- Choose yoga according to your goal.
- Gentle practices such as Yin and Hatha Yoga improve recovery, flexibility and postural alignment after running.
- More intense practices such as Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Power and Hot Yoga strengthen the body, improve stamina and proprioception.
How many times have you heard “Do yoga, it will be good for you.” That advice wasn’t wrong. Combining yoga with running is a great choice. Running shortens muscles and increases their stiffness. The repetitive motion creates general stress on your body’s structure, which, in turn, needs to be strong and stable to support movement effectively. Yoga should help restore balance to your body. There is a yoga style for every goal. Let’s explore which one is best for you and why.
To recover or to strengthen
In the great universe of yoga we can begin to make a big macro distinction: the so-called gentle practices, which are better suited for recovery and relaxation, and the more intense and dynamic practices, which are ideal for working on strength and endurance. So a first question you need to ask yourself is: What goal do you want to achieve at the end of the class? More flexibility or better body control?
Gentle practices
These styles are characterized by slow and calm movements:
- Yin Yoga, where each pose is held for a few minutes before moving on to the next;
- Hatha Yoga, which focuses on the correct execution of the postures.
The most intense practices
If you think the previous ones are too “soft” and what you are looking for is a tough class where you want to feel the work and the muscles burning, then you should try it:
- Ashtanga Yoga, which involves a rapid succession of postures to create a dynamic flow;
- Vinyasa Yoga, set on performing a sequence of postures to be assumed with the body and accompanied by the breath;
- Power Yoga, whose name is explanatory enough, is based on the rapid succession of postures involving good core strength;
- Hot Yoga, again the name is illustrative and may already make you imagine that this class is held in specially heated rooms so that the heat, in addition to promoting sweating and thus elimination of toxins, also increases flexibility.
To every runner his yoga
Another way to choose the best yoga practice for you is based on what type of runner you are:
• If you mostly run on roads, your priority should be strengthening muscles, particularly the core, feet, and ankles.
• If you often run on trails and off-road, since you step on uneven surfaces, you should focus more on balance and stability to improve body awareness, especially when jumping over roots or dodging branches at the last moment.
By aligning your yoga practice with your running goals, you can enhance performance, prevent injuries, and create a well-balanced training routine.