How Yoga Helps Me Run: My Yoga Journey

This is an update of a post I prepared several years ago. You may also have seen this as a guest post on Jill Conyers' blog. I have since revised and updated the content. 

On my blog, I write mostly about running. I've been a runner for over 25 years. But I've also practiced yoga for over 20 years. I truly believe that runners can't live on miles alone. Be it yoga, pilates, or strength training, a well-rounded runner is a healthy runner!

I share a lot of yoga on my social media channels. If you think about it, what goes together better than running and yoga? Peanut butter and jelly? Bacon and eggs? Milk and cookies? Hugs and kisses? Fred and Ginger? Yin and yang? Stop me, I'm on a roll...

All joking aside, I can't really talk about how yoga helped my running without sharing my yoga journey. Initially, I started practicing yoga to help recover from the birth of my oldest son, who is now almost 21 years old. After his birth I was really anxious--I probably had some post-partum depression--and found that doing yoga in the evenings helped me relax. I started out using a Kathy Smith video for beginners. I'm not very coordinated and using a basic video like this really helped me slow down and learn the poses, and gave me the confidence to take the next step--attending a live yoga class.

My first ever live yoga class was a park district class. I was intimidated by the idea of going to a yoga studio and the park district class was about as low key as it gets. I recruited a group of neighborhood ladies to join me. There wasn't a lot of hands-on instruction and no ambiance--the class was held in a meeting room complete with bright overhead fluorescent lighting--but we learned all the basic poses. After that experience, I felt more confident and wanted to continue yoga. A friend and I found a Pilates studio in a nearby town that also had some yoga classes and signed up for a weekly hatha yoga class.

Hatha yoga, as practiced in the Western world, is simply a series of poses, or asanas that are timed with the breath. Pranayama is the Sanskrit word for breath control. By moving on the breath, the poses flow and balance the body. The breath also relaxes the mind. Learning to control your breathing has huge benefits for runners. Rhythmic breathing, according to an article in Runners World, can help prevent injury.

I find myself using yogic breathing while running, especially on a tough run. Focusing on the breath helps bring me back to my run, and I am able to return to a rhythm, both with my breathing and my running. I also use breathing techniques to get rid of a side stitch, which commonly occurs in runners. By exhaling on the opposite side/foot, I can usually chase it away. Followers of my blog know that I struggle with foot issues, especially on my left side. I find that when I'm tired, I come down too hard on that foot. By exhaling on the opposite foot, I can adjust the load and usually rebalance my stride. What's really great is that after doing yoga all these years, focusing on the breathing and adjusting the breath comes naturally to me.

After practicing Hatha yoga for some time, my friend and I got up the courage to go to a "real" yoga studio. At that time, the only class the studio offered that fit into my schedule was an Ashtanga yoga class. Completely unaware of what was in store for us, my friend and I got on our mats and followed the instructor's lead. Halfway through the class, we were dripping with sweat and exhausted. This was a very serious, focused, athletic class. On the ride home, my unhappy friend would barely talk to me. I, on the other hand, was ecstatic and hooked.

Ashtanga yoga is a very athletic practice of yoga. Like Hatha yoga, the poses and the breath are synchronized. The poses are all familiar to anyone who has done yoga. But that's where the similarities end. The class begins with a series of sun salutations to warm up the body prior to beginning the practice. Each pose is held for 5 breaths, followed by a vinyasa. Each Ashtanga class is a series of poses that are done in the same order.

While practicing Ashtanga yoga, I developed body awareness as I moved through the poses. Since this practice moves fast, proper technique is key. The increased body awareness helped me with my running form and I developed a more efficient and faster stride. Ashtanga also made me stronger, physically and mentally. I started to realize that I could do hard things.

My friend dropped out of our class after about 3 months, saying it was "too hard". I stuck with the Ashtanga practice and reaped the benefits, both on and off the road. I still couldn't get deeply into a lot of the poses, and my instructor told me that if I gave up running, I develop a much deeper practice. I told him that wasn't happening! My plan wasn't to give up running to become a yogi. My goals were to maintain flexibility and develop strength, which I did.

Unfortunately, after about a year and a half of practicing Ashtanga, the owner of the studio decided he was going to take the studio in a different direction, fired my instructor, and changed the class to an Anusara class. Disappointed, I left the studio and practiced at home, using a variety of yoga DVDs. Eventually, a yoga studio opened close to my home and I was able to take classes in vinyasa yoga, which was a great option for me. Vinyasa yoga is very similar to Ashtanga in that there is a vinyasa (plank to chaturanga to upward dog to downward dog) between each pose or series of poses. In contrast to Ashtanga, Vinyasa yoga classes are more free-form--there is no predictable sequence of poses. I found that I liked the variety. The class helped me to stay focused and mindful as we moved through the vinyasas. I continued to develop more confidence and strength with this practice. The owner of this studio was also a runner and I ran my very first half marathon with her! Sadly, she eventually sold the studio and it was time to move on again.

The studio where I most recently practiced was started as an Anusara studio, the very type of yoga that replaced my Ashtanga class. The philosophy of Anusara Yoga is that yoga should be joyful and is a gift that we should celebrate. Anusara means "flowing with grace" and "following your heart". The classes incorporate aspects of all the branches of yoga I've done in the past. These classes are fun and have brought a playfulness to my yoga practice as well as my running. Anusara yoga helped me learn not to take myself so seriously, both in the studio and on the road. These classes are always different and no matter what we did in the studio, I always took to my mat with a grateful heart.

This past year, I've desired a more solitary yoga practice and have been practicing yoga at home. Occasionally I'll lead myself through a vinyasa practice but mostly I've been practicing using classes on YouTube. There are so many good options available now and I like that I can pick the type of class I'd like to do for the day. My current favorite yoga channel is Five Parks Yoga, but there are many others.

Throughout my yoga journey, I've developed strength, flexibility, body awareness, mindfulness, and a sense of calm. I've also learned how to use the breath to help me hold a challenging pose as well as push me through a tough run. Yoga has helped me work through injuries, particularly those pesky overuse injuries. Yoga will always be a part of my fitness journey and I love how my practice has evolved over the years. Best of all, yoga has taught me to have fun and yes, to find joy in the journey. Both on and off the road.

How yoga helps me run /via @oldrunningmom #runchat #running #yoga

Do you practice yoga? What style of yoga is your favorite? Do you prefer studio classes or videos? Has yoga helped your running?