These Are the Four Moves Runners Absolutely Must Steal From Yoga

I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I get running goggles. I can get so focused on my running goals — and the miles I will have to log to achieve them — that the thought incorporating any other workouts into the mix seems crazy. But as any athlete knows, success in your sport doesn't just mean you train for your sport and only your sport. There's conditioning, strength training, cross training, stretching, etc. And yet, even though my brain knows this, I still find it hard to remove myself from the one-track mindset and weave in other sports into my training routine.

However, as of late I've been living in my all-day leggings like UA's Meridian Crop ($60) and turning to yoga on my off days to try to improve my own flexibility and stability. And as it turns out, I'm right to do so. According to Travis Eliot, E-RYT 500 yoga and meditation teacher and co-founder of Inner Dimension TV, runners can drastically increase their performance with as little as three 30-minute yoga sessions per week. As a runner himself, he emphasizes the benefits of a yoga. "Running is highly repetitive and places a heavy load on the hip flexors, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves," he explains. Without a yoga stretching routine, these muscles become excessively tight, and you begin to lose mobility and full range of motion."

UA's Meridian Crop

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$60 at Under Armour

What's more, Eliot notes if the body loses too much performance-level mobility, it can become less efficient and even require more energy expenditure when exercising, thus decreasing stamina and athletic performance. And if runners aren't too careful, injury could occur. With that in my back pocket, I asked Eliot for the must-try yoga moves every runner needs to actually incorporate into their routine. These four moves are all geared toward working runners' posterior muscle groups and can be done as a flow or as individual movements.

Dragon Pose: stretches the psoas (hip muscles), hip flexors, and quadriceps.

Hold the stretch for one to three minutes.

Half Frog Pose: stretches the quadriceps.

Hold the stretch for one minute.

Squat: stretches the hips, knees, and ankles and strengthens the calves.

Hold the stretch for one minute.

For the slightly more advanced:

Sun Salutations B: targets the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and spine.

Repeat this sequence three to five times before your run as full body warm up or on its own for active recovery.