Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Dx

Running + Yoga = Balance

Here's why: They are almost total opposites. In running, you measure distances, reach goals, and push yourself harder. In yoga there is no measuring. The only thing you can really measure is the amount of minutes you were active. But 20 minutes of...


And 20 minutes of... 

count as the same thing. The goals you achieve in yoga come from your soul. They are the peace and stillness you can find in a difficult physical posture, or the complete integration at the end of the practice. These are things no one else can see. There is no finish line to snap, no age group to place in. Instead of pushing yourself, in yoga, you wait for your body to blossom into the pose you are trying to achieve. This might be the realization of your hamstrings to let your heels touch the floor like this...
.

I've recently added a LOT of yoga to my weekly routine (like, 5 hours a week) and I'm finding that it's mentally making me better at running. I feel like I'm undoing the physical and mental "damage" that running has the potential to do. My legs feel better and I'm breathing better than I have ever in my life. 

My recommendation: try yoga. I highly recommend YogaZone. You can watch episodes for free on Hulu and the instructors are very "human" human beings. No pretzels!! 

2 comments:

Annie Crow said...

Agree, agree, agree. Trying to work more yoga back into my life. 5 minutes at a time...

Ali K. said...

I need to get into yoga. The more I see about it, the more I know it'd be good for me holistically. Thanks for the link to YogaZone!