Yoga poses for triathletes, runners and cyclists
The following article shows some basic standing yoga asanas for runners, cyclists and triathletes.
Stiff legs is a very common problem in runners and cyclists. Stiff leg muscles can cause different painful problems, e.g. iliotibial band friction syndrome and back problems. For more information about knee problems, in particular Iliotibial band problems, please visit my blog.
The asanas described in this post are especially for newcomers to yoga. They will help you getting more flexible leg muscles and thereby reduce the risk that you will suffer from overuse injuries like IT band syndrome. The poses are named in english and sanscrit to make it easier for you to find videos or pictures of the poses on the web.
Leg flexibility is important to be able to perform the sport specific motions with as little resistance as possible. This will make your run or cycle efficiency better. Another important aspect is, that these asanas will help you avoiding overuse injuries, as Iliotibial band syndrome. My knee pain is gone since I started doing yoga regularly.
In the beginning it is normal that the muscles are so stiff that you can’t get into the postures. Don’t give up because of that! Just do your yoga regularly and you will gain flexibility. It will take some time, but it’s very rewarding.
The postures (asanas) that I suggest for the beginning are the following seven:
Standing forward bend (Uttanasana): This is an excellent pose to extend your hamstrings. It will stretch your gluteus maximus, medius and minimus as well as your spinal muscles too. Precaution is to be made by people with back injury. These people should approach this bend very cautiously. It is important to let gravity do the work, don’t push your body into the pose. If your hamstrings are very tight, bend your knees. That will make the stretch better.
Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I): Cyclist and runners oft experience stiff hip flexors. By doing the Warrior I, the flexibility in your hips, back and groin can be dramatically improved.
Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II): As in Warrior I this posture stretches the hip joints and opens the groins and it also stretches the inner thigh muscles.
Side Angle Pose (Parsvakonasana): This is a good following pose of Warrior II. It stretches the back side of the legs and opens the groin. At the same time it also stretches the upper body.
Triangle Pose (Trikonasana): A follow up of the Warrior I pose. Above all the hips are getting worked on here.
Intense side stretch (Parsvottanasana): This pose work on your hamstrings and gluteus maximus. It gives you a more intense stretch for your hamstrings than you get in the standing forward bend.
Wide stance forward bend (Prasarita Padottanasana): This posture is sometimes also called wide-legged forward fold and is related to the standing forward bend. The difference is that the feet are wide apart in this posture. This posture is also a very good stretch for your hamstring and the gluteus maximus.
To get the most of the poses described above, stay for five deep breaths in position. By doing the poses regularly you will open up your groin and increase the flexibility in your legs and hips. This will reduce the risk of getting problems with overuse injuries. I recommend doing these asanas at least three times a week and when you have done them for 2 months we can go to the next level.
I hope these Yoga asanas will help you enjoying your sport!
Gunnar
May 19 2009 | cycling | No Comments »