Olympic Lifting and Track & Field
Vancouver, Canada
Yoga, a noun that has made its mark, not only in the Eastern world but also in the Western world. As the old saying is, when a piece of information gets passed from ear to ear, the information gets distorted. Yoga for runners may not need an introduction to the Western world but the world certainly needs a re-introduction in a proper manner. The topic of Yoga in the context of a lifestyle will be explored at a later day.
As almost every runner is aware of the benefits of static stretches, dynamic stretches, active recovery, and so forth. Runners may get confused and associate Yoga with these terms without having a familiarity with Eastern Philosophy. Oftentimes, when these Philosophies are discussed, the public has also viewed these philosophies as a threat to Western religions. I would take this opportunity to make things clear that Yoga and the Hindu religion are two separate Philosophies. To discuss these things further, I have a separate Blog of Questions & Answers, which is my personal website (which is under construction at the moment). The link is here: Harpreet Sandhu Blog
The video demonstrates the most effective Yoga for runners. Be mindful that despite having a high level of fitness, runners should be careful in performing this exercise. No more than 10 repetitions the first day and no more than 2 sets of 12 the first week. The exercise is called ShivNamaskara. How it benefits the runners? Find out next.
Over the years, I have prescribed many kinds of Yoga techniques, meditation techniques for my runners. Yoga has not only been able to solve physical problems but also contributed to the mental toughness of athletes of every level.
ShivNamaskara is a technique that I specifically prescribe to my endurance group for early in the season to help build the overall conditioning quickly. The lower pose of ShivNamaskara is the most difficult to achieve and once this position is mastered it is also said that sitting in that position for 20 minutes equals an hour of exercise. Don’t believe me? Try it out.
