Why Yoga? Why Yoga Teacher Training?

This past summer I saw the ad for Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) at Illumina Yoga. The studio I have been taking a weekly class from over zoom since the beginning of the pandemic. I immediately thought “I should sign up”. This made no sense. Yes, I had been practicing yoga throughout the pandemic and, yes, I had been running a group called Run+Yoga for the last year or so but teaching yoga had never crossed my mind. Why on earth would I take a 200 hour YTT? I signed up immediately and pretty much kept it a secret from most of my friends and family. I was unsure of why I kept it a secret but I can only guess that it was because I had no idea what to say when they asked me the inevitable “WHY?”

Now that I am half way through this training (8 weeks of Zoom meetings, reading the Yoga Sutras and The Bhagavad Gita, 2 papers, 1 anatomy exam, countless yoga classes and daily(ish) meditations), I may have figured it out. Yoga has been an integral part of my practice combined with running. I have somehow managed (knock on wood) to run (including a 50K!) injury free for the last 2+ years. This cannot be a coincidence but I have not been able to answer how this has worked so well. I can understand it on a higher level but not fully answer the question of how yoga has helped my running. And, I want those answers so that I can share them with my athletes.

During one of our practicum classes the other night, the lightbulb really went off. As we do during this particular evening class, we were breaking down the pose Supta Padangusthasana (Reclined Hand to Big Toe Pose). I took one look at this pose and thought, yeah my hamstrings will never allow me to do that, no thank you. However, I learned from Rian (one of our teachers) a way into this pose that gave me the first hamstring stretch that didn’t feel like the worst, tugging, pulling, awful, this can’t be good feeling ever. I finally felt my opposing muscles engage while my hamstring could safely open. Also, quite interestingly, the next morning the pain in my shin was gone, that nagging pain was because of my tight hamstring.

Rewind a little and I am reminded of a Facebook argument I had gotten into on a running page about Yoga and stretching, flexibility and mobility. Let me just say, IT DID NOT GO WELL and I simply did not have the tools or language to talk the talk. I was essentially told to stay in my lane. I get that, even more now than ever. So, yes, it is confusing. There is so much out there guiding runners to stretch/not to stretch. It is so easy for us runners to see the headline “Runners Shouldn’t Stretch” and take that to mean, perfect now I can just spend that extra time running more. Win, win, right? Wrong. Runners do need to stretch, however runners don’t need to stretch for flexibility, they need to stretch for better mobility. How do they do that? I know for me yoga allows me to do that safely. In a vinyasa practice almost every pose has Sthira (strength, what is active) and Sukha (ease, what is opening). This means nothing is strained, muscles that are not working have the opportunity to open, and, finally, we can make space so that our breath can move freely while we hold the energy of the pose. Also, every body is different. Let me repeat that, every body is different. There are no absolutes on what is right or wrong for each individual. So any one that tells you that “this is the answer” is a liar. Unfortunately, it’s not simple. However, the beauty of yoga, there are modifications for every pose to make it work for each body. I have gained that knowledge and have already accepted those modifications not as a failure to do the pose “right” but relying on a deep listening to what my body can and simply cannot do.

This brings me to my favorite piece of yoga that I am still learning and hoping to gain even more language to speak to for my athletes. There is nothing like the mind body connection I have gained through this practice. I believe that through yoga, I am better equipped at making smart choices about my training and what my body really needs at the moment. I have also found that my body can surpass any limit my mind has put upon it. More on this, when I have that language to better explain.