5 Best Yoga Poses For Runners

Yoga is often looked at as a way for runners to stretch tight muscles. Runners tend to gravitate towards power yoga and fast paced vinyasa flow. It’s wonderful to see runners now practicing yoga but this approach of stretching muscles and getting a bonus “workout” is only the tip of the iceberg.

Yoga is a path to relaxation and awareness, two things that should be at the forefront of any runners training program. Many runners, especially competitive high school and college runners experience adrenal burnout from the tremendous amounts of stress placed on their body. The last thing these runners need is another “workout.” What is needed is deep relaxation of the body and mind, allowing the body to repair itself.

Those who practice ChiRunning attempt to minimize the amount of stress they place on the body. Those who practice power running purposely place stress on the body in order to get stronger. The idea is that if you stress the body, and then recover, the body will rebuild itself stronger. In my experience most runners have not maximized their recovery process. The amount of runners I know that have experienced “burnout” is overwhelming. It is time for a better process. We need a better approach.

The recovery process stems from deep relaxation. It goes far beyond “taking an easy day” “going for a recovery run” and eating protein. Below is a list of my five best yoga poses for runners. I suggest finding a good teacher to work with you on these postures as well as researching the postures on your own.

1. Savasana – also known as corpse pose. This is the pose done at the end of class. Many Yogis say this is where the benefit of practice comes. To enter the pose, lie on your back with your legs extended and hands by your waist palms facing up. Bring your heels together and let your toes fall to the side. Close your eyes and relax. Let it go. Let go of any tension you are holding in the body. Just…let…it….go….. This is a great pose to do after you run and stretch. It will help integrate your activity into your body and leave you feeling refreshed for your next run.

2. Childs pose – Childs pose is another deeply relaxing pose. It is done with your shins on the floor, big toes touching, knees spread. Forehead is touching the floor. Your belly will be resting on or between your thighs. If you cannot bring your forehead to the floor use a block to ensure that your forehead is resting on something (this helps foster the relaxation response) arms can be by your side or extended in front of you. Feel your breath flowing into your kidneys and adrenal glands.

3. Meditation posture – Meditation is a way to develop your focus. For most runners I suggest starting in a chair and not lotus position (because of tight hips) Sitting upright in a chair with your feet firmly planted and palms resting in your lap, allow your spine to become straight by pressing up through the crown of your head. You can focus on your breath, a candle flame, picture, word or phrase, sound etc…

4. Legs up the wall pose – bring your hips next to a wall and place your feet above you on the wall while lying flat on your back. Use any blankets or pillows for support. Make sure you are comfortable. This is an inversion for the legs and will help move the waste in your legs through your lymphatic system so you can start each run fresh. This is one pose that many power runners already do, specifically after races and hard workouts. This can be after every run for maximum recovery.

5. Mountain pose – If you practice ChiRunning you are already doing this. It is known as your posture. If you can’t relax in the most basic standing posture, it will be very challenging to relax and more advanced postures and nearly impossible to fully relax when running. You might think you are relaxed when running, but that might be because the endorphins have you feeling so good you don’t notice the tight areas. You should practice this pose as much as possible.