Runners Get the Most Benefit of Yoga

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Yoga and running - your immediate thought would be "no relation, no connection, complete opposites!" People think of Yoga and visualize gentle moves, relaxed muscles and deep breaths in and out. While running is, well, not any of those. Unbeknown to many is the harmony in the body created by the combination of these two exercise forms.

Both of these exercises carry similar key characteristics, although these would be identified only by a practitioner of their integration.

Just take note of the similarities between Running and Yoga. Both forms of exercise have:

-Flexibility

-Breathing Techniques

-Discipline

-Concentration

-Practice

Yoga does more than enhancing the runner's performance. It ushers in a crucial angle to the athletes' training routines. From among Yoga's numerous benefits to the body, runners gain improved accuracy and precision. This prevents their acquiring any harmful effects from their running activity.

There have been several reports of the gains to a runner's body from Yoga practice. Running one mile, according to health experts, is tantamount to one of your feet hitting the ground a thousand times. In addition, the hips and lower limbs get to absorb the runner's weight three to four times more while running. This tendency consequently brings on stiffness and pain and injury, a condition most runners usually go through.

However, these damaging effects to the body are not usual consequences to running. Health experts say that these injurious reactions occur because heavy running puts the body out of balance. A case that is easily preventable by performing an integration of Yoga into typical runners' programs because Yoga's usual corrective effect on the body's posture will bring back the balance.

Research has shown that long-term intense running develops a tightening and reduction of the athletes' muscles. This is because of the muscles being used only on the same routines daily. In time, this repetitive exertion of the same muscles on the same actions lead to pain and even injury. The rest of the body reacts and tries to compensate for the imbalance by stressing on the other joints and muscles.

It must be remembered that all the systems in the body are interrelated. An abnormal or irregular activity in one part will lead to pain or injury to other parts. Shin splints, a usual injury experienced by runners, for instance, results from the improper distribution of weight on the legs during the running activity.

In this aspect, Yoga comes in for runners' assistance. Yoga moves focus on muscle stretching and relaxation which decreases the occurrence of these injuries or pains.

Currently there is a popular program created for runners that incorporates yoga to their training. This new training now involves not just strengthening and massaging the muscles used in running but also relaxation and meditation. This new development has converted runners' training from endless exertion of muscles to breathing techniques, muscle extensions and stress-alleviation actions and postures.

The program is designed to stretch the hamstrings and calf muscles to avoid soreness and injuries caused by running. Simultaneously, the back, core and arm muscles are strengthened, thus putting right the postural misalignment and body imbalance. All of which redound to building up to the best possible execution of running.

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