Christine Felstead's Yoga For Runners
Runners Who Practice Yoga Improve Flexibility and Build Strength
Oct 25, 2009
Although running is a great exercise and one of the best workouts to burn calories, it does have some side effects such as the tightening of muscles and joints. Cross-training with yoga practice can help balance the body, reduce the risk of injury and cut down recovery time after races.
Christine Felstead's Yoga For Runners: The Essentials DVD is an easy to use workout plan designed so runners can follow the entire sequence or skip to one of the desired segments to focus on an area of the body that is giving them trouble. The DVD offers some yoga practice guidelines:
- Yoga is best done on an empty stomach.
- A little yoga done daily is better than a lot done at irregular intervals.
- Do not push through pain; results come with patience.
- Don't forget to breathe while in poses.
Designed specifically for runners, the participant will need a yoga mat, yoga belt, and yoga blocks. A blanket is optional. There are four sections of the workout that each focus on a high impact area for runners.
Foundational Yoga Poses
Felstead begins with a section on poses that form both the foundation of yoga and the foundation of daily tasks such as sitting, standing, walking and running. Her matter of fact style describes in detail how the participant should place all body parts and focus on conscious breathing. The sitting pose and the equal standing pose help align the body which in turn helps to improve muscular imbalance, posture and breathing. The cross legged seating position helps to open the hip joints. The hero pose strengthens the arches of the feet, stretches the ankle joints, stretches the shins and helps to decompress the knee joint. Legs up the wall is a relaxation pose that stretches the hamstrings and is a great recovery for tired legs and feet.
Yoga Stretches for the Lower Back
The next section focuses on reducing pain caused by running and poor posture. By lengthening the spine the muscles are strengthened and better able to support the lower back. The Cat and Dog Stretch relieves stress and also engages the shoulder muscles. Child's pose is a relaxing pose that is very calming to the entire body. The full body stretch is similar to equal standing but in a lying position. The spinal twist helps to maintain length and resilience of the spine. The segment ends with downward dog at the wall and the full downward dog pose. Downward dog poses are extremely beneficial for runners since they stretch the spine, hamstrings, abs, Achilles and uses upper body strength.
Yoga Poses for the Hamstrings
Many running injuries are caused by tight hamstrings, the muscles on the back of the thigh. Stretching this area will lengthen the hamstrings which will also help to lengthen the runner's stride and improve running. The staff pose practices proper alignment when seated and strengthens the front and back of the body. The seated forward bend focuses on lengthening the front of the body without rounding the back. Using yoga breathing techniques helps to deepen the stretch and elongate the spine. The reclining hamstring stretch lengthens the back of the leg and can be held for a longer period as it is a non-weight bearing position. The standing forward bend engages both abdominal muscles and quadriceps as well as stretching the hamstring and calf muscles. The wide legged forward bend is a movement from the hip joint while keeping the back and legs straight.
Yoga Poses to Stretch the Hips
Runners often feel the results of hip opening poses very quickly. In this last segment, Felstead uses downward dog as the starting point for a series of different types of lunges to stretch the hip flexors. These lunges have the added benefit of also stretching the calf and Achilles. She uses the child's pose as a rest since these poses are a bit more difficult to hold for long periods when first starting out. The pigeon pose is a favorite among runners as it releases tightness in the hip joint. The extended side angle pose opens the chest and lengthens the entire side of the body. The cow pose stretches the hips and the bound ankle pose stretches the inner thigh and groin and increases hip flexibility.
Finally, the DVD workout ends with the Savasana relaxation pose. It lets every muscle relax and makes the yoga practice complete.
Runners who complement their training with a yoga program, such as Christine Felstead's Yoga For Runners: The Essentials, will quickly see improved flexibility, strengthened muscles and deeper breathing. They will feel light on their feet and better, stronger and healthier on the road.
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