sideline you for weeks or even months.

Benefit #2: You’ll Become More Flexible

Speaking of injury prevention, increasing your flexibility can help prevent injuries, too. I’m sure you’ve experienced this: you go on a tough run, then come home and sit on the couch for a few hours. (Hello, Netflix marathon.) When you go to get up, your muscles feel incredibly tight. Your muscles naturally tighten up quite a bit after your runs, often even if you do some quick stretching after your runs.

The problem starts when that muscle tightness starts to impact your range of motion, particularly when one side of your body is tighter than the other. You can start to favor one side of  your body more than the other, leading to more pressure on the muscles and joints on one side, which can quickly lead to injury. And, if you’re so tight that your body can’t move through it’s full range of motion, you may not be running as efficiently as you could, too. 

A consistent yoga practice will help you build flexibility. And, a yoga practice designed for runners will help you focus on those problem common areas like the hips and lower legs. Not only will your range of motion improve, but you’ll also just feel better and less sore because your muscles aren’t as tight.

Benefit #3: Your Breathing Will Get Better

Another one of the big yoga benefits for runners is learning how to control your breathing. I’m pretty sure every runner knows just how important breathing is while running. Have you ever had a bad run where you feel like you’re working harder than you should be? Your breath starts to get shallow, then your body tenses up, and all of a sudden you’re miserable and you just want the run to be over.

In that situation, if you were to focus on controlling your breath, taking deep inhales and exhales, it very quickly allows the rest of your body to relax. You can’t control the terrain you’re running on, and you can’t control the weather, but you can control your breath. Learning to control your breath during your yoga practice, something we call Pranayama, is a skill you can take with you on the road, too. In fact, several of my clients and students have run personal distance records  and PR races thanks to the breathing skills they learned through yoga.

Benefit #4: You’ll Be a Better Runner Mentally

A lot of people associate yoga with meditation, and with good reason. Meditation is a big component of yoga. But, if you think meditation is all about chanting and humming, you’re wrong.

At its core, meditation is really about controlling your thoughts. You learn how to turn off the thoughts that tend to scroll through our brains when we’re sitting or just going about our days. In yoga, we learn how to let go of any thoughts about what our pose looks like compared to our neighbors’, or even just letting go of the day’s to-do list. We learn to clear our minds to help us be in the present moment.

This type of mental control is incredibly beneficial for runners. If you’re like me, you’ve had tough, maybe even terrible runs, where all you can think about is how bad you feel or how much faster you should be running. What would happen if you could turn off those thoughts? You’ll stop sabotaging yourself, mentally, and you’ll become a better runner for it. The mental skills you get on the mat will help you become a better runner.

 

If you’re ready to give yoga a try but you’re not quite up for heading to a yoga studio just yet, my four week Yoga for Runners Online Program is perfect for you. You’ll get many videos with yoga sequences specifically designed for runners to target common trouble areas like the hips and lower legs. You’ll also learn how to use breath and mental control to push through difficult runs. And, you’ll get support as you start to learn how to incorporate yoga into your running training plan. Click here to learn more about the Yoga for Runners Online Program.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

« FitBloggin’ 2016 Recap
How Pregnancy Changed My Fitness Routine »

Comments

  1. Marsha says

    08.03.16 at 12:01 PM

    Totally totally agree! Every runner needs yoga in their life!!

  2. Jessica says

    06.21.17 at 1:39 AM

    Are you a busy mom with no time for fitness? Try these super easy yoga poses that you can do at home for improved emotional and physical health.
    https://www.parentcircle.com/article/8-super-yoga-poses-for-busy-moms-to-do-at-home/

hello image sublimely fit

Hi, I'm Dr. Beth Brombosz! I'm a yoga teacher, running coach, and writer living in Oklahoma. I would love to help you create a healthier, more satisfying life. Join me on the journey!

beth (at) sublimelyfit.com
facebook twitter pinterest instagram bloglovin

 

FREE HIP OPENERS FOR RUNNERS GUIDE!

Search

Yoga for Runners Book

Yoga for Runners Book and eBook Bundle

Like Sublimely Fit on Facebook

Like Sublimely Fit on Facebook

Disclaimer

Sublimely Fit is a personal blog and all opinions are my own. I am not a medical professional. Please follow the advice of your doctor first and foremost. Although my intent is to do no harm, if you are injured following my opinion or something you have read here, I am not responsible. I am not responsible for comments written by others. Disrespectful or profane comments may be deleted. Privacy: I will never sell your email address or other information. Click here for the full privacy policy.

POPULAR POSTS

  • Speed Work for Distance Runners
  • Easy Blueberry Green Smoothie Recipe
  • Sun Salutations for Beginners
  • The 3 Things You Must Do to Run Faster
  • How Long Should You Hold Yoga Poses?
  • Yoga Poses for the Shoulders and Neck
  • Hill Running Tips
  • How to Become a Morning Runner
  • How to Breathe in Yoga
  • How Daily Yoga Changes You

Calendar

April 2021
S M T W T F S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
252627282930  
« May    

Copyright © 2021 · by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.