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The Key Benefits of Yoga for Runners—and 7 Poses to Try

You won’t believe how much stronger you feel.

By Lucy Maher, Michelle KonstantinovskyUpdated July 9, 2025

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If you’re a runner, you know the thrill of setting a new personal best—running faster or further than you ever have before. You also know about some of running’s drawbacks, including potential muscle imbalances, tight quads and calves, and a lack of flexibility. All of these things can make you more prone to injury.

The solution isn’t necessarily to do less, but rather, do things a bit differently. Working yoga into your running routine takes a little planning, but it may just be the secret to helping you stay injury-free—and even improving your athletic performance. How and when should you incorporate yoga into your running routine? Peloton instructor Kristin McGee shares her tips, including some of the yoga poses every runner should try.

Benefits of Yoga for Runners

Rounding out your movement routine with yoga may actually help elevate your runs in a number of ways. “Yoga boosts performance,” Kristin says. “It also helps runners with recovery, strengthens their mental game, helps with breathing more efficiently, builds upper body strength (which some runners neglect), opens up tight hips, quads and hamstrings, and builds core strength.” (Yes, all that!). Here, we’re breaking down some of the biggest benefits.  

Yoga Can Help Build Functional Strength

Yoga can act as a form of bodyweight strength work, helping you to increase muscular strength and endurance, which can help power your running. According to one small 2023 study, participants who followed a 12-week yoga program experienced increased muscular strength compared to a control group, while another 12-week study from 2015 found that participants who did yoga saw significant improvements in both VO2 max (a key indicator of aerobic fitness) and muscular strength.

“I love how yoga strengthens the upper body via moves like Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) and Chaturanga,” Kristin says. “After all, our arms are an extension of our legs, which can help us when we are sprinting or going up hills.” 

Yoga Improves Balance and Flexibility

A 2016 study published in the International Journal of Yoga found that athletes who took part in biweekly yoga sessions over a 10-week period improved their flexibility and balance. This is backed up by the 2023 and 2015 studies mentioned above, which both found that yoga increased flexibility and balance compared to control groups.

Balance is critical for running, since you’re essentially jumping from one leg to the other every time you take a stride. Meanwhile, improved flexibility and mobility (your body’s ability to move through its full range of motion) allows you to move efficiently without any tightness or tension holding you back. Tight muscles, tissues, and joints can compromise your running form and may put you at risk of increased injury, according to the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA).

Yoga Adds Movement Variety to Your Routine

Even the most self-aware runners can fall into the trap of logging mile upon mile in an effort to hit a new personal record. This kind of singular focus on running can be detrimental, potentially resulting in overtraining, muscle imbalances, and, in some cases, injury.

Yoga can help runners effectively cross-train and stay active on recovery days. At the same time, yoga reduces your risk of injury by increasing your mobility and building strength. While running, you’re moving in one plane of motion (the sagittal plane) because you’re traveling forward in a straight line, according to the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). Yoga, on the other hand, incorporates side-to-side movements and rotation, tapping into two more planes of motion (the frontal and transverse planes) that you don’t get with running. Regularly moving in all planes of motion can help you ensure you’re prepared to move in all directions during day-to-day life and on your runs—say, needing to zig-zag around another runner, or dodge a tree root.

Yoga Helps You Tune Into the Power of Your Breath

Another benefit of yoga for runners? It teaches you how to control your breathing, whether you’re jogging on the pavement or sprinting on the Peloton Tread. After all, the practice is based first and foremost on your breath.

“The way you breathe on the yoga mat can be carried into the way you focus and breathe on a run,” Kristin says. “When the discomfort hits, you can learn to breathe into it and move through the discomfort. I personally have relied on my yoga breathing plenty of times on my runs.”

Yoga Can Work As a Warm-Up, Cooldown, or Recovery

Practicing yoga before or after a run can have other specific benefits. For example, doing a moderately-paced yoga flow just before your run can serve as a form of dynamic stretching (the “gold standard” of running warm-ups), which heats up and activates the muscles you need for your run, increases blood flow, and primes your nervous system for the work ahead.

