Some people think 30 minutes of yoga isn’t enough.
I’ve always felt it’s not so much what you do, as how you do it.
And over the years, folks have expressed surprise at how much we actually get done in the 30-minute Runner’s Yoga routine. There’s no mucking about – smarter, not harder, as they say.
Kinda like this guy who invented a brilliant way to move huge blocks of stone … easily.
Pretty inspirational.
Painkillers like Tylenol and anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen are commonly used in the running world. But just a little research will show you how dangerous they can be if you’re not careful.
The article below is from the Wall Street Journal a couple years ago when the FDA was considering limiting sales of acetaminophen. If you want to know more about the risks of ibuprofen, Google a bit about the side effects of a drug class called NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory). It might just save your life.
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Taking Pains With a Painkiller
As FDA Weighs Limits on Acetaminophen, Consumers Must Stay Alert to Prevent an Overdose
Whether or not the Food and Drug Administration decides to limit sales of acetaminophen, consumers should know this:
* It’s easy to take more than the recommended daily dose without realizing it.
* The margin between a safe dose and a potentially lethal one is small.
* The first symptoms of acute liver failure caused by an overdose seem like the flu and don’t set in for several days, by which time it may be too late to save your liver and consequently your life.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203577304574272292331942618.html
Well, we exercise because we enjoy it. Hopefully. (If we don’t enjoy it, we probably won’t be doing it very often through the years.)
But new Canadian research suggests that regular exercise may not only help prevent an early death, but actually delay aging as well.
Check out the article HERE:
Received an email from J with a great question in it about the breath and flow in the Runner’s Yoga routine. So thought I’d post my answer here for any others who might be wondering the same thing as J.
Email me if you have any questions and I’ll try to get to as many as I can.
Van
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Hi J,
Thanks for your email. And congratulations on your great start with Runner’s Yoga.
Also, good question!
Traditionally in Ashtanga yoga every movement is coordinated with just one inhale or exhale until you’re holding the final posture. This is a challenge for everyone in the beginning, (me included!) and perhaps no more so than in Mountain Series B. (Sun Salutation B)
But there are definite benefits to doing it this way: strength building, heat-building (for more effective, safer stretching), endurance, focus and flow. And with persistence it gets easier and easier until eventually we look back and wonder what the big deal was.
When we add the beat to the routine, we add further challenge, and initially it can be difficult to move smoothly at that pace. But again, with persistence this also falls into place and takes us to another level that we couldn’t have achieved otherwise. (e.g. The 60BPM flow is wonderful for turning off the intellectual side of the brain.)
Having these challenges in the Runner’s Yoga program gives us plenty to work on … for years! (I’m STILL trying to do just one Mountain Series A with ‘perfect’ focus, fluidity and alignment.)
But as always, YOU are the boss – if you want to remain in warrior pose (or any other posture)
for an extra breath, I say “Go ahead!” Then, to stay in time with the audio, come out of Mountain Pose after 3 breaths instead of 4.
I’ll post this on the Blog too, because it’s a great question. Let me know if anything else comes up.
All the best,
Van
Came across this interesting study in my files today.
“The effects of yoga training and a single bout of yoga on delayed onset muscle soreness in the lower extremity.”
Basically, what researchers found was that “Individuals who regularly practiced yoga were less sore 24 and 48 hours post-exercise, compared to individuals who did not regularly practice yoga.”
“Researchers at the Department of Exercise Science and Sports Studies at Springfield College Allied Health Sciences in Springfield, Massachusetts, examined whether yoga influences muscles soreness after exertion.”
They looked at individuals who regularly practiced yoga and a single session of yoga, and noted that soreness was also significantly reduced after the single yoga class.
But then, we knew that, didn’t we 
)
Van
Authors: Boyle, Sayers, Jensen, Headley, & Manos.
Source: The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, Vol. 18. Nov 2004.
Okay, been away from the blog for way too long!
Meanwhile, the Runner’s Yoga Program has continued to develop and sell around the world with some exciting adventures along the way. (Which is one of the reasons I’ve been remiss in blogging for so long.)
But I’m going to do my best to get something up here once a week for you. And it’s perfect timing, because in my part of the world we’re on the cusp of Spring … and running on trails and roads that aren’t covered in snow or ice. Yippee!
See you out there!
Van
There’s an independent review of the Runner’s Yoga Program on the website Essential Yoga for Men.
Check it out here: Essential Yoga for Men
I’ve been teaching the Runner’s Yoga Program to the BC Men’s Ski Team – a very attentive and focused group of guys who seemed to ‘get it’ very quickly.
One of the things we talked about was the fact that the term ‘yoga’ itself can sometimes get in the way of athletes – males especially – giving it a try. A shame really, because athletes can benefit from yoga more than almost anyone. (I talk more about this on the Runner’s Yoga home page and in the material that comes with the program itself.)
In my experience, the reason male athletes often shy away from yoga is because of their misconception that it’s just for limber women wearing fancy fitness outfits who want to sit around on mats and hum.
