I’m always looking for new yoga videos to supplement my running – postures that get into my back, hips, hamstrings and calves. I especially love having them in my repertoire for races, always the night before a race or long training run, never the morning of (It’s hard enough for me to get out the door with everything I need, let alone incorporate a yoga practice. I’m sure it would be spectacular, but I am only human.)

I’ve been doing the same videos over and over again, and that repetition sometimes means I’m calling in the workout. I need unexpected, I need fresh! The other morning I tried a new-to-me video on the Yoga With Adriene YouTube channel – Yoga For Cyclists. IT WAS EVERYTHING.

EVERYTHING! Stretches all the muscles! 

I’m no cyclist. It’s a long term goal of mine to complete a triathlon, and to get to the point of signing up, I’m going to have to get on a bike. And then ride it. Terrifying.

Up until the age of 25, I pretty much lived on a bike. I grew up in a small town and I went to college in a small town. When I left Humboldt, and moved to Chicago, my bike riding days were over. I was never comfortable riding alongside cars in a college town where everyone is stoned and a little too polite with the right-of-way, so aggressive city biking was just…no.

11 years later and I still am uneasy. Mike signed up for a half IronMan, so maybe my day will come, living with someone who’s going to complete a 70.3 mile swim, bike, and foot race. Goals. Long term, bucket-list goals. Shorter term goals include completing an ultra marathon, which means in the present time, I have to train to stop falling apart between miles 16 and 18.

Part of my present day training regime is a yoga practice! It helps me in countless ways, including core and knee strength, flexibility, being more aware in my body and breathing. All things that matter when it comes to running, especially when it comes to staying injury free! AND you don’t need to be a cyclist to love this practice! It gets into all those places we use as runners, and feels amazing afterwards. Anything that gets into the hips is a favorite of mine these days! (Apparently we store a lot of emotion in the hips, and hip stretches bring those out. Thinking I’m so much less emo these days based on the fact I do hip stretches every. single. day.)

If you are interested in other YWA videos specifically for runners, check out this playlist!