(ETX Daily Up) – A true anti-stress, yoga is known to improve flexibility, tone, and breathing. But we know less that it helps to prepare for the effort and to prevent certain injuries. These are the foundations of ‘yog’n’run’, an activity that combines breathing exercises, muscle strengthening and mental preparation. On the occasion of International Yoga Day, this Wednesday, June 21, here is everything you need to know about this discipline which is gaining more and more followers.
Who said running can only be done with sneakers on your feet? This is the goal of the ‘yog’n’run’, a routine that incorporates a yoga session into your sports preparation. “Yoga and running are linked”, analyzes Heberson Oliveira, yoga teacher for more than twenty years. The teacher of ‘Yog’N Run’, for the Circle Yoga Club, counts three marathons. For him, “running is a space for meditation, just as much as yoga.
What place for yoga in sports preparation?
Through its postures, which engage the muscles of the body, the age-old practice allows you to work muscles and joints in depth. “By strengthening the muscles of the abdominal strap, the back and the lower limbs, we prepare the body for the effort”. This is to prepare the body for intense effort and shocks due to the practice of running.
Yoga would also have a beneficial aspect to prevent injuries. “Yoga works on strength and mobility”, explains the specialist who has more than twenty years of yoga practice, “when you run, it is possible to twist your ankle. Thanks to yoga, the risk of injury is minimized” .
The breath to surpass oneself
In the race, the breath is essential to take care of its performance. In the context of a marathon, we ask the body to provide a greater effort than what we are used to doing. “Breath work, called pranayama, increases lung capacity and teaches how to breathe.” In yoga, we breathe through the nose, we learn to control the breath. Once acquired, this method is available in other circumstances. “If you know how to control diaphragmatic breathing, you can better manage your effort”. A way to avoid the “30 km wall” during a marathon.
Yoga also helps to prepare mentally. Through meditation, yoga allows you to project yourself into action, it is mentalization. To do this, you have to go through “yoga nidra”, a method of relaxation. This relaxes the muscles and allows to be respective to the mental preparation. “It’s not a secret, top athletes use this technique,” says the coach.
Inject a hint of recovery
The physical preparation for running is intense and traumatic for the body. The gestures are repeated and the muscles tense. The practice of yoga promotes the recovery of muscles and tendons. “We turn to postures that are done on the ground and require a little flexibility, specifies the coach. “We do not work on strength, the goal is to put the body in the posture and through breathing find the muscle relaxation”. During a session, the yogi performs 8 postures.