Aye, aye, aye!  [is that spelled correctly?]

As stated in a previous post, I [Teresa] am a high school business teacher.   The school year started last week and between being prepared for my active teenage minds, re-adjusting to being a working mom, trying to squeeze in workouts, grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry… there is NO time to blog!  Hoping to get in at least one-two posts per week, but it may be inconsistent for a while. 😦

Anyhow, most of you know that I am a runner and only a wannabe yogi.  I started practicing more regularly this year and pretty much fell in love!

We incorporate it during some of our group runs for stretching…

 

We’ve posted about these previously, but we LOVE lululemon’s yoga poses for runners and use them frequently;

• lululemon – pre run poses for better running stretch via
• lululemon – post run stretch for recovery via Jas Yoga
• Not sure what types of stretches to do before, during or after your run?  Check out Fit Day’s article on dynamic vs static stretching —> Dynamic vs Static

My family caught onto this new passion and blessed me with some great birthday gifts last week…

Over the last eight months of more regular practice, I’ve discovered SO MANY BENEFITS of yoga…

• Its a great workout [especially  Harbor and Thank‘s hot vinyasa – my two favorite studios so far] that mixes it up, keeping your workout fresh and fun
• Its an awesome low-impact cross training activity that can still get your heart rate WAY up and be an amazing sweat session  [depending on the type you choose – I prefer hot, power vinyasa]
• Become more at peace with the chaos of life – no matter what type of yoga; slow, restorative, vinyasa, ashtanga – a little time on the mat helps reconnect with your inner thoughts, emotions & self
• You will get stronger [all those crazy chaturangas!] and become more flexible, both great for running 
• You learn to breathe deeper and more efficiently, also great for runners
• Lan, a fellow runner friend and true yogi, stresses the importance of yoga for injury prevention.  Hoping she will blog about this soon!

A little more info and some specific poses/sequences can be found on our YOGA [for runners] page HERE or via some of the articles below.

Whitney Carlson – Stretches you must do if you are a runner

Love Life Surf – Yoga poses for runners

So back to the term in the title… SYNERGY = the interaction of two [or more] agents that produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.

Basically this means that running and yoga on their own are pretty cool… but together, they are AMAZING!

Why else would our favorite apparel store combine these two things?

I’ll close with this.  An excerpt from another blogger, Tracey, who has a passion for both yoga and running;

I am a yogi, and I am a runner.

I credit my running with the fact that I’ve never had any yoga injuries.  A lot of my yogi friends have torn a hamstring or two, because they are constantly lengthening them and never contracting or strengthening them.  The backs of my legs are really tight for a yogi –  in fact, my heels have never reached the floor in downward facing dog – but I’ve never popped a hamstring either!

On the flip side, I credit my yoga practice with the fact that through over a decade of running, I’ve only suffered one small injury, an aggravated Achilles, which was quickly healed through acupuncture, and – you guessed it! – yoga.  My running friends who skip the yoga are constantly suffering from heel spurs, shin splints, stress fractures and all manner of knee and ankle issues.

Early on in my yoga practice, I tried to give up running so that I wouldn’t sacrifice so much flexibility on the mat, but the truth is, I love to break a sweat.  I know you can break a sweat in yoga, but I need to jump around, to propel my body forward, to move miles, not just move from up dog to down dog…

I am a yogi, and I am a runner.

Read more on the blog, BreatheRepeat.com or visit the article HERE.

Love running, but not a fan of yoga?  Or maybe vice versa?  Try to commit to BOTH for a ONE MONTH CHALLENGE and see the benefits for yourself.  

We DARE you! 

Hope to see you soon.

Photo credits to:   inkiesink.com, LeenaBeePhotography.wordpress.com, lululemon.com, breatherepeat.com