How gentle yoga – using pillows – can restore weary muscles.
After a long run, your legs, back and shoulders can feel tight. These simple yoga poses can help you regain your range of motion, reduce the swelling in your legs and improve blood circulation to help speed your recovery.
Do this sequence using pillows to lend support and also to give your weary body something comfortable to fall into to help you unwind. You don’t have to rush into this routine – you can wait until you’re showered and fed or do it before you go to bed. Try to hold each position for at least five (and up to 15) minutes. Focus on relaxing your entire body and taking slow, deep breaths. You’ll feel, if not at one with the world, peaceful and rested.
With your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, lower into a squat using two pillows for support.
Fold forward over wide knees, with two pillows under your belly. Turn your head halfway through the move.
Stack your knees to one side and lower your abdomen to the pillows. Repeat on the other side.
Create a wedge with three or four pillows and recline over it with your arms stretched wide.
Lie sideways over two pillows, keeping your hip and shoulder on the ground. Repeat on the other side.
Lift your legs up against a wall while resting your back on a pillow. Alternatively, use a chair for a bent-knee version.