How Yoga Has Made Me A Better Runner

If you’re a cardio-junkie like me and only enjoy high impact workouts, yoga may not sound very appealing to you; it certainly took me a while to come around to it. While yoga seems like the opposite of running, I’ve recently come to realise that it’s an amazing cross-training tool to improve my running. At first, I didn’t see the point of a work-out that didn’t leave me panting and sweating, but once I gave it a go, I saw the benefits almost straight away. Here are some ways that yoga has improved my abilities as a runner and how it can improve yours too.

Gain More Strength

Strength training is something many runners (including myself) often avoid. This always ends up being to my detriment, as I am constantly finding myself with injuries. It’s taken me many, many years to learn that strength training is the way to avoid these pesky injuries. It prevents them by strengthening the muscles you use while running. So I went straight to google to guys some weights for my at-home strength training, but upon seeing the price of a singular kettlebell (thanks, COVID), I swiftly closed the webpage. Another google search told me that yoga could be used to strength-train too — who knew? Bonus — all you need is a yoga mat, and you’re good to go! Practising yoga develops strength in the core, quads, hamstrings, and hip flexors which are crucial for runners to avoid…