Growing up as a competitive distance runner, I used to think that yoga was useless for runners.
In fact, the more invested I became in my running training and performance, the more I started considering any form of physical activity that was not particularly vigorous as a useless form of exercise.
In my naive mind, I was “too fit” for anything slower or “easier,” with yoga sitting squarely on top of this list.
In fact, I admittedly hated yoga. However, things changed.
As I started doing more intensive marathon training, I felt the consequences of cutting corners with my flexibility and recovery work, particularly after long runs and races.
I began incorporating stretching. Stretching turned to yoga when I had an injury and started attending some yoga classes.
Before I knew it, I was hooked on the benefits of yoga for running as I saw how even just a short time on my yoga mat with some of the best yoga poses for runners improved my flexibility, increased my mind-body awareness and left me feeling more centered and recovered. Eventually, my appreciation of the benefits of yoga for runners grew so much that I even became a certified yoga instructor and have been practicing for several years.
And, I’m certainly not alone. I recently had the opportunity to visit with some of the professional HOKA ONE ONE runners, including the indomitable Ahmed Muhumed, and yoga is indeed a core aspect of his (and his teammates’) rigorous weekly training routine.
Let’s dive into what I learned from the HOKA coaching staff and athletes—as well as the research—about the benefits of yoga for runners.
Why is yoga good for runners? The benefits of yoga for runners explained
Here are some of the benefits of yoga for running:
Reducing muscle soreness and improving body flexibility
Running is a repetitive activity. Most runners can develop chronically tight and overworked hamstrings, calves, glutes, quads, hip flexors, abductors (inner thigh muscles) and even lower back muscles. Yoga for runners can be an effective workout to stretch tight or sore muscles, strengthen supporting (synergistic) muscle groups and improve your mind-body connection.
The combined effects of these benefits of yoga enable runners to engage the correct muscles in the most effective way while running.
There is even some evidence to suggest that stretching and yoga may reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which makes your workout the next day all the more comfortable and will expedite recovery during your marathon training, or whatever distance you’re tackling!
Building functional core strength
One of the key benefits of yoga for runners is that it helps you learn how to engage your deep core muscles and use the core as a cohesive unit.
The deep core muscles provide trunk support, improve breathing mechanics, and give your lower body and pelvis a stable foundation from which your legs can make powerful, efficient running strides aided by an economical arm swing.
Essentially, a strong core from the deepest muscular layers around the spine enables your pelvis to provide a level and balanced stride, decreasing the likelihood of injuries and optimizing your running economy.
Moreover, the spinal stabilizers help protect the lower back from unnecessary movements and force. In fact, research has found that weakness in the deep core muscles increases the compensatory force in the surrounding muscles by up to 45 percent.
This can cause premature fatigue of your other core muscles during long runs, which can cause your running form to break down. Weak core muscles cannot stabilize and support your spine in the proper position while you run.
Reducing back pain
Running downhill and on treadmills has an increased likelihood of causing low back pain. Moreover, as just mentioned, runners with poor core strength and control can lack the sufficient stabilization of the spine necessary to maintain proper alignment.
As a result, there can be excessive movement between the vertebrae and joints in the spine, which can increase the likelihood of lower back pain and injury.
Indeed, studies suggest that yoga can be part of an effective treatment plan for chronic low back pain. Yoga has also been shown to reduce neuropathic back pain by improving hamstring and spinal flexibility, strengthening the core muscles and increasing overall mobility.
Strengthening the hips and pelvic floor
Certain yoga poses may also improve hip strength and lower body biomechanics by strengthening key muscle groups such as the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes. This can improve your running stride, maximizing your running economy while reducing the risk of injuries.
Preventing muscle imbalances
When you mindfully engage in a well-rounded yoga routine, you can select yoga poses that specifically target muscles that tend to be weak in runners to prevent muscle imbalances, such as the smaller muscles around the hips and glutes.
Yoga poses for runners that target the hips and pelvis help confer adequate strength to the smaller hip muscles (such as the hip abductors and hip rotator muscles).
This, in turn, improves alignment of the entire lower limbs, which can help prevent certain running injuries such as IT band syndrome and runner’s knee.
Decreasing pain and improving sleep
I can certainly attest to the fact that training for long-distance races like half marathons and marathons often leads you to feel pretty sore. Achiness can increase whole-body tension, making it difficult to relax.
Moreover, stress makes it challenging for some people to get restful sleep at night, and sleep is a critical part of workout recovery.
One of the benefits of yoga for runners is that it has been shown to reduce musculoskeletal pain, decrease stress and improve sleep quality. This can improve recovery from your workouts and allow you to train more consistently without risking injury, excessive fatigue or lack of motivation.
Improving breathing mechanics
A recent study suggests that a 60-minute yoga breathwork session can have immediate improvements in breathing patterns and respiratory health. Since running is a cardiovascularly-demanding exercise, any improvements in pulmonary function and breathing mechanics can only positively affect running performance.
Supporting a healthy body weight
It’s important to note that the benefits of exercise far exceed weight loss, and everyone should strive to meet at least the minimum physical activity recommendations regardless of their body weight status.
However, for runners who are carrying excess body weight or excess body fat, there is evidence to suggest that yoga can be an effective exercise modality to help reduce body fat and decrease abdominal obesity (which is strongly associated with a myriad of chronic diseases).
Supporting the body for optimal athletic performance
Distance runners know that to be successful at getting to the starting line and finish line of a marathon or long race, a lot of puzzle pieces need to fall into place in just the right way.
Consistency is required to get your body and mind strong enough to take on the rigors of 26.2 miles (or even 3.1, for newer runners). This consistency in training means you have to stay healthy.
Research suggests yoga confers a variety of benefits to runners that can facilitate this, such as improving posture, increasing strength and endurance and boosting the immune system.
Moreover, yoga can enhance focus and concentration, aiding your mental strength for those long runs, hard workouts and even tougher races.
I admit that I still can’t say that yoga is my favorite workout—I would much rather be enjoying miles outside—but the pros of adding yoga to my training routine have certainly converted me to someone who tries to incorporate some yoga poses for running into my weekly training.
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