Rockin' Running

“But I know yoga won’t give me the cardiovascular strength and endurance that running gives me!” you may be protesting. Consider this: Runners rely on strength and balance. Flexible runners get injured less often. Runners also tend to have shallow, hard breathing patterns; they sometimes hyperventilate.  IYT®Yoga’s deep breathing exercises increase your lung capacity, getting more oxygen to your brain and increasing your endurance.

IYT®Yoga is kinder to your body than running, so it makes a great alternate workout to give your body a rest from the constant pounding and joint stress runners experience. Runners frequently injure their feet, ankles, knees, and hips. You can use yoga postures to build strength in these same body parts! In fact, the New York Road Runners club promotes an official yoga program called “Power Yoga.”

International Yoga Organisation Super-Charged Stretching

Most of us have had basic stretching exercises drilled into us since grade school gym class. Bend down and touch your toes, reach to the right, reach to the left, roll your head from front to side to side. The difference between this type of stretching and IYT®yoga is that yoga stretches are specifically designed not only to lengthen your muscles, but also to stabilize your joints, stimulate your organs, balance your endocrine system, and strengthen your muscles as you hold the stretch. It’s still a good idea to do basic stretches before engaging in strenuous exercise, such as running or swimming, but if you also add yoga to your fitness program, stretching will soon be a breeze.

An IYO-Yoga Minute According to the National Sporting Goods Association, exercise walking was the numberone fitness activity in 1999, with 80.8 million participants. The sport that grew in popularity the most? Kickboxing, by a landslide.