Why is Yoga so Great for Runners?

Whether you’re a novice runner, a seasoned marathoner or triathlete, yoga is a great way to increase strength, flexibility, and body awareness. Adding yoga to your running routine can help improve athletic performance and prevent injury. Yoga can strengthen your core, increase your range of motion, prevent joint injury, improve your breathing, and help you master mental focus which all leads to a faster, healthier runner.

Not flexible enough to practice yoga? That is exactly why you need yoga! Runners are tight in their hips, hamstrings, glutes and calves because these muscles are repeatedly used for running. Practicing yoga encourages your body to let go of the tightness which results in flexibility and strength and this helps you prevent injury. You may notice after incorporating yoga into your routine that your body feels better when you run and you recover from your runs more easily. Yoga will challenge and support your body as well as provide stress relief.

Who is Erika Nestor?

Erika Nestor is an avid runner who began practicing yoga nine years ago to complement her marathon training. Adding yoga to her training helped her run faster, train harder, breathe more easily, and remain injury free. A yoga instructor and runner, her yoga classes are designed to build strength, stamina and flexibility. As a runner herself, Erika understands the specific and therapeutic needs of a runner's body.

Erika received her yoga training from Kripalu Yoga in Lenox, Massachusetts. She has run eight marathons - Vermont City Marathon (4), Boston Marathon (2), New York City (1) and Chicago (1). She is also an avid trail runner and finished third overall in the Moosalamoo trail run in 2015 and placed first in her age group last year. She plans on running her fifth Vermont City Marathon (and 9th overall marathon) in May 2017.