A Guide to the Best Types of Yoga for Runners

Are you part of the runners who enjoy integrating Yoga into your training? Maybe you already do Yoga or are considering it, but have no idea if you’re doing the right type or where to begin. If that’s you, then you are in the right place!

I wrote another blog post on the benefits of Yoga for runners. Check it out here to dive into the reasons it could benefit you by adding it to your routine. This article focuses on what style or type of Yoga would benefit you more as a runner. We all have a limited amount of time we can dedicate to our training between running, strength training, and mobility work. Therefore, choosing the right type of Yoga to practice will allow us to be more productive and efficient in our workouts. Let’s dive in!

Choosing the right type of Yoga to practice will allow us to be more productive and efficient in our workouts.

The different branches of Yoga

Six main branches are described in Yoga and a lot of them can intersect within the same class or practice. Hatha Yoga is the most commonly practiced in the Western world and the one people will recognize the most usually as it involves the physical poses that the body can take.

What are the different styles of Yoga?

Within Yoga, different styles exist. You will find that a lot of these styles fall under the branch of Hatha Yoga. As mentioned previously, different branches can intersect, so each style could be under more than one branch. It seems like new styles of Yoga are emerging every week, but I have regrouped the main ones in a graphic below to give you an overview.  

What style of Yoga is better for runners?

Now that we have a bit more context with the different branches and styles of Yoga, let’s determine which ones would be more specific for runners.

The short answer is, it depends. In the article that I wrote ‘‘The Benefits of Yoga for runners’’, I gave a few tips on how to integrate Yoga into your training.

If you are using Yoga as cross-training to build strength and balance, I would suggest Vinyasa Yoga, which is usually a more intense and dynamic flow. In Vinyasa, you typically move in and out of poses at a quicker pace while linking each movement to the breath. The practice needs to be vigorous enough to get your sweat on. After all, the whole point of cross-training is to get your heart rate up, but not get the same amount of load through your legs that you would get through your runs.

What I love about Vinyasa flows is that each class sequence is different. If you’re like me and quickly get bored in your workouts this is a great option for you. Vinyasa is also the style I would recommend using if you are integrating Yoga into your warm-up. You can make it a shorter practice than if you were using it as cross-training in that case. Another option for Vinyasa would be to slow it down (slow flow) and integrate it as part of your cool down.

Try this 15-minute cool-down Yoga sequence that I recorded by clicking here.

On the other hand, if you are using Yoga on your recovery days, I would go more with restorative Yoga which falls under the Iyengar style. In a restorative class, poses are typically held longer, and you have more time to focus on alignment. Props are also encouraged in this type of practice to support and assist the body in focusing on getting an optimal alignment.

If you’re looking to simply calm your nervous system down on your rest days or as part of your cool down, you could go with Yin yoga which slows the pace down and where postures are held for a long time. This practice resembles stretching and involves a lot of breathing into the poses as well. This is important to do now and again, as running is a high-impact activity that stresses our nervous system. And with the busy lives that most of us lead, who doesn’t need to calm the nervous system once in a while!?

As you can see, the style of Yoga that is best to practice depends on when you are doing it and what your goal is.

How many times per week should I be doing Yoga as a runner?

Typically, Yoga is meant to be practiced every day. However, as a runner, running should be your priority. As I have mentioned previously, you don’t HAVE to do Yoga if you don’t want to. However, if it’s something you enjoy and feel the benefits from it, I would suggest integrating 1 or 2 sessions per week into your training.

Keep in mind that Yoga is not just physical poses, so technically, you could be doing one longer Vinyasa class as cross-training and have other days where you focus more on breath and meditation exercises. Or you could do a few short sequences per week as part of your warm-up and/or cool-down.

Do I need to be flexible to do Yoga?

No! This is one of the most common misconceptions about Yoga. Firstly, as a runner, you don’t need extreme levels of flexibility. In fact, for certain muscles, it’s better to have more rigidity as it supports our system for loading and helps with running economy. The other important aspect to remember is that Yoga can be for flexibility, but it can also be for strength and balance depending on what type of class you are taking.

If you are including Yoga in your cross-training, focusing more on Yoga that can improve your strength and balance is more productive. Even if certain poses happen to require a certain degree of flexibility, there is always a way to adapt the poses or support the body with props such as blocks. The whole point of Yoga is to be gentle with yourself, not to push to the point of causing an injury.

What sort of equipment do I need to do Yoga?

One of the great things about Yoga is that you don’t need much equipment, quite like running in fact. The most important piece of equipment would be a Yoga mat, preferably one that has a good grip. Other tools you can get if you start being more serious about Yoga are some blocks and a strap. Again, you can always use books or a belt you have lying around the house at first to get the feel for it and see if you would prefer purchasing some more “official” equipment.

To sum up, here is a recap of the different styles of Yoga I would recommend for runners:

1) Vinyasa Yoga

• good for cross-training (strength, balance, increases heart rate)

• good to include in a short form to your warm-ups

• you can do a slow Vinyasa flow for cooldowns

2) Restorative Yoga

• good for recovery days

• good for cooldowns

3) Yin Yoga

• good for complete rest days

• good to calm the nervous system down when stressed out

Just remember to have fun with it and that Yoga is a practice. That means it might take some time to get better at it and find what works best for you. Once you get into a more consistent Yoga practice you will see the benefits it has on your running as well as in your everyday life.

Happy running,

April