6 Essential yoga poses for runners
By Rachel Grunwell
“I can’t do yoga”. This is what lots of people tell me.
“But anyone can do yoga”, I reply.
Many people reckon they need to be “flexible” or a circus-star to stretch. But that’s not what yoga is about. It’s about just feeling a stretch where it benefits “you”. And if you are in a class with an experienced yoga teacher then they will give different options with each yoga move. This is so you can tap into the level that best benefits your body.
I work with lots of runners (I take ‘yoga for runners’ classes in Auckland) and so I tell my yogi students that they would never expect to run a marathon overnight; So why expect to nail the first yoga class you try? We’re so hard on ourselves!
Like all things, it takes time to improve.
No matter what age or ability, anyone can tap into the benefits of this ancient practice. It’s especially useful for runners and athletes to help re-balance the body, but the mind benefits are as big as the body benefits too.
I use yoga to strengthen, stretch and tone my body for marathon running, but I also use it to calm my mind, de-stress, detox and to reach my “bliss place”.
But it wasn’t always like that. I used to wobble on every balance pose and strength work would frustrate me, while inversions would infuriate me.
But now I love it and it helps to keep my life a bit more “balanced”and fuels my happiness. So stop, drop and yoga sometime. Give it a go.
Here’s a column I had published on how to do 6 essential yoga poses for runners. Read it by clicking here.
- If you are interested in joining one of Rachel’s yoga classes email: [email protected]
- Pic taken by Rebecca Grunwell