Struggling to find your Zen? While a regular running routine undoubtedly helps stress levels—cardio boosts your mood, reduces blood pressure, and improves sleep quality—incorporating other workouts into your week can help provide an added boost. Yoga is one of many fitness activities that can up your running game, and here are some of the mental and physical benefits you’ll experience as a result.
Get Stronger
Practicing yoga is a fantastic way to strengthen key muscle groups for running with minimal impact. If you’re training for a race, upping your mileage, or just beginning to make running a routine, incorporating strength training to complement your cardio is key to both progress and injury prevention. Yoga works not only superficial muscle groups, but also paraspinal muscles, which support overall lengthening and alleviate pressure from your back. Work your core in a Vinyasa, or try out our favorite Yogi move for killer quadriceps: runner’s pose!
Boost Flexibility
Improving flexibility is another key to injury prevention. Some runners may think yoga isn’t for them because they aren’t flexible–but you don’t need natural flexibility to reap yoga’s health benefits. Push into a downward dog to stretch your calves, or fold into a forward bend to fire up your hamstrings. Try out a beginner’s class with an instructor that will help you position your body with proper technique.
Stress Less
Running is a high adrenaline, heart pumping exercise–not to mention that squeezing in a run before work, or the pressure of an upcoming race, may add unneeded stress to an otherwise pleasurable experience. Get better at focusing on why you run with the mind/body connection yoga facilitates. Body awareness–from learning yogic breathing, to being more attentive to form–can help you refocus to keep running a healthy, energizing part of your life.
*This article by Amanda Harkavy originally appeared on the ASICS runkeeper blog.
