5 Ways Hot Yoga Helps Runners Rehab Injuries and get Back in the Race

Athletic injuries seem inevitable. You love to run, and eventually a stress fracture forms or knee pains creeps into every step. Maybe plantar fasciitis is keeping you off your feet and your only goal right now is to get back into your running rhythm again. Here are five reasons why Hot Yoga may be the alternative workout you need during these down times in your favorite fitness regiment. 

No impact on the joints. Hot Yoga has a miraculous way of raising your heartbeat to provide an aerobic workout, with out impact on the joints. You work up a good sweat from the inside out without ever leaving your own mat. This is great news when you still want to work out, but need to heal from the stress and inflammation the steady cadence of miles relays on your joints, bones, discs, and connective tissues.  

The runner’s high. A Hot Yoga class isn’t just physical - it’s chemical. You release same endorphins and “feel-good” hormones into the bloodstream as you do from that long distance run you crave each day. Let’s be honest, injuries are depressing not only because they rob you of the activity that clears your mind and resets your emotional state, but because a drop in these endorphins are linked to depressive states of mind. Take up Hot Yoga and get a dose of that runner’s high while you rehab.  

Stretching. When you get back on your feet again after your Hot Yoga rehab, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find you’ve actually improved the average time of your long distance run. I remember Alex, an avid marathoner, who started yoga to help heal a stress fracture and maintained her practice long after it was healed because of the time she cut off her races. Her hamstrings were so much more flexible that she was able to take longer strides and cover more ground faster and with less exertion.

Yoga isn’t only for stretching! The breath-work Hot Yoga teaches also has profound positive effects for runners. Studies have shown a regular yoga practitioner takes fewer, more efficient breathes. This breath oxygenates the body, reduces cramping, and keeps the mind calm. Who doesn’t want to enter mile 21 like that?! 

You love a challenge. I’ve yet to meet a runner who runs because it’s easy. Most love the challenge and facing their physical and emotional edge. Hot Yoga has the same effect. The class is fun, challenging, and pushes your boundaries.

Cross-train with yoga and stay off the sidelines and in the game. Start your Hot Yoga practice today! 

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