Running and yoga

They share some similarities that you might not know about

Why do you run? Does it allow you quiet time? Is it because you get to challenge yourself? It affords time for you to sweat and move and push your body’s physical limits? Whatever your reason, you likely share these reasons to run with other runners and surprisingly, people who do yoga.

How? The physical activities themselves are not very similar. One is slower and allows you to stay in place and the other has you on the move. Unless you’re running on a treadmill, and then it’s even more similar to moving in place on your mat.

Both running and yoga are activities that can purely be solo time for you. They’re a promise to you, your mind, and body to move. Running might be a much sweatier endeavour but running and yoga are both excellent ways to spend your active me-time, and I hope you can carve out time for that me-time on a regular basis. 

One of the most obvious similarities between the two is that you can do them almost anywhere. If you have running shoes and clothes to sweat in, you can run. If you have space to do yoga, you can use your phone or a computer to find a video to find a yoga sequence to follow or you can simply do some poses that you know. You don’t need a mat or special clothing.

Both yoga and running make you mindful of your breath. When you’re flowing through poses in a yoga class, you’re often cued to inhale or exhale at certain times or you’re told how lengthening your exhale can help you with discomfort or with easing into challenging poses. In running, you need to find the right breathing method that works for you and you need to manage it, especially when the run gets challenging, or if it’s hot, or if you’re racing and usually running a little faster due to adrenaline. In a future post, I’ll examine the benefits of breath a bit more.

What is the hardest part of running? It is often not the physical activity itself but getting out there for the run. It can also be difficult to keep yourself going when you’re tired on a long run, a new runner, or feeling uncomfortable. You work your mental strength when you run. The same thing can be said for yoga. You learn to make the time for yourself on your mat by doing it at home or going to a studio for class. You learn to be still, to hold a pose, to mentally focus on the task at hand and quiet the noise in the rest of your life for the time you’re practicing. To leave your phone behind and enjoy the silence. It doesn’t mean that you’re always successful at all of those, but you’re working on them. And it is progress, not perfection, that is important.

When you’re running, your body is doing an activity that is hard. Many people try running and don’t continue past the first run because it is uncomfortable when you first get started. Every day and every run is different. You get better by continuing and increasing the time or distance bit by bit, or gradually get a little faster and run the same amount of time but farther. Either way, you adapt and keep going. Your body and mind get stronger and you learn appreciation for what your body can do.

The same goes for yoga. You learn to be patient with your body, move through the poses, and be grateful for what your body can do. In both running and yoga, you can learn mindfulness and patience. Yoga is still and on a mat and is basically a solo activity. Running is very often a solo activity that requires focus and discipline to pound the pavement or trails several times per week. In running and yoga, you are on your own journey, no need to compare yourself to anyone else’s pace, flexibility, or form. If you focus on your own practice and journey, you’ll see the best results and improvement in performance, mindfulness, sleep, flexibility, and recovery.

One thing that new yoga practitioners notice is how they feel in each particular moment of a pose and how it varies from side to side and day to day. This awareness is something you can and should keep in mind when you’re running. If you have never really thought about what it means to be mindful, this is a great start. The body awareness you learn in yoga can transfer over to your running career and you will be more aware of any of the stiffness, aches, and creaks that may happen.

Though the similarities between yoga and running might not have seemed apparent at first, hopefully you now know they do share some traits. Whether you’re starting your yoga journey because you are looking for yoga poses for runners, you’ve been looking for good stretches to do after a run, or you’re simply curious about yoga as a cross-training activity, you’ll likely find that practicing yoga regularly improves your running performance, flexibility, and balance and allows you to recover faster and run with more comfort.