Best Yoga Poses for Running?

[Twister]

1) Mountain posture. Where you stand in perfect alignment and try to keep the arches of your feet off the ground to allow the old prana to circulate around. Never mind the hippy stuff, this is great if you have pointy out feet and flat arches, helps you re-align your entire body, aiding the muscle memory and the best thing - Not a damn orthotic device needed!

2) The relaxation afterwards. You lie down, spread your legs and arms out and "relax" the your body starting from your toes and working up to your head. Wonderful after a really hard effort. I do this after a bodyweight workout and try and visualise my muscles repairing themselves, very good stuff.

I love yoga, but I have no time for the bollocks side of it, all the netty pots and hopi candles etc.

[Luv Shack]

I fancy including a spot of yoga into my regime and was wondering if anyone would like to share their favourite poses on here?

If anyone has any postures, which they think compliment fell running, that would be amazing!

Plenty Dan.....
As has already been said...
Dog Up...Dog Down!
Trikonasana..Virabhadrasana...

And much more...
"tough" to keep with the discipline involved.
But, worth really worth it if you can..

Head Stand, Hand Stand, Shoulder Stand....
+ all their varient names & shapes - upside down is good (I think)!

Remind me and I'll lend thee a boook on Thursday eve - Yoga - The Iyengar Way....

[Dynamo Dan]

U

Plenty Dan.....
As has already been said...
Dog Up...Dog Down!
Trikonasana..Virabhadrasana...

And much more...
"tough" to keep with the discipline involved.
But, worth really worth it if you can..

Head Stand, Hand Stand, Shoulder Stand....
+ all their varient names & shapes - upside down is good (I think)!

Remind me and I'll lend thee a boook on Thursday eve - Yoga - The Iyengar Way....

Cheers Andy that would be great.

[simgreen78]

Interesting thread this, I've been thinking of trying to get into Yoga lately to complement fell training, as having experimented with stretch and resistance exercises these last few weeks my core and back feel totally different and much stronger.

Just taken a look at a video of 'The Pigeon'. Not sure my leg will do that but I'll be having a go tonight regardless. I'll spare my work colleagues the sight.

Can anybody recommend any good Yoga books?

[OB1]

I have a copy of "An athletes guide to Yoga" by Sage Rountree (Yoga teacher, triathlete, and cyclist), I got given it as a present a while back.
It's good for athletic non-yogis and it shows modifications of each pose for the less bendy folk too. I tend not to refer to it much given I've have a regular astanga practise and other astanga specific books for the last few years. It's available to borrow if any of you local Peak District lot are interested - I will chuck it in the car boot in case anyone wants a peek at it at F.Grouse this weekend or Gravy Pud the one after.

[fozzy]

I've just started doing Iyengar classes once a week - definitely worth going and I can already feel some of the benefits - feeling far less tight in certain places and my hamstrings are definitely lengthening. I would recommend classes though because if you can't do some of the poses, the teacher can give you alternatives or you can use more/fewer props etc. It's also a big benefit because they'll make sure that you're doing the pose correctly and not straining something you're not supposed to.

[Dynamo Dan]

I popped into my local Oxfam Bookshop and Didsbury, being a veritable hotbed of yummy mummies here in South Manchester, did not disappoint. There were about three titles all under £5 and I settled on Yoga for You by Tara Fraser.

It contains lots of big pictures of poses and sequences of asanas seems pretty good.

[OB1]

Dan, yes, Tara Fraser's books are good. I have the "Astanga Yoga for you" which I prefer out of the different Primary Series books on my shelf. As Fozzy says, get yourself onto a weekly course for the reasons he says (suggest 'Iyengar' or 'Astanga' for an active young person rather than milder 'Hatha') . Many of them are drop-in (no pre-booking or weekly commitment). There are plenty of beginner drop in classes in the South Manchester area including Didsbury. When I started 4 years ago I used to drop-in to a 7.00 beginners (Level 1) class in Didsbury after work once a week most weeks. After 6 months I was ready to move up to the intermediate (Level 2) class - then the curve steepens, and the sense of achievement and fun increases, though I guess I'll me stuck in intermediate zone for a few years now. It really has helped sort out my back problems too (sciatica).

