As a runner, yoga is your best friend and secret weapon, so try these six yoga poses for runners that have been carefully selected to keep you on your game!
If you want to be on the top of your game, stretching, massage, and rest are all part of a successful training program. These six yoga poses for runners poses will soothe cranky joints and tense muscles. Try this sequence as a warm-up or cool down before/after workouts or on its own during an active recovery day.
Remember to use the breath to work into tighter areas of the body. From side to side and day to day, these poses can feel very different so use this practice to check in and see how your muscles are feeling. Where do you hold tension? Is one side much more tense? Yoga gives us the space to step back and be our own witness – in this way, your mat is like your very own laboratory! Try out this quick sequence and see how you feel on your next run. On your mark, get set, go!
Yoga Poses for Runners: Maintain Healthy Joints with Hero Pose
Hero Pose or Virasana helps with flexibility in the knees and ankles and relieves tension in the legs. If you have sensitive knees, be sure to sit on a block (or two) to raise your hips and to take pressure off of the knee joint. A blanket under the shins can also reduce the intensity if you are feeling too much sensation in your ankles. Keep the knees together as you let the ankles come to the outside of your hips; toes point to the back of your mat. Move slowly here and back off if there is any sharp pain in the knee joint. Hero Pose or Virasana helps with flexibility in the knees and ankles and relieves tension in the legs. You should feel sensation but no pain.
Want a free video tutorial for hero pose? Click here!
Yoga Poses for Runners: Relieve Tired Legs with Reclining Hero Pose
Supta Virasana is an intermediate pose and should only be attempted if you have healthy knees; ideally, you should be able to have your buttocks on the mat before you consider reclining. If you can relax into this restorative pose, it offers great relief to tired legs and stretches the quadriceps, psoas, knees, and ankles. However, it is perfectly fine to stay in Reclining Hero Pose with a block or bolster.
Want a free video tutorial for reclining hero pose? Click here!
Yoga Poses for Runners: Open up the Hip Flexors with Low Lunge
This low lunge variation will get into the deep psoas. Place your right foot on the floor with the knee aligned directly over the ankle. Lower your left (back) leg to the earth. Left toes can be turned under. Bring your right elbow to your your right thigh; you can find a Mudra with your right hand if you would like. Raise your torso and draw the belly away from the right thigh. Take at least 4 steady Ujjayi breaths.
Want a free video tutorial for low lunge pose? Click here!
Yoga Poses for Runners: Attend to Tight Hamstrings with Half Monkey Pose
Half Monkey God is the perfect hamstring stretch for runners. Begin in a low lunge. Place your hands down on the mat on either side of your hips or on blocks if you need added height. Keeps your back toes tucked under. Shift your hips backwards and begin to straighten your front leg. Align your hips directly over your back knee so that your back thigh bone is vertical. Press the back of your front heel down and isometrically drag it back (try to move it back, but don’t actually move it). Simultaneously with your breath, flex the front toes to engage the front of the leg. Use this muscular activity to “scissor” the legs toward one another to the degree that your hips are square to the front of your mat. Root your front thigh bone down towards the ground. If your front leg is straight, move the blocks away if you have them. If your leg is straight, then start to walk your back foot backwards bringing the top of the back thigh to the mat. Maintaining your breath, square your hips and maintain muscular integrity.
If at any point you can’t keep the strength of the pose, come out mindfully, keeping strength. You can use the breath to move more dynamically and really target the belly of your hamstring muscle: inhale to come up slightly with the chest. On your exhale, see if you can bring your chest closer to the knee.
Want a free video tutorial for full monkey god pose? Click here!
Yoga Poses for Runners: Ease into the Hips with Pigeon
Resting Pigeon, Pigeon Prep Pose, or Eka Pada Rajakapotasana releases tension in the hips. Bring your right outer shin to the mat behind your hands. The outer right knee is on the mat behind the right wrist, and the outer right ankle is on the mat behind the left wrist. Your right foot can be drawn in toward the inner thighs or you can bring the right shin parallel to the front edge of the mat. If the foot is drawn in towards the inner thighs, you can extend the foot and rest the top of the foot on the mat. If your right foot is behind the left wrist and your shin is parallel to the top of the mat, flex your ankle to protect your knee.
The placement of your foot and degree of then bend in the knee will depend on the openness of your hips. Aim to square your hips off to the front of the mat. If your hips are not very open, keep the foot drawn in closer to the body. You can always use a block or blanket under the hip if you are especially tight. Untuck the toes and look at your back foot. Your leg should be in one straight line from your knee to your ankle to your toes. Place your hands down onto the mat to keep the torso reaching high. To move deeper into the pose, begin to walk your hands forward and bow over your front leg.
Want a free video tutorial for pigeon pose? Click here!
Yoga Poses for Runners: Twist and Lengthen the Spine with Half Lord of the Fishes
Ardha Matsyendrasana stretches the shoulders, hips, and neck. The twisting aspect of this pose also energizes the spine. Begin seated in staff pose with your legs straight out in front of you. Bend your right knee and cross your right foot over your left leg. Lean your weight into your right sitting bone and pull your left leg under, resting your left leg under your buttocks as a seat. Rotate your torso 90 degrees to the right, and set your left elbow on the outside of your right leg. Inhale, lengthen the spine. Exhale and twist deeper. If available, take the full pose by moving into the bind. To bind, weave your left arm through your right leg between the thigh and the calf. Wrap your right arm behind your back and reach for the left hand or wrist. If you have tight hips, you can extend your bottom leg long to the front of the mat and also sit up on a blanket or a block.
Want a free video tutorial for half lord of the fishes pose? Click here!
PRINT OUT THIS POSE CARD FOR RUNNERS FOR EASY REFERENCE
By Megan McInturff