Doing a slower or more restorative form of yoga after your run can also help your body cool down after you’ve put in some miles. This type of yoga, where you’re holding poses for longer periods, also works well on a recovery day. It acts as a type of static stretching, which can increase blood flow and improve range of motion, and even improve performance in exercises that involve flexibility, sprinting, endurance, and jumping, according to research published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.  

Yoga Raises Your Mental Game

Yoga also helps runners improve their mental focus and toughness, Kristin says. From helping you control your pre-race jitters or manage fatigue on a run, yoga can help improve your mindset. Yoga focuses on the here and now. That means solely thinking about breathing in and out, and being in the moment during your practice.

The ability to push aside your concerns about running pace or small discomforts during a race may allow you to push yourself a little harder. This yogic mindset also gives you the tools to turn to when running gets hard, teaching you to focus on the rhythm of your breath. 

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Should You Do Yoga Before or After Running?

There’s never a bad time to do yoga, and depending on the style you choose, you can practice before or after your run (and if you have the time, practicing yoga before and after a workout is a great idea). 

The physical yoga practice comes in a variety of forms. Quicker, more dynamic flows (like Vinyasa) can serve as great pre-run warm-ups. By practicing moderately paced yoga before a run, you can help establish efficient breathing patterns and prepare your muscles and joints for the workout ahead, which can effectively help prevent injury. On the flip side, slower-paced classes rooted in long-held static stretches (such as Yin yoga) are most appropriate after a run. Luxuriating in longer holds after a run can help lengthen and relax your hard-working muscles, acting as a post-run stretch and cooldown.

And there’s no need to limit your yoga flows to run days. Yoga is a great way to relax, unwind, and reset during recovery days, so consider adding in a Slow Flow or Restorative class anytime you want to move but keep things chill.

How to Incorporate Yoga Into Your Running Schedule

You can add in more dynamic yoga flows before your runs and/or opt for slower classes that incorporate static holds after your running sessions. And if you want to add in some movement on your recovery days, restorative or slow flow yoga classes can help you calm your body and mind. 

In general, doing yoga two to three days a week is ideal, Kristin says. She recommends two 20-minute or 30-minute sessions and one longer 45-minute yoga class. Short on time? Even a small amount of yoga can still help you stay flexible and avoid injury.

Types of Yoga

If you’re curious about giving the practice a try, know that there are many different types of yoga to choose from. Slow flow classes are an ideal yoga style for beginners who need time to move in and out of poses. In restorative yoga classes, you’ll hold your poses for a bit longer and use props to decrease the effort required. Up for more movement? Choose a class that has a quicker pace, such as a Vinyasa, yoga conditioning, or power class. On the Peloton App, you’ll also find classes that focus on specific body parts that often tighten up on runners (such as hamstrings and hips), as well as yoga sessions designed specifically with runners in mind, called Focus Flow: For Runners. 

7 of the Best Yoga Poses for Runners

Want to start moving through a few poses? Try these seven asanas that are tailored to address runners’ tight areas and strengthen their weak spots. 

Peloton instructor Chelsea Jackson Roberts demonstrates Downward-Facing Dog pose with proper form

1. Downward-Facing Dog Pose

Benefit: This posture gives your hamstrings and calves a good stretch while also strengthening your arms and abdominal muscles. 

How to Do It:

  1. Start on all fours. Make sure your hips are over your knees and your shoulders are directly over your wrists. Curl your toes under. Push through your feet and hands as you raise your hips toward the ceiling.

  2. Straighten your arms and legs and reach your tailbone toward the ceiling. Your body should form an inverted V-shape. Let your head relax toward the floor.

  3. Press your palms into the floor and try to lower your heels toward the floor, creating length through your spine. Hold for 5 breaths. 

Peloton instructor Aditi Shah demonstrates Pigeon Pose with proper form

2. Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)

Benefit: Pigeon is a pose that all runners should have in their arsenal of moves. As the ultimate hip-opening exercise, this posture also stretches your groin, back, and piriformis.

How to Do It:

  1. Begin in Downward-Facing Dog. 

  2. Bring your right knee in toward your right wrist, as you shift your weight forward. Place your right shin parallel to the top of your mat. (If this position isn’t accessible to you, your shin can be at an angle.) 

