Yin Yoga

I tried some Yin Yoga this weekend (Sunday night after the big run) since I have heard rave reviews that it is great for runners. Reasons while it is supposed to be so good for runners:

• Longer held poses (about 5 minutes) help create a deeper stretch.
  
• Supposedly works well to realign the body thereby helping reduce injury.
  

Check out info on Yin here:

• YogaNow with mark Laham - I am using this DVD series for home practice. He is a local Ottawa instructor.
  
• Wikipedia::Yin_Yoga
  
• Yin Yoga Home Page
  
• Canadian Yoga Directory - Check out classes at your local Yoga Studio.
  

I found I was able to stretch some of my muscle groups quite a lot. The instructor warned that if you experience some residual (dear I say pain) aching the next day then you need to lay off a little and not go as far into the stretch next time. The poses use gravity, body weight, and breathing techniques to help stretch the muscles.

Apparently I went a little too far into the back stretch and the stretch with my left leg. My back was stiff on Monday and my left knee was aching. Today things are better though with no back ache and only a little knee twinge.

Remember though, I ran a 19.25 miles (31 km) on Sunday as well so the backache and knee could have well been from that. I don't usually have left knee pain though and I don't get backaches from running these days (I used to get a backache from running without a good posture).

Ok, now go try some Yin Yoga if you are looking to align you body and can listen to the instructor when they warn you about going deep into a pose ;-)