YOGA FOR RUNNERS
Yogarise instructor Chloe Faulkner demonstrates yoga exercises for runners of all abilities, bringing our store series online.
Runners Need are delighted to be working with Yogarise for in-store Yoga classes and also to be able to bring you this three part series with Yoga instructor Chloe Faulkner. Chloe will take you through 5 minute post-run yoga routines focusing on your feet and lower legs, hips and also the back and shoulders. The simple routines are suitable for all, no yoga experience or equipment required, just find a comfortable spot to lay down and you’re good to go!
Feet and Lower Legs
- Laying on the ground with the left leg bent and foot on the floor, hug the right knee into your chest, clasping hands behind the thigh. Straighten the right leg into the sky and press the the leg into your clasped hands. Slowly circle the right foot 3 times clockwise and anticlockwise.
- Next, straighten the left leg along the ground, and then point and flex the right foot.
- Then, with the right foot flexed, turn the right toes slightly towards the midline, and draw your right leg across your body, keeping the right hip and shoulder firmly on the floor.
- After a few breaths, bring the leg back to the centre, release your grip and lay the leg down next to the left. Notice if you feel any differences between the two sides of your body as you lay on the ground.
Repeat on the left side.
Hips
Some simple but effective hip stretches to do before and after your run to prevent injury and aid recovery.
Pre-run:
- Stand with your legs wide apart and feet parallel. Bring your hands together in front of your chest.
- Keeping your chest up right, bend into one leg and press into the outer edge of the other foot.
- Straighten the bent leg, and then repeat this on the other side. Transition between the two sides 3 or 4 times or until you no linger feel sensation in the inner thighs and groin.
Post-run:
- Laying on the ground, feet flat on the ground with knees bent. Hug the right knee into the chest. Flex the right foot, and bring the shin over to rest on the left thigh.
- If you want to stretch further, lift the left leg and flex both feet. Interlace your fingers around the back of your left leg and slowly draw the leg towards you.
- Repeat on the other side.
Back and Shoulders
- Start sat down with your legs crossed. Bring your hands onto your knees, and slowly lift the chest and gaze up to the sky, drawing your shoulders down. Next, round through the back and draw your chin into your chest. Repeat this motion as many times as feels good.
- Next, slide the left hand onto the floor by your side, and lift the right hand up. Press down into the left hand and reach up through the right fingers. Allow the left elbow to bend and bring the right arm up and over your ear. Bring the gaze down to your left hand and breathe gently. Repeat on the other side.
- Finally, sat upright, bring both arms out in front of you and then wrap the right arm over the left as you take hold of the opposite shoulder. Left the elbows slightly until you feel a stretch through the shoulders. Drop the chin down to the chest and breathe deeply. Lift the head, and then repeat with the left arm crossed on top of the right.
Chloe started running in 2002, and in 2003 she ran the Paris Marathon which was a baptism of fire! It was during her self-confessed ‘rather sketchy’ marathon training in 2003 that she started practicing yoga. She had genuinely resigned herself to being a stiff person and hadn’t realised at all that over a long period of time her body was capable of adapting and becoming more flexible. Yoga is genuinely amazing for runners, but running isn’t particularly great for yoga! Fast forward to 2012 and her husband had taken up running – he’d caught the running bug. Together they’ve entered into the Two Rivers Marathon in February 2020 as their qualifier for the Comrado Ultra in June
Yogarise is your local, urban yoga studio. We opened our doors in 2014 in Peckham Rye’s Bussey Building, bringing some of London’s top teachers to Peckham and offering a wide range of classes at affordable prices every day of the week. Since then, we’ve opened studios in Streatham and Covent Garden too. Given the current Coronavirus pandemic, we've closed our doors but that hasn't stopped us! We're running live streamed yoga and pilates classes daily direct to your living room. Our aim is to get as many people as possible breathing, moving and Yogarising – yes, it sounds cheesy but we don’t care! Yoga makes you feel good (officially) and we want to share some of that around. We work with community partners to bring yoga and mindfulness into local schools and to convey the positive message that yoga really is for everybody. So, whether you’re a complete beginner or master yogi, are into meditation or fitness, come along and see what Yogarise is all about.
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