Yoga For Runners

With Himeville yoga instructor Bianca Haw

- Bianca Haw

Unstick your tight running joints with yoga.

I don’t know about you, but the sound of yoga used to be so daunting for me. I arrived at my first-ever yoga class unable to do the splits, let alone touch my toes! But I left feeling light and open. I was hooked from then on and my yoga journey began. Today, we host yoga retreats and festivals so that people can experience yoga of all kinds in one place and leave with a new sense of opening.

Trail running is amazing, but it can lead to injuries if you neglect some simple stretches.

I'll share four very effective stretches that can leave you running light, open, and injury-free - without having to join a yoga class!

We’ll focus on hips, glutes, hammies, calves, and hip flexors. Poses can be held from one to five minutes. Bear in mind that the deep muscles and fascia only start to release after three minutes, so make that your goal.

Open hips with pigeon

Pigeon pose is an extremely effective hip and glute opener that addresses both areas, with the front leg working in external rotation and the back leg in position to stretch the psoas. If you are very tight, and pigeon pose is inaccessible to you, try the reversed pigeon variation.

How to pigeon

• From all fours, bring your left knee forward towards your left wrist. Depending on your body, it may be just behind your wrist or to the outer or the inner edge of it.