I have always had super tight hips and knees. Even as a child I found sitting cross legged or back on my heels uncomfortable, it was never a natural position for me. Whether the sports I played the most (tennis, hockey, running) contributed to this or whether it is just the way I am built I am not sure but the end result is that there are quite a few basic yoga poses I currently find impossible. Yet I am nearly at the end of my 200hrs and have just signed up for 300 more and I am hoping that with time I am going to increase my flexibility and be able to bend myself even half the way some of my classmates can! Maybe this is an impossible goal? I am not sure! But I know that I want to explore every possible avenue to improve my flexibility.
I was talking today about stopping running for a while (I love to run and would usually run 2-3 time a week) and Wei-ling asked whether I would be willing to do that and suggested that I might not have to, as long as I stretched equally as long as I ran.
This piqued my interest as I love to run and would hate to give it up however I would like to be able to get into lotus even more! Doing some research around the topic it is hard to find a definitive answer. There is a lot of information about how yoga can help with running, something which I believe to be true.
The stretching and the strengthening of the muscles are beneficial in increasing strength for runners and I think yoga can help immensely with running injuries. There is however little to suggest that running is very beneficial for yoga! The tightness it promotes in the hips/knees is exactly the opposite of what we want in terms of flexibility and the damage to the joints could cause injury that prevents certain Asanas being attainable.
On the flipside however if you are very flexible already running could be of some benefit. It will help you gain a lean physique which will make arm balances and strength poses easier. It will also improve your stamina which will help in any long yoga session.
My personal conclusion is that I am going to let running take a back seat for a while and focus on improving my flexibility through constant stretching and practice. Hopefully I will see some improvement and be able to add running back to my routine one day! I think it would be interesting though to devise a yoga session to specifically benefit runners, as I know quite a few who could use a good stretch. That will be my next blog post!
Josie
Filed under: Tirisula Yoga Teacher Training, Yoga Articles Tagged: | Flexibility, Running, Sports, Training, yoga
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