Now, without a doubt, you can find that aspect.
But not in my classes.
So, I suggested to the team that if they had an image of yoga that made them skeptical about what I was about to teach them, they might want to use a different label.
Just think of the Runner’s Yoga routine this way, I suggested: “It’s a flowing series of dynamic stretches, all coordinated with a powerful breathing technique.”
Their eyes widened and I could almost hear them thinking, “Well, that sounds like a good thing.”
I continued, “It’s going to warm up, stretch and strengthen every major muscle in your body, helping it work better as a unit.”
Hmmmm. I still had them.
“The most it will take you is 30 minutes, you can do it almost anywhere, and this (I indicated my yoga mat and body) is all the space and equipment you’ll need.”
These guys can go over 60 MPH on a pair of skinny sticks, so they understand minimalism.
“And if that’s not enough, the breathing technique will improve your respiratory capacity and help you focus in the Start Gate.”
An hour and a half later, we wrapped up our first session (they’re learning how to do it on their own with the Audio Recording), and from their comments it was clear they had bought in.
Which is why I love teaching yoga to athletes – all I have to do is explain what’s going on physiologically (and make it practical), and they motivate themselves to do it.
Now in this case, the team is lucky – they happen to have a coach, Jordan Williams, who is always looking for anything that will help his athletes and he often has me in to work with his teams. So I know he’s going to offer them encouragement to practice what they’ve learned.
And personally, I don’t care whether they call it ‘yoga’ or a ‘flowing setries of dynamic stretches’. Just as long as it helps.
Just in time for summer comes news that excessive use of high-SPF sunscreen lotions can impede our body’s supply of a vital nutrient – vitamin D.
And having too little vitamin D is a serious issue. Not only is it essential for building stronger muscles and improving reaction time (Any athletes out there?) but deficiencies in vitamin D have been linked to everything from osteoporosis to heart disease.
Unfortunately, there is virtually no vitamin D in our diet – you’d have to eat seven pounds of salmon every day for your daily requirement - so the best source is the sun. (UV rays trigger our body to produce vitamin D naturally.)
But, if you’re coating yourself in high-SPF sunscreen lotion, those UV rays aren’t getting through. So you’ve either got to take supplements, or, as the American and Canadian Cancer Societies now suggest, consider getting small amounts of sun exposure.
Naturally, your doctor and personal situation will determine the best course of action for you, but you might want to heed the advice of Dr. Robyn Lucas (MD, PhD) who says, “… short sun exposure of more skin is a lot safer than longer exposure of just your face and hands.”
And if you choose the sun-tanning route as your source of vitamin D, remember, you don’t need a lot: you can get almost a year’s supply of vitamin D by exposing 40% of your skin to the summer summer sun for just 3-10 minutes twice a week.
See you on the beach! (For just a few minutes )
Van
(For more, see National Geographic Adventure, June/July 2009, “The Sun Rx” by Kate Rope)
Runners need yoga more than almost anyone because of the incredible impact their bodies are subjected to. The body of a 130-pound runner, for example, is subjected to over 600,000 pounds of jarring force every mile. Every mile!
Obviously, something’s got to give.
Naturally, most of the injuries are to the lower body. But the whole body is affected. And since the body is an ecosystem, trouble in one area can easily spread to another.
Which is why almost 70 percent of runners will be injured. And when runners start ‘going long’ (training for distance races), the risks go up.
So what’s the easiest solution? Stop running.
Right.
Any of you runners out there ever tried to do that? I have. It didn’t work
But I had to do something, because my approach to running (and practically everything else I did!) was to try to blast my way through the walls. Which meant I was regularly busting myself up.
And then I discovered these wonderful things called “doors”. And the thing that showed me where those doors are, is yoga. It is a perfect complement to running. (And every other sport I’ve tried, actually!)
In fact, yoga (particularly the 30-minute Runner’s Yoga routine) is the only reason I’m still out there running. (Please, don’t tell my orthopaedic surgeon.)
Yoga provides the Yin for running’s Yang, as others have noted. The soft to balance the hard. The door to get you safely through the walls.
And not just in terms of the injury prevention and rehab benefits that come from maintaining range of motion, flexibility and balance in the runner’s body. (Although that is often the aspect we initially notice and appreciate the most.)
It is the mental approach of yoga, the breathing techniques, the increased awareness of messages from the body, that can have the most profound effects.
They can literally change the way you run. Change the way you train for any sport. Maybe even change the way you think. They did for me. They have for many others.
It takes a while to ‘get’ this approach. Especially if you’re one of those Type-A athletes (like I was) who thinks you’re not accomplishing anything unless it hurts.
The first step is to try only breathing through your nose when you train. (If you’ve downloaded the Runner’s Yoga Program you can read about the science behind nasal breathing in Illustrated Manual #2 – The Breath.)
And in the next post I’ll tell you how to get started.
See you out there.
Van
RunnersYoga.com
