So, I took up running too. I was a sixth-grader who’d never felt particularly athletic. Gym class was a nightmare for me as we were always having to shoot baskets or square dance – neither of which appealed to me. I had decided by the time I was twelve that I wasn’t an athlete. Running changed that. I found that I was great at long, steady runs. I wasn’t a sprinter, but I could go a long way without losing any speed. Soon I was running around the lake where we lived. Later, my dad and I ran the hills and backroads of the Lake of the Ozarks together. And, one day, I decided to run a marathon.

Runners are a different breed, and I feel comfortable saying that because I am one. We love the solitude of a long run. We love the road rising up in front of us with the early morning sun. We love the sweat and the pounding of our hearts and the pavement. But, often, we don’t love to cross-train. To challenge the muscles that are not heavily utilized in running and thus may become weak and short. Very often, runners have weak core muscles, increased kyphosis (rounded curvature) in the thorax, and short, tight psoas and hamstring muscles. As the late runner, doctor and author, George Sheehan, once observed, many marathon runners look as if the amount of muscle on their body wouldn’t fill a teacup.

Yoga asanas offer a way to increase both strength and flexibility for the runner. By decreasing muscular imbalances, asanas can help runners to prevent injury. Additionally, the development of the smaller, intrinsic musculature that occurs through sustained practice of yoga may add to a runner’s performance in both speed and endurance.

Here are some essential asanas for runners.