This Rodney Yee yoga stuff has been fantastic. I feel rejuvenated whenever I do it.
Yesterday I went on a long 9 mile run and yoga helped me run better! Here’s how…
I got that “Yoga Conditioning for Athletes” dvd for flexibility and stretching. And it’s great for that. But he talks about other stuff, like centering and balance and mindful control. All good stuff for us triathletes. (I bought the DVD from my local Borders Store.)
Rodney does a pose called Tree pose. During it he talks about finding balance and ease without hardening your muscles. 
I was really struggling with tree pose until I tried making tiny adjustments in my position which enabled me to find balance and ease… without “muscling through it”. When I do it right, it’s EASY!
In another pose, he says “Steady with your mind, fluid with your body”. I like that alot, and try to find this state of mindful control in all the yoga poses.
In yesterday’s run, I started out just wanting to run and relax and not worry about anything. I was slogging through the workout at a slow, unsatisfying pace. After three miles, I decided to try and run like Caitlin Snow (she won Lake Placid with a very robot like running style: fast and short strides and very upright posture). It’s hard to run like that: my HR shoots up, and I feel like I am trying to “muscle through the run”. I can only maintain that running form for about a 1/2 mile.
Then I stopped to gather my thoughts, and remembered the yoga centering idea. I again began running like Cait Snow, and focused on “steady mind, fluid body”. While doing this, I would try to make tiny adjustments in my running form to find a place of balance. It worked, it made running like that feel easier.
I chanted “steady mind, fluid body” inside my mind the rest of the run. It was mentally difficult to maintain that focus, but it was physically easier. Usually my 9 mile runs really drag the last couple miles. But I felt like I could keep going and going and going. Today, my legs and feet do not hurt at all.
Yesterday’s long run was not a super fast pace, or even a PR; however, I felt like it was a mental breakthrough run. It makes me want to do yoga every day!!!!
Here is a youtube of Rodney Yee doing Tree Pose:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgq2iRTMpak]
Great post!
I’m always interested in “alternative” methoods for improving my training regime. I hear that Yoga, “can improve balance and strength, increase mental and bodily awareness, and prevent injuries” [http://tinyurl.com/9uqn26]. I’d be interested in hearing more about the use of Yoga, there’s clearly a benefit [http://tinyurl.com/8pzoh4]