Runners: Use yoga to prevent injuries before they happen

When it comes to running injuries, the old adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" couldn't be truer, but how do you catch an injury before it happens? Love it or hate it, yoga might be the answer. Canadian Running sat down with runner and yoga instructor Katherine Moore of Vancouver to talk about how runners can use yoga not only to loosen up tight hips, but to connect with their bodies on a deeper level and catch small issues before they become full-blown injuries.

There are many ways yoga can help runners prevent injuries. Loosening up tight muscles is likely the first to come to mind, but Moore argues the benefits go much further. For runners who don't like going to the gym, she says yoga can be a great form of strength training. "It's bodyweight strength," she says. "When you’re practicing yoga, you’re building the muscles around your joints. It's a balance between strength and flexibility."

A post shared by Katherine Moore (@runningintoyoga)

A regular yoga practice can also function as a diagnostic tool to identify vulnerable areas in your body before they develop into full-blown injuries. "Yoga is a great way to bring more awareness to your body," Moore says. "Running is very linear, and yoga forces you to move in different ways, which can reveal areas of tightness or restriction."

For example, you may not realize that one hamstring is tighter than the other, or that your hips are off-balance while you’re out for a run, but these imbalances can become apparent very quickly as you move through different ranges of motion on your yoga mat. Catching small issues like these early, and getting on top of them quickly, can prevent injuries that may have otherwise forced you to take time off.

"I’ve had moments during my yoga practice where I’ve noticed that one side of my body was tighter than the other, or my range of motion was restricted in some way, and I’ve been able to take that information to my physiotherapist right away and we’ve been able to fix it before it became a problem," says Moore.

As a runner, you may never get to the point where you’d consider yourself flexible, but including a regular weekly yoga practice in your routine may help you ward off injuries that would otherwise have you sitting on the sidelines of your next race.

Many runners have an aversion to yoga, but Moore encourages everyone to give it a try. "I heard someone say once that saying you’re too inflexible to do yoga is like saying you’re too dirty to shower," she says. "All you need to do is breathe. If you can breathe, you can do yoga."

Moore got into running when she was 18, after moving to Vancouver, and ran her first marathon in New York City in 2005. She progressed in the sport, eventually running a 2:47 marathon, crossing the finish line of the 2010 Toronto Waterfront Marathon as the first Canadian female. Having been a yoga instructor for several years already, Moore eventually combined her two passions and created the KM Run Club in Vancouver, where runners meet for workouts and yoga classes.

To learn more about Moore, her run club, and her yoga teaching, head to her website at runningintoyoga.ca or check out her YouTube channel for daily yoga and pilates workouts.

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