Yoga for Runners
and Pregnant Women

Yoga for runners is great for several things including flexibility, balance, relaxation (don't be mislead by this word - it is still a workout!), strengthening your core, stretching and so much more.

Not to mention that yoga for runners will lesson your chance of injury or is a great way to recover if you feel an injury coming on. And it's a great thing to do on your off-days from running as it is easy on the joints.

If you're looking to try yoga, there are several ways you can get started. You can hire a personal instructor, get a DVD and play it on your home stereo system, take yoga classes at your gym, go to a yoga studio. You can even get free yoga lessons on line. I'm particularly fond of this website because it gives very clear instructions and illustrates the poses with pictures.

Yoga is also a great fitness routine for pregnant women, especially in the third trimester. Many yoga studios even have specific classes for pregnant women which are a great way to stay fit during your pregnancy and prepare for the birth.

I'm particularly attracted to the balance part of yoga. Having grown up as the ultimate klutz, which is surprising since my name means graceful...the irony, I have always been looking for ways to find that perfect balance.

I didn't learn to ride a bike 'till I was 13 and I still fall off the bike sometimes, I still can't roller-skate (I think the word for it now is roller-blade), when I tried to learn to ski, I was kicked off the rink by security because they said I was going to, at best, break the arm of my uncle who was trying to teach me, and I am so un-coordinated I have yet to figure out how to swim and stay afloat at the same time.

When I've gone to yoga classes with various friends who I was sure were in much worse shape than me, after all, they couldn't run a marathon like me, I was shocked to see them do the downward dog no problem, while I was so bad at it, the instructor just gave me a sympathetic smile.

But yoga is about more than physical balance. Yoga may teach you to stand on one foot (that's about as much as I've learned from it in the physical so far), it will also teach you spiritual balance, mental balance, balance in life. Hey, I may still be working on the physical part of it, but yoga has helped me with meditation, clearing my mind and getting centered and focused.

At the moment I'm sticking with something that comes more naturally for me like pilates, which still helps me get in some balance, strengthen my core and get in a good stretch, at least until I can afford a private instructor or the time, patience and humility to spend in the very beginner, beginner classes.

I do plan on revisiting yoga soon as I've heard so many rave reviews from some of my friends who have tried yoga for runners. My understanding is that the yoga class I tried was more meditative and there are other types of yoga which are more active. In that way there is some type of yoga that will work for everyone.

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