Friday, October 3, 2008

Running and Yoga

So, it seems like a lot of folks in class these days are runners and doing yoga. And they understand how the two mesh together; they "get it." But then I have others I have talked to here and there and they need an extra push to truly understand why they need to do yoga in addition to their running. I found a great article by a man in the Twin Cities that explains for us his experience:
"Twenty minutes into my first hour–long yoga class and I found myself looking at the clock, wondering when it would end. I was dying. My legs, butt and lower back were quaking. We weren't sitting around humming by candlelight; this was an active, fast–moving session. I could almost do those splits in high school and the first few years of college, but that was when I was running daily and stretching a lot. Now things are different. After a few injuries (the most serious from a frisky game of ultimate frisbee without any warm–up whatsoever), too many years of office jobs, and the inevitable aging process, I've tightened up. As I witness some of my elders doing the same, getting back injuries, and losing range of motion, I decided to do something about my eroding flexibility and try to reclaim some of that youthful suppleness. Although I knew that yoga was great for overall strength, improved posture, better breathing and stress reduction, I did not realize how taxing it was nor that it was great for balance." -Bill Baldus
FOR THE COMPLETE ARTICLE: http://www.silentsports.net/features/yoga_and_running__the_perfect_.html

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