10 Essential Yoga Poses For Runners
This 10-minute post-run yoga workout is an excellent way for runners to stretch out their muscles, work on their mobility, and unwind after a run. Yoga benefits runners by improving strength and flexibility and helping breathing control. You can work on muscle imbalances and challenge common weaknesses such as stiff ankles, weak hamstrings, glutes, and quadriceps.
Is Yoga Good For Runners?
Yoga is one of the best workouts for runners. Yoga bodyweight exercises are ideal for strength training and flexibility; consistent practice will help with your running form. These are the top 5 benefits of yoga for runners:
1. Strength
Yoga excels at finding weaknesses in your body and giving you the tools to strengthen them. For example, you could strengthen weak ankles, improve quadriceps strength to protect your kneecaps when running downhill or improve hip strength to help you become a better runner.
2. Balance
Good balance is essential for running, whether on the road or on the trail. Yoga benefits runners by challenging and improving their balance.
3. Flexibility
Runners are typically inflexible. All that pounding in one range of motion is hard on the body. Yoga gives runners the chance to relax overused muscles and stretch out. Better flexibility will improve your running form.
4. Breathing
Yoga practice can help runners control their breathing when running. More controlled breathing helps runners conserve energy and run faster over longer distances.
5. Posture
It’s easy to neglect your posture when you’re running, and as runners get tired, they tend to hunch over and take shorter, choppier strides. Yoga improves your upper body strength and helps you maintain good posture even on longer runs.
10-Minute Post-Run Yoga Workout
This 10-minute workout includes 10 different yoga poses that are helpful for runners. Fit this short session in after your run to strengthen and elongate your muscles.
The 10-Minute Post-Run Yoga Routine
Complete positions 1 to 8 on one side of the body, then repeat on the second side. Finish your session with positions 9 and 10.
- Downward Facing Dog – 30 seconds
- Upward Facing Dog – 30 seconds
- Crescent Moon Pose – 30 seconds
- Warrior II Pose – 30 seconds
- Reverse Warrior Pose – 30 seconds
- Lizard Pose – 30 seconds
- Half Splits Pose – 30 seconds
- Half Pigeon Pose – 30 seconds
- Supine Spinal Twist Pose – 30 seconds on both sides
- Corpse Pose – Relax for 1 minute
Yoga Safety
It’s always important to take things easy when you’re a yoga beginner. Never stretch to the point of discomfort.
The Yoga Poses For Runners
1. Downward Facing Dog
This pose provides instant relief from running. It stretches out your hamstrings, calves, ankles, and feet and feels as if you’re massaging your shoulders.
How to Do It: Start on your hands and knees with your weight spread evenly—wrists under shoulders, knees under hips—and push your knees up off the floor. Raise your hips, straighten your legs, and put your bum in the air! Take care not to lock your knees; don’t worry if your heels don’t touch the ground.
2. Upward Facing Dog
This is a wonderful stretch for your back, neck, and upper body. It also gives you the chance to stretch those overlooked quadriceps and the tops of your feet.
How to Do It: From the downward dog pose, let your hips sink down and support your weight on your hands. Flip your feet over so that you’re stretching out the tops of your feet. Elongate your neck, but keep your chin level and avoid tilting your head back. Feel free to give your back and hips a little wiggle.
3. Crescent Moon Pose
Build strength and stability. The Crescent Moon Pose works the quads and glutes while strengthening the upper body. You’ll need a strong core to hold this position.
How to Do It: From the upward-facing dog position, bring one leg through until the knee is stacked over the ankle. Press down into your front foot and flip your back foot, pressing outwards through your back heel. Lift your hip bones up, lengthen your spine, and reach through your fingertips. Squeeze your glutes and lift your back thigh.
4. Warrior II Pose
Strength, balance, and power signify the Warrior II Pose. In this aptly named position, your inner thighs, calves, and hips get a workout.
How to Do It: From the Crescent Moon Pose, turn your back foot outwards at about 90 degrees, keeping your front leg facing forward. Keep your shoulders over your hips and bring your arms parallel to the mat, one forward over the bent leg and one stretching backward, palms facing down. Keep your gaze on your front fingertips.
5. Reverse Warrior Pose
Building on Warrior II Pose, the Reverse Warrior Pose stretches your torso and opens up your chest. It allows you to experience your full lung capacity, which is essential for hard, fast running.
How to Do It: From Warrior II Pose, arch backward to bring your back arm down to gently rest your hand on your back leg at the top of your calf. Your front arm rises up and over. Gaze at your fingertips and relax your shoulders away from your ears.
6. Lizard Pose
If you’re a runner who sits at a desk all day, you may have tight hip flexors. The Lizard Pose will help you release your hip flexors and get the surrounding muscles, including your glutes, firing correctly.
How to Do It: Bring your front foot outside of your arms and plant it near the edge of your mat with your knee stacked over your ankle. Sink your hips forward and as low as possible while keeping your back flat. Push through the heel of your back foot and extend your back leg straight out away from your body. Sink onto your forearms, pressing into the earth. Keep your neck relaxed and in line with your spine. Keep your core engaged and your shoulders relaxed.
If you struggle to bring your forearms to the floor, you can rest them on a block or cushion.
7. Half Splits Pose
This Half-Splits Pose stretches out tight hamstrings and calves—just what every runner needs. You’ll feel relief as pressure reduces in your lower back.
How to Do It: From the Lizard Pose, drop your back knee to the ground and raise yourself up so that your hips are stacked over your bent knee. Gently straighten your front leg and flex your front foot. Hinge at the hips, keeping them squared and in line with each other, and let gravity pull your forehead down towards your toes. Support your body with your hands, pushing your fingers into the earth. Keep your shoulder blades back, down and relaxed, your spine long and straight, and your back flat. Aim for a gentle stretch in your hamstrings. This can be a challenging position for runners, so don’t overdo it.
8. Half Pigeon Pose
Another excellent yoga pose for runners, the Half Pigeon Pose, stretches the hips and lower back, improving flexibility in the hip flexors.
How to Do It: From the Half Splits Pose, bend your front leg at the knee, bring your hips forward, and rest your front shin on the ground parallel to the edge of your mat. Keep your weight centered over your hips and your hips squared. Your back leg is straight, and your toes are pointed straight behind you. For a deeper stretch, fold over your front leg into a full Pigeon Pose.
9. Supine Spinal Twist Pose
This pose stretches the back, shoulders, and hips, improving spinal mobility. Runners can have stiff upper bodies from always operating in one range of motion, so adding some twisting poses helps release tension.
How to Do It: Lie on your back and bend your knees, pressing the soles of your feet into the floor. Drop your left knee over to the right side and straighten your right leg. Allow your spine to twist. Use your right hand to assist with the twist by putting slight pressure on your left knee. Extend your left arm on the ground at shoulder level. Relax and breathe into the twist.
10. Corpse Pose
Finish your yoga session for runners by relaxing in Corpse Pose. This part of the session should not be skipped—it’s important for your recovery.
How to Do It: Lie on your back in a comfortable position, arms at your sides, and legs relaxed and straight. Allow your legs to fall to the side. Close your eyes and focus on how your body feels, releasing any tension.
If you’ve found these yoga poses for runners session helpful, try these online yoga classes and start building a regular practice.
