Training Tip Thursday

Yoga for Runners

"During the course of an average mile run, your foot will strike the ground 1,000 times. The force of impact on each foot is about three to four times your weight. It's not surprising, then, to hear runners complain of bad backs and knees, tight hamstrings, and sore feet.


The pain most runners feel is not from the running in and of itself, but from imbalances that running causes and exacerbates. If you bring your body into balance through the practice of yoga, you can run long and hard for years to come. Although yoga and running lie on opposite ends of the exercise spectrum, the two need not be mutually exclusive. In fact, running and yoga make a good marriage of strength and flexibility."

This is an excerpt from a Yoga Journal article at http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/192.  I believe that yoga can be life-enhancing for anyone, as a good form of exercise in itself, by promoting mind/body balance, and by aiding one in achieving peace with self and with the universe.  It can be of particular value to athletes such as runners, adding physical balance to one's training.