An Expert Yoga Instructor’s Advice to Runners

I love yoga, because it always gives my quads and calves a much-needed kneading. Despite the benefits of yoga, I have rarely practiced it more than once a week.  The main reasons for this were that the yoga classes and DVDs I knew tended to require at least a 60-minute time commitment and I enjoy running more than doing yoga. Fortunately, celebrity yoga and pilates instructor Kristin McGee (See photo below.) has introduced me to a fitness routine that incorporates yoga and running, which takes about as much time to complete as my typical run.

This workout begins with one of McGee’s under-6-minute online yoga routines, immediately followed by a RUN! Lastly, post-run, McGee suggests holding some of the yoga poses she demonstrates, such as the crescent lunge, quad stretches and hamstring stretches.

Recently, Health Magazine tweeted a clip of one of these routines, which McGee filmed for alignyo.com. She says she designed this sun salutation and a three-minute dynamic yoga warm-up to ready bodies for a run. Both routines are based on the Vinyasa or flow style of yoga, which involves continuous movement from one yoga pose to the next.

McGee, who has been certified at teaching yoga since 1997, says she recommends following along with one of these yoga flows before a run, because they include moves that improve posture and open up the chest.

I performed McGee’s "runner’s" sun salutation prior to a 45-minute pool run. Before practicing the series of yoga moves, I had expected to be able to run a maximum of 30 minutes, because both of my legs were sore from a 4-mile on-pavement run I had done the previous day. I credit McGee’s pre-run workout for my ability and willingness to work my legs for an additional 15 minutes.

McGee, who also runs, says yoga helps runners prevent injuries to the hip external rotators, hip flexors, quads and glutes. Performing chair pose, lunges, triangle pose, the warrior poses and standing balance poses are all great for runners because they open up and strengthen those areas, she says.

McGee adds that runners can also especially benefit from the core and upper body work that is missing from just running.

“Yoga is going to help runners round everything out,” she explains.