Yoga for Running…or Simply for Life!

What a perfect combination: yoga + your sport.

But even if you’re not someone who’d consider themselves an athlete, read on.   

Yoga is for all of us.

Since I began the first part of my yoga teacher training, the 200-hour course, I’ve grown to love yoga in more ways that I ever could have imagined.  It truly is transformative and I’m sure I’ll be blogging about this more and more as training and subsequent teaching ensues.

As such, I’m seeing yoga in more places that I’d noticed before.  Whether that’s a factor of me being more aware or that yoga is simply becoming more popular is irrelevant; yoga is something we can all practice and, for the specific purposes of this blog post, it’s a great addition to the physical training we do as runners, or triathletes or athletes of any sort.

I was happy to see a brief piece in this month’s Runner’s World, written by a yoga instructor who made several very valid points including:

• The importance of not taking the competitive, athletic spirit that many of us athletes have into the yoga studio
• A reminder that we needn’t approach our practice the way we do our ‘training’, insofar as being consumed with the length of time of a class.   A few minutes each day can honestly be the first step.  

I actually find it quite nice to do something which requires both physical stamina as well as mental strength in a venue where I feel zero ego and completely accepting of the fact that I can’t yet do certain poses.  And the philosophy component…wow.   Another blog topic, for sure!

At any rate, no matter where you live, what age you are and what state of health you’re in, I highly, highly suggest giving yoga a try.   

People come to the mat for so many reasons, and do so at a time when they’re ready to.

If only everyone would take this first step of the journey….