Going back to the pigeon pose, Simon etc. Here is what Sage Rountree has to say in her intro to the pigeon sequence in "the athletes guide to yoga" – which she covers in 4 pages of her 240 page book:

“The one legged pigeon pose (eka pada rajakapotasana) and its preparations are multi-faceted wonder stretches for athletes, worth practicing daily. Together they target our most constricted areas: the hip rotators, especially the piriformis; the IT band; the hip flexors, especially the psoas; the quadriceps; the chest and shoulders. About the only athletic problem area the pigeon poses don’t involve is the belly of the hamstrings, so you might consider combining pigeon with a forward fold such as head-to-knee, for a quick and effective full body stretch.”

I would add that the other problem areas for us fell runners are the ankles (helped by doing lots of balancing stuff, and fell running!) and it’s nice also to target the core (do the front and side variations of the plank pose, the boat pose, the sun salutations etc).

I am no physio, but I see her point, and I regularly use pigeon when stretching. If I only have 10 minutes I will tend to include a few sun salutations, pigeon, boat, and headstand.

PS - There are some lovely quiet spots on Bleaklow and Kinder for doing Yoga, espcially in the long summer days (dawn / dusk) on some of the rocks. I am still working out a way to do headstand on a trig though.:w00t:

[Dynamo Dan]

Dan, yes, Tara Fraser's books are good. I have the "Astanga Yoga for you" which I prefer out of the different Primary Series books on my shelf. As Fozzy says, get yourself onto a weekly course for the reasons he says (suggest 'Iyengar' or 'Astanga' for an active young person rather than milder 'Hatha') . Many of them are drop-in (no pre-booking or weekly commitment). There are plenty of beginner drop in classes in the South Manchester area including Didsbury. When I started 4 years ago I used to drop-in to a 7.00 beginners (Level 1) class in Didsbury after work once a week most weeks. After 6 months I was ready to move up to the intermediate (Level 2) class - then the curve steepens, and the sense of achievement and fun increases, though I guess I'll me stuck in intermediate zone for a few years now. It really has helped sort out my back problems too (sciatica).

Going back to the pigeon pose, Simon etc. Here is what Sage Rountree has to say in her intro to the pigeon sequence in "the athletes guide to yoga" – which she covers in 4 pages of her 240 page book:

“The one legged pigeon pose (eka pada rajakapotasana) and its preparations are multi-faceted wonder stretches for athletes, worth practicing daily. Together they target our most constricted areas: the hip rotators, especially the piriformis; the IT band; the hip flexors, especially the psoas; the quadriceps; the chest and shoulders. About the only athletic problem area the pigeon poses don’t involve is the belly of the hamstrings, so you might consider combining pigeon with a forward fold such as head-to-knee, for a quick and effective full body stretch.”

I would add that the other problem areas for us fell runners are the ankles (helped by doing lots of balancing stuff, and fell running!) and it’s nice also to target the core (do the front and side variations of the plank pose, the boat pose, the sun salutations etc).

I am no physio, but I see her point, and I regularly use pigeon when stretching. If I only have 10 minutes I will tend to include a few sun salutations, pigeon, boat, and headstand.

PS - There are some lovely quiet spots on Bleaklow and Kinder for doing Yoga, espcially in the long summer days (dawn / dusk) on some of the rocks. I am still working out a way to do headstand on a trig though.:w00t:

Thanks for that detailed post Sikobe. I did attend yoga classes in my teens, but that was about twelve years ago! I work in Stalybridge so I might go to the Iyengar yoga centre in Dukinfield.

I reckon a few sun salutations on top of Wain Stones would be very invigorating!!

[Chris]

I use yoga dvd's at home after being told it would help my back which ached after steep descents. It really works as it builds up the core muscles etc.
I have the flow series which is good as long as you can cope with the slightly annoying accents, 4 dvd's with different levels of routine, cost about £10 for all of them.
Also have a 'yoga for sport' dvd which is great, there is a bunch of people doing the routines, all of different abilities, from very bendy gymnasts to a bloke called John who is more my level doing slightly easier variations of the poses.
Try to do it once a week but wish i had time to do it more. Don't push it too much early on, i currently have a groin strain from doing this! possibly the worlds first 'Yoga injury'