Written by April Ropes, runner and a 500-hr Yoga Instructor. April teaches and co-manages the yoga studio at Synergy Wellness, Hudson MA
We’ve all been there — You’re running along on a trail or road, when suddenly you trip over a root, a rock (or your own feet)! You begin to tumble through the air – almost in slow motion— as you try to decide how you’re going to catch yourself to avoid injury. Sometimes you get by with a scrape or a bruise, but falling can also put you out commission for days, weeks or even months—a whole racing season gone, because of one fall. How can you prepare your body and your mind to be more resilient against falling? A consistent yoga practice can help!
- Yoga helps with body awareness and proprioception. A regular yoga practice helps you to tune into YOUR body. A good yoga class will help you to discover your range of motion in different joints, as well as muscle imbalances. Working with balance poses and dynamic flows helps you to be more tuned into proprioception – the awareness of your body in space.
- Yoga can help bring more mindfulness into your runs, helping you to calmly focus on your foot falls. Learning to be more present in your body, with your breath on your yoga mat translates to an increased level of mindfulness in your day to day life — including your runs!
- Many yoga poses can help to strengthen the core, helping you to stay upright. Yoga can also help strengthen ankles, wrists and other body parts need to support you during your runs and in the event of a fall. If you do happen to land on your wrist or hip —the more you’ve strengthened those areas, the quicker your recovery time.
Here’s a great sequence from one of my teachers, Sage Rountree. It’s a parking lot yoga sequence that I’ve shared before. This is a dynamic sequence that can be done in the parking lot before a run. I would also recommend trying some vinyasa flow or gentle yoga classes to help you to not only strengthen and stretch your body and practice balance, but to strengthen and stretch your “mindfulness and awareness muscles.” Practice. Practice. Practice!
Please reach out, if you have any questions. Feel free to check out the yoga studio that I manage in Hudson: Synergy Wellness Center. We have tons of great classes for any level. We have an open house on September 6th with lots of free classes all day. Please sign up for the free classes online to reserve your spot!
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