Namaste, Y'All - Yoga For Running (and life in general)

Anyone follows me on social media – or better yet, speaks with me in the normal world – probably knows that I have gotten my butt back into the yoga studio. I dabbled in yoga here and there over the years but never could afford to regularly attend studio classes. I really got into a routine with when I was pregnant and would go to prenatal classes at least once per week, usually twice. It was an incredible experience emotionally, physically, and spiritually, and I really did think I would be one of those ladies that got through labor with my great breathing exercises. HA. I mean... it helped... but the three tanks of nitrous helped more.

Anyway, I lost touch with all of that during the chaos of being a new parent. I did classes here and there when the stars aligned and someone else wanted to go with me.  Back in the fall Idolyn invited me to a new studio she was trying out, and I’m forever grateful for that. The studio was doing a “butterball” challenge (think turkey - it was November), and if you hit a certain amount of classes in 30 days you got a free 30-day pass for someone else. We were determined to do it and found ourselves going as much as possible. It was hard but I was amazed at how much progress I made in just one month. We have created a routine out of it and I try to go at least twice per week. I cannot express how important it is to have a yogi friend and partner to go to classes with. It makes all the difference.

The stickers were the best part

I recently had my mind blown when we attended a Back to Basics workshop at the studio I went to for my prenatal classes. We have been attending intense heated power vinyasa classes for a few months now but I felt like I could benefit from revisiting the foundations and learning with a new teacher for a day. It helped me develop better muscle memory for poses, where my weight should be, how certain postures should feel, etc. The thing that actually blew my mind was that the physical practice, or Asana, was only one branch of the 8 limbs of yoga. It made sense – every yoga posture ends in the word “asana” and the teachers usually interchange the English name and Sanskrit word during class (for example, Mountain Pose is also Tadasana, Chair Pose is also Utkatasana). I picked up on the fact that Asanas were poses and knew yoga was more than physical practice (do a few solid Ohm’s and you’ll get it). I started doing my own research and ordered a few books to learn more and see how I could incorporate it into my life. For a quick rundown, the 8 limbs of yoga are:

Yama – our ethical standards, how we behave and conduct ourselves in life

Niyama – self-discipline and spiritual observances

Asana – physical practice, what the Western world knows as “yoga”

Pranayama – breath control, which you do practice a lot in a yoga class

Pratyahara – this one is hard to explain, but it’s sort of like a sensory withdrawal and relieving yourself of outside distraction

Dharana – This is like pre-meditation; it is a practice of concentration to focus on a single thought, phrase, object, etc

Dhyana – Also hard to explain, but sort of meditation-y sort of concentration-y… being aware without particular focus on anything. A truly quiet mind with few to no thoughts. Stillness.

So why am I blabbing about yoga? Well, I have miles to go in my full practice of yoga (Asana and otherwise) but I’ve seen immense improvements in my running and any physical activity since committing to a regular yoga practice. Still with me? Ok. Cool.

1.       Cardio improvement and working muscles I didn’t know existed.

I was BLOWN AWAY when I ran for the first time after not running for what felt like forever. I had been practicing yoga for a few months again by the time I start my training plan. I suck at running but I was able to keep up with a steady pace easily, something that took me a long time to do when in the past when I was just running and not doing yoga. 

2.       Drishti.

Drishti is used throughout the practice of yoga and translates into something along the lines of a steady, focused gaze. Drishti is there for you when you’re holding a forearm plank for 20 breaths and your abs are about to explode. It’s awesome for balance poses, too. I try to set my Drishti, my focused gaze, before I even move my body into a balance pose. I equate it to kind of "seeing without seeing" – you are looking at something but at the same time, not really. The practice of Drishti and Ujjayi Pranayama, a particular breathing technique, are what I try to focus on most during yoga practice. Drishti may sound foreign but it’s actually not a new concept in running. Mentally “tuning out” is a common thread among distance runners (of which, I am not). I have been practicing using my Drishti during runs by picking something, setting my gaze on it, and letting my body move me to that place. I get there, I set another Drishti, I go there. During that time I knock on the door of Pratyahara….

3.       Quieting the mind.

“HOW HAVE I ONLY RUN A HALF MILE SO FAR?” Loud minds bring thoughts like this and, to bring in a popular yoga phrase, those thoughts don’t serve you. A lot of yoga practice is to quiet the mind so you can let go of things that don’t serve you and invite things that do. I haven’t quite reached the point of actively inviting things that serve my physical exercise while I’m in the moment, but quieting my mind allows me to let go of the internal chatter (sometimes internal yelling) that can make a run miserable. It is really incredible what you can get through when you let your mind go blank, hear the music you are listening to, and sort of let it all pass through your eyes and ears and out the back of your head without giving any more thought to it. 

4. You may be able to do a handstand in class, but if you’re an asshole off the mat then you’re not really practicing yoga. 

Yoga teachers always emphasize that it doesn’t matter what you can and cannot do, or even what you did last class or in the last flow or two seconds ago. What matters is this moment and your breath. What matters is that you take the practice of yoga into your everyday life and figure out how it can serve you. How does that apply to running? Well, I have to remind myself that even though I’m never impressed with times or my running style or stopping for breaks, that’s not what really matters. The moment I am in is what matters, and showing up is what matters the most. It’s also a great reminder that using physical exercise (whether it be yoga or running) as part of your spiritual practice and every life means you have to incorporate healthy principles into the other aspects of your life, too. You can be a great runner and then eat like shit, but what does that do for you? You can lose 50 pounds and still be an asshole. You can get ripped and still be unhealthy. 

I know I have yet to see all of the benefits of yoga in my life and with reaching my goal of running a 10k, but the thing with yoga is that you never hit the end of your learning. That's the beauty in it. But also... I may need this shirt:

Namaste, Dudes.