5 Best Yoga Exercises for Runners

Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, oradvanced runner, yoga poses can be the key to improving your training and getting rid of post-run aches and pains.

Yoga perfectly complements your running routine, as it stretches out the muscles and increases blood flow, helping you relax and eliminating pain. So instead of making you feel more tired, these poses will energize you for another day of running.

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Best Yoga Poses and Exercises for Runners

Below, you can find the top five yoga poses for runners, which can help you improve your running training and post-run recovery.

1) Downward Facing Dog

The downward facing dog is a great way to stretch the arms, legs and back. By doing this pose you will be able to check how flexible your body is and whether there are any areas that need more attention.

This pose allows you to stretch your calves and hamstrings as well as your feet, making it the perfect yoga pose for runners.

How to do it?

• In this pose, you should avoid stretching your legs too far.
• Keep your torso upright, and make sure you lift your sit bones high.
• You can bend your knees a bit if you would like to.
• To stretch your calf muscles, bend one knee and then the other. Your arms should remain straight, with your biceps facing up.

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2) Triangle Pose

This pose strengthens and stretches the hips, hamstrings, and calves. It also works on the spine, shoulders, chest, and abdomen. It's especially good for runners, as it opens the groins and hamstrings and improves balance by strengthening the ankles.

Here's how you do this pose:

• Stand with your legs straight, feet apart and arms by your sides.
• Put your arms at shoulder height, parallel to the floor.
• Stretch your body to one side as if someone were pulling on your hand.
• Bend down, and touch the floor (or your shin) with your hand.
• Make sure you stack your shoulders on top of the other when bending down, and look up at the ceiling.

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3) Standing Forward Fold

This pose is a great way to stretch the calves, hips, and hamstrings. It helps strengthen the quadriceps and knees, which can be especially important for people with tight hamstrings. Tight hamstrings for runners can cause back pain, and tension in the knees and hips, which can lead to knee injury.

How to do this exercises?

• Standing with your feet spaced hip-width apart, bend forward over your knees, and let your arms hang naturally.
• Keeping your knees slightly bent will help you relax even more.
• Repeast 5-6 times

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4) Tree Pose

If you want to do this pose, think strong and balanced. This pose is great for strengthening the calves, ankles, thighs, and spine while stretching the shoulders, groin, chest, and inner thighs. It can also reduce flat feet and relieve sciatic pain for runners.

How to do it?

• Stand straight with your back at a 45-degree angle to the floor.
• Bend one leg, and point the knee to the side, bringing it up toward your chest.
• Reach up above your head with both arms.
• Tip: Focus on a spot in front of you to help keep your balance.

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5) Child's Pose

It's a resting pose in which you relax and stretch your hips, knees, thighs, low back, and ankles. In addition to releasing back and neck strain, it also increases blood flow to the brain and spine.

For athletes — especially runners — it aids in keeping the ankles flexible and supple while stretching the tops of the shins and feet. If you have had a chance to take a yoga class, your instructor would probably have reminded you to come to this pose if you need a break.

Here's how you do this pose:

• Kneel with your knees hip-width apart and big toes touching behind you.
• Bend over, and rest your torso on the floor between your thighs.
• Sitting back on your heels, rest your forehead on the mat.
• To increase the stretch in your back, stretch your arms forward, and push your tailbone back.
• If you want to give your shoulders a break, keep them by the sides of your body.

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Takeaway

It doesn't matter much which type of yoga you choose to do. If you take care to do it right, you will reap all the benefits.

Also keep in mind that these poses can be modified to a certain degree. In other words, if you find a pose to be too challenging, you should try your best, as with practice and repetition, even harder yoga poses become easier.

The benefits of yoga for runners and doing the poses correctly should be considered key elements of a runner's programme. That can help improve your running ability and also reduce your risk of injury.