Thursday, October 30, 2008

Yoga for Runners

The key to being any athlete is flexibility. I have started taking yoga classes because I have not flexible at all. I could see how all the other girls on the team were able to touch their toes and hold stretching positions for at least 20 seconds. I was jealous and needed to figure out what I could do to become more flexible.

I talked to head track coach at Florida Atlantic University, Alex Smolka, who told me that "yoga is a great way to relax the mind and truly focus on your body. Flexibility is important for sprinters because you need to get the full range of motion out of your body. You can't do that if you are tight."

The website, http://www.yogaforrunners.com/, promotes a video of yoga made for a runner by a runner. According to the website, Christine Felstead's Yoga for Runners is an easy, empathic method of improving flexibility for all athletes, regardless of body type. The four-part format allows you to focus on any individual segment or run through the program in its entirety.
-Fundamentals - as a runner, how to integrate yoga into daily life to improve sitting, standing and running postural alignment.
-Lower Back
-Hamstrings
-Hips

After only taking yoga for four month, I can already see a difference in my flexibility. I am able to hold stretches longer and reach past my foot when I am sitting down doing stretches. It is amazing to me because I always thought I was semi flexible, but once I was done with my first few classes of yoga and could stretch further, I realized I wasn't flexible at all.

Yoga will also help keep you keep your balance. As a sprinter, you need to be able to balance yourself when you are coming out of the starting blocks. If you have ever competed before, you know that there are chances that a starter can hold you in the blocks a lot longer than he really should. If you have strong arms you can hold yourself up, but if you don't then it's over. Yoga can help strengthen your arms and help you keep your balance for those times in the starting blocks.

Yoga classes are available at most gyms and also at specific locations. To find a location just look it up online or in a phonebook!

7 comments:

Elizabeth J. Neal said...

I have started taking yoga classes because I have not flexible at all. I could see how all the other girls on the team were able to touch their toes and hold stretching positions for at least 20 seconds. Yoga Teacher Training in Goa

Richard C. Lambert said...

I was jealous and needed to figure out what I could do to become more flexible.quantum sound

Robert said...

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Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

When I did running I always used to do yoga before to warm up and stretch. I now do meditation too, have you seen this lifeflow v holosync review?

Manikut Yoga Rishikesh said...
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Manikut Yoga Rishikesh said...

I found my Zen at the 3 days yoga retreat in Rishikesh. It's the perfect blend of tranquility and physical rejuvenation for runners