I’ve been doing yoga now for about ten years and have always known the benefits of it, from the way that my body feels so fluid once I’m done and even the next day to how calm I feel when I’ve completed the workout.
Now that I am training for this marathon I decided to start taking yoga classes. I started off through the city where I live. I liked the class a lot-the lady was great, and while it was a good workout it was also fairly calming.
Since I’m going to be training for a triathlon after this marathon I decided to join the gym. For $30 a month I can swim, bike, use the treadmills and take as many classes as I want in yoga, pilates, and the like.
Last night I took my first yoga class, and the difference between THAT class and the one that I have been taken through the city (which was located at the senior center) was amazing. Last night I stretched, balanced on my forearms, did a back bend and maneuvered my body in positions I had no idea I could actually do.
Today, I’m hurting, but it is a good stretching pain. I did my middle of the week 5 miler, which was more like a 4.5 miler with some sprinting at the end to work on speed work. My legs felt really heavy, and sore, afterwards. But my body definitely felt better than it had before I’d gone to yoga.
If you are training for distance running-or even if you are not!-I highly recommend signing up for yoga classes. The stretches really help out with the running. I know that my foot pain feels better after I do stretches for my feet, and my lower back doesn’t hurt as much when I’m doing distances as it used to before I started yoga.
Of course, I just got back from my run and have not had a chance to see how much pain I’m going to feel later from the yoga and running, so I may have a different opinion this afternoon-but I doubt it!