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Whether You're A Runner Or A Weightlifter, You Need To Know About This Yoga Flow

Ava Johanna
Author:
June 28, 2017
Ava Johanna
Registered Yoga Teacher
By Ava Johanna
Registered Yoga Teacher
Ava Johanna is an internationally recognized and certified meditation and yoga instructor (E-RYT), breath work facilitator, and transformational mentor based in San Diego.
Photo by Ava Pendl
June 28, 2017

Sore muscles, injuries, overextension of the body—if you’re an athlete, you’re no stranger to these. From running track to lifting weights, chances are you’ve experienced some type of injury or strain throughout your life. While some form of injury may be inevitable over an athlete's lifespan, what if I told you there's a practice that even the most well-trained athletes could adopt to minimize injury?

I'm talking about yin yoga. Yin yoga is a gentle yet challenging yoga practice that allows you to drop into your own body, listen, and be present with anything and everything that comes up, both physically and mentally. Yin is a seated, grounding practice, in which poses are held for 3-5 minutes in order to bring mobility to the joints and ligaments. By practicing this style of yoga, athletes are able to work deeper into the muscles to transform the way the body moves.

In most classes you see in Western yoga, students are working with their yang muscles, or power muscles, which can be similar to an athlete's normal routine. When practicing yin yoga, students are asked to relax into postures, taking on a more passive approach to working through deep connective tissue and fascia in the body.

Yin Yoga offers athletes a chance to find stillness in the mind and body. Given that poses are being held much longer than a yang-style yoga class, a student will notice everything under the sun come up in their minds and bodies. From sensation in the hips to thoughts about past experiences, yin allows these physical and mental emotions to rise and be released through the power of passive movement.

When intimately working with the body by breaking through connective tissue, students will find themselves breaking through old emotional patterns and coming out of class stronger—not just in the body, but in the mind as well. Here are five yoga poses that will help you out.

1. Reclining twist

Photo by Ava Pendl

Also known as supine twist, this posture is incredibly restorative for the back muscles, spine, and abdominal muscles. It’s important to note that both shoulders should be firmly planted on the ground so you are twisting from your mid-spine rather than your lower back.

2. Square

Photo by Ava Pendl

Square, or fire log, is a juicy seated pose targeted at deeply opening and stretching your outer hips. With shins stacked upon each other, you can deepen the stretch by folding forward. If you are unable to stack the shins, a yoga block is helpful for easing your way into this hip opener.

3. Saddle

Photo by Ava Pendl

Saddle pose is an excellent stretch for getting into the hip space as well as the quadriceps. By deepening into the furthest expression of this pose, you are opening your sacrum-lumbar arch, which is beneficial for athletes and those who do a lot of standing or walking.

4. Toe squat

Photo by Ava Pendl

Toe squat can be an intense stretch for those who are on their feet often, but the results are outstanding. When practicing toe squat, you are opening your feet, strengthening the muscles, and stretching all six lines of the lower-body meridians.

5. Melting heart

Photo by Ava Pendl

After a long day of weight training or working out, this posture will stretch and relieve tightness in the shoulders while strengthening the spine. This mild backbend also works to bring more flexibility to the upper back and mid-back.

Want more recovery ideas? Read up on why active recovery is sweeping the fitness world.

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