Have you ever come back from a workout feeling like you were hit by a truck? With your mind and body totally out of balance, not working in sync? I started practicing Yoga about four years ago and the overall benefits in my recovery and training have been tremendous.

I am now much more flexible, which is a great injury preventer.

The balance between strength and power output is in greater balance from workout to workout. My mind - body coordination is consistent allowing better performances. Yoga has allowed more focus and relaxation during/after workouts or races. Yoga can benefit many areas of your training from increasing flexibility which will give you greater range of motion(which supports and stabilizes the skeletal system). Yoga practice can build strength, give you energy and help you relax, meditate and focus.

So you are returning from your running workout, your back and knees are sore somewhere around your gluts and last but not least your good old feet feel like they have been steam rolled into the next level of ground. Well, you know most of us are not structually balanced athletes which creates a tremendous amount of physical stress. Sometimes our bodies survive this stress, however far too often athletes are sidelined by injury which could and can be prevented with the practice of yoga. So pick up a video or join a yoga group and for best results practice after you have finished workout for the day! Oh yes, leave your cell phone at home. There are any number of videos available for purchase allowing you to practice yoga in the comfort of your own home or you could join a club which offers weekly sessions. Once you have created a routine which works best for your needs, you can then condense this routine to 10-15 mins daily instead of 1 hour per week. If you practice yoga daily as opposed to weekly you will reap the benefits much more quickly.

Some of the better videos available are by Rodney Yee and Patricia Walden which are sport specific. Baron Baptiste also has a number of very good ones. If you want more information about Yoga just pick up a Yoga Journal in your local bookstore.