  3. Place your hands on either side of your right shin.

  4. Keeping your left leg extended behind you, bend forward over your right leg to feel a deeper stretch in your hips, groin, and piriformis.

  5. Hold for 5 breaths. Repeat on the opposite side.

Peloton instructor Nico Sarani demonstrates Child's Pose in a Peloton yoga class

3. Child’s Pose (Balasana)

Benefit: This pose provides a gentle stretch for your groin, inner thighs, hips, and back.

How to Do It:

  1. Start on all fours. Move your feet so that your toes touch each other. Spread your knees wide or keep them glued together.

  2. Sink your hips back and stretch your arms forward. (If the stretch is too intense, use a yoga block underneath your butt for support.)

  3. Hold for 5 breaths.

Peloton instructor Nico Sarani demonstrates Deep Squat (Malasana) in a Peloton yoga class

4. Deep Squat (Malasana)

Benefit: This posture opens up your hips and stretches the groin and glutes.

How to Do It:

  1. Start with feet hip-width apart, toes slightly turned out.

  2. Bend your knees and drop your butt toward the floor. Try to sink as long as you can while keeping both of your heels on the floor.

  3. If you are having trouble moving into a deeper position,  use a yoga block under your butt for support. Hold for 5 breaths.

Peloton instructor Denis Morton demonstrates reclining Pigeon Pose during a Peloton yoga class

5. Reclining Pigeon Pose (Supta Kapotasana)

Benefit: This Pigeon Pose variation gives your glutes a deep stretch while also stretching the hamstrings and IT band.  

How to Do It:

  1. Start lying on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor.

  2. Cross your left ankle over your right thigh, so your left knee points out to the side. 

  3. Lift your feet off the ground and grab the back of your right thigh or your right shin with both hands. 

  4. Gently pull your legs closer to your chest until you feel a stretch in your left glute.

  5. Hold for 5 breaths. Repeat on the opposite side.

Peloton instructor Aditi Shah demonstrates a Low Lunge with Side Bend during a Peloton yoga class

6. Low Lunge with Side Bend (Anjaneyasana Variation)

Benefit: Open up your hip flexors with a low lunge, and incorporate a side bend to help expand your side body and get your breath flowing. This pose also stretches the quadriceps, hamstrings, and abdominals.

How to Do It:

  1. Start in Downward-Facing Dog.

  2. Step your right foot in between your hands and drop your left knee to the mat.

  3. Gently release your back knee to the floor. 

  4. Sweep your arms toward the ceiling on an inhale.

  5. On an exhale, drop your right fingertips to the mat (or rest your right elbow on your right thigh, as shown) and gently bend to the right.

  6. Hold for 2–3 breaths.

  7. Step back to Downward-Facing Dog and repeat on the other side.

Peloton instructor Aditi Shah demonstrates Side Lunge Pose with proper form

7. Side Lunge (Skandasana)

Benefit: Not only does Side Lunge help pump blood to your lower body, but it also stretches the hips and calves, helping you prepare for or cool down from a run, depending on whether you hold the pose or keep it moving side to side.

How to Do It: 

  1. Stand with your feet wide apart and your toes turned slightly out.

  2. Inhale, and on an exhale, bend your right knee and sink your hips toward the right heel.

  3. Maintain a straight left leg and point your left toes up toward the ceiling.

  4. Keep your right heel grounded if you can while sinking your hips as low as possible. If you need to, lift the right heel and maintain a low stance.

  5. Bring your hands to your heart center (Anjali Mudra) or place them gently on the floor to help maintain your balance.

  6. Keep your chest open and your spine long while you breathe for 3-5 breaths.

  7. Return to center on an inhale and on an exhale, repeat on the other side.

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute individualized advice. It is not intended to replace professional medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment. Seek the advice of your physician for questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. If you are having a medical emergency, call your physician or 911 immediately.

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Headshot of Peloton instructor Kristin McGee. She's wearing a red two-piece Peloton workout outfit and smiling.

Featured Peloton Instructor

Kristin McGee

Growing up in Idaho, Kristin had dreams of pursuing dance and acting in New York, but ended up as one of the most sought after yoga instructors in the city.

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