Absolutely! Yoga is fantastic complement for runners. It aids in developing muscular strength, flexibility, and balance, which can reduce the risk of injury, and it also helps you improve your mental focus and breathing efficiency for running.

According to medical science, if you run a mile every day, you have: 42% lower risk of esophageal cancer, 27% lower risk of liver cancer, 26% lower risk of lung cancer, 23% lower risk of kidney cancer, 16% lower risk of colon cancer, and 10% lower risk of breast cancer.

Yoga can be a great cross-training activity on non-running days. And, if you plan to do yoga on the same day as a run, try to do your run first, especially if your yoga routine exceeds 30 minutes. Long yoga sessions will tire the muscles, potentially changing your running form, which may lead to injury.

“Yoga is the perfect recovery activity for runners,” Pacheco says. “It relieves soreness and tension in your hardworking muscles and restores range of motion so you can run better the next time you hit the road.”

Running burns approximately 100 calories per mile so it’s a good way to build up a calorie deficit. Running will only burn belly fat if you also control your calorie intake recommended at 2000 calories a day for women and 2500 for men.

For yogis, running can bring a new dimension of strength to the legs – think of how much better your Warrior threes and Ardha Chandrasanas are going to be. The mindfulness experienced on the mat can be brought to and experienced in the great outdoors as is the opportunity to meditate while in motion.

Generally speaking, you should warm up with cardio and cool down with yoga if you are taking a long, well-rounded yoga class. Most forms of yoga are meant to bring your entire body to a state of calm, so you don’t want to enter a tranquil state just to heat it up with cardio right after doing so.

It aids in developing muscular strength, flexibility, and balance, which can reduce the risk of injury, and it also helps you improve your mental focus and breathing efficiency for running. Running is a wonderful complement for yoga enthusiasts as it boosts cardiovascular fitness. You can read more about the many benefits of yoga for runners here.

“You get all the benefits of running in general, like supporting cardiorespiratory fitness and bone health, without the volume of mileage that can potentially cause injury,” says Stonehouse.

Have a dedicated time (and possibly space) for yoga every day. Post-run stretching is a great place to start! Especially when you’re just starting to include more yoga, even just a little bit will go a long way.

If you’re like Isabella, who is a yogi looking to train to run a half marathon, follow these rules. Include your three hard-effort, strength- and stamina-based yoga classes per week. Examples of these classes are Vinyasa Flow, Power Yoga, Ashatanga, Batiste, or Yoga for Runners.