Yoga For Runners And Swimmers: What Women Athletes Say, And How Much They Did

What did a British marathoner find, after stretching hard made her sciatica worse? Slower, gentler hip work let her finish her long runs again. She is one of a long list of women runners and swimmers who now build yoga into training.

New to Iyengar yoga? Start with Why Yoga Works For Sport: Mr BKS Iyengar, His Book And His Props.

Yoga for runners: the short answer

Yoga for runners and swimmers is used by women athletes to loosen tight hips and hamstrings, keep the shoulders moving, recover after big sessions and steady a busy mind. Olympic runner Kara Goucher, marathoner Lily Partridge and Olympic swimmer Rebecca Soni all credit it, and the ones with the strongest stories practised often.

In short:

• Runners use it for hips and recovery: Goucher, Partridge, Sodaro, Nielsen.
• Swimmers use it for body awareness and calm: Soni and Cortney Jordan Truitt.
• Australia’s swim team brought yoga in: in 2017, with mindfulness and meditation.
• The regular ones went furthest: up to five classes a week for Soni.
• Trials back it: track and field athletes gained flexibility and balance.
• Netball uses breathing: a separate section below, on breath, not yoga.

Who was Mr BKS Iyengar? Iyengar yoga is the style developed by Mr BKS Iyengar. In the 20th century he did more than anyone to set down traditional Indian yoga, through his books and his teaching, and he pioneered the use of props. His style is sometimes called modern classical yoga. It’s the style we teach at Flametree.

Athletes who credit yoga

Each entry is a short summary in our words, with a link to the original. They are reported at the time and are not endorsements of Flametree.

Source note: the Goucher, Partridge and Sodaro interviews were published on Athletes for Yoga, a commercial platform that sells yoga videos to athletes. They are the athletes’ own words, but the platform is not independent.

Running and triathlon

• Kara Goucher, US Olympic distance runner. Does 5 to 20 minutes of yoga at home to recover and lengthen the body, uses solo runs as meditation time, and says a short meditation habit quietens a busy mind. “Meditating for just five minutes helps me to give space between those thoughts.” Athletes for Yoga, 17 January 2017
• Lily Partridge, British marathon runner. Says hip routines were a big turning point with recurring sciatica in 2019 and let her finish her long runs, and that she had made things worse by treating yoga as hard stretching. “The Athletes for Yoga videos were a godsend for this.” Athletes for Yoga, 2 September 2019
• Chelsea Sodaro, professional triathlete. Does a short hip session straight after big rides of five or six hours, and calls it “huge for recovery and mobility”. Athletes for Yoga, 14 June 2020
• Lina Nielsen, British 400 m hurdler. Disliked yoga at first, kept going after a 2017 stress fracture, and says it improved how she moves. “Yoga has 100 per cent made me a better athlete.” She also teaches yoga classes for an app, so has a commercial interest. Women’s Fitness, undated (about 2022)

Swimming

• Rebecca Soni, US Olympic breaststroke champion. Says yoga helped her connect with her body and learn how it works best, and left her mentally refreshed. “I realized I was coming out of [yoga] classes just really mentally refreshed.” Yoga Journal, undated
• Cortney Jordan Truitt, US Paralympic swimmer (three-time Paralympian, six-time world champion). Started yoga in 2016 and says controlling her breath and focus helped her swimming. “Swimming made me stronger, yoga made me calmer.” Yoga Journal, undated
• The Australian Dolphins swim team, 2017. Swimming Australia brought mindfulness, meditation and yoga into the team’s training through a partnership with lululemon. Mudgee Guardian, 29 July 2017

How Much Did They Actually Do?

The women with the strongest stories practised often. People sometimes find a class or two makes only a small difference. In our experience, regular practice is what changes things.

Who	How much	Source
Rebecca Soni	Up to five classes a week while training, by 2010; now aims for the mat each morning	Yoga Journal, undated
Cortney Jordan Truitt	Daily, adjusting the style to what her body needs	Yoga Journal, undated
Kara Goucher	5 to 20 minutes at home; how often is not stated	Athletes for Yoga, 2017
Lily Partridge	Part of her afternoon sessions, now a habit; how often is not stated	Athletes for Yoga, 2019
Chelsea Sodaro	A short session after each big ride	Athletes for Yoga, 2020
Lina Nielsen	One 30 to 45 minute self-practice a week	Women’s Fitness, about 2022

The research points the same way. A review of track and field studies found programmes of two to four sessions a week, over 8 to 15 weeks. So the thing to try is regular practice: two or three classes a week, for at least a couple of months.

Common strains in running and swimming, and what helps

Running repeats one movement thousands of times; swimming does the same with the shoulders. These are commonly reported, in general terms. This is not medical advice.

• Runners’ knees and the outside of the knee. Iliotibial band syndrome is the most common pain on the outside of the knee in runners, with an estimated 5 to 14% affected (van der Worp and colleagues, 2012). What helps: standing poses build strong, even legs, and in trials athletes who added yoga gained balance. More in Iyengar Yoga For Knees.
• Tight hips and hamstrings. A narrow, repeated stride shortens them. What helps: Partridge’s turning point was slow, gentle hip work, not hard stretching; in a trial of 150 young adults, four minutes a day of Seated Forward Bend loosened the hamstrings.
• Swimmers’ shoulders. “Swimmer’s shoulder” is a well-described overuse problem, linked to huge numbers of strokes and muscle imbalance around the shoulder girdle (Bak, 1996). What helps: Mr Iyengar’s book gives Downward Facing Dog and arms-overhead poses to keep the shoulder blades moving freely and evenly.
• Low back and sciatic pain in runners. What helps: supported, gentle work, as Partridge found. More in our sciatica guide.

A suitable Iyengar approach for runners and swimmers

Gentle, precise and even, with props, rather than pushing into hard stretches. That matches what Lily Partridge learned the hard way. This is how we would start a runner or swimmer in class. Detail is taught in class, adjusted to the athlete.

1. Standing poses, legs first. Mountain Pose (Tadasana), Extended Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana) and Extended Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana), a brick under the hand if needed.
2. Hamstrings and calves, one leg at a time. Reclined Big Toe Pose (Supta Padangusthasana) with a belt, and Intense Side Stretch Pose (Parsvottanasana) with hands on a chair.
3. Hips. Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana) and Hero Pose (Virasana), with blankets.
4. Shoulders, for swimmers. Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) and Cow Face Pose (Gomukhasana) arms.
5. Recovery after long sessions. Legs Up The Wall (Viparita Karani), and Downward Facing Hero Pose (Adho Mukha Virasana) with the forehead rested, which Mr Iyengar’s book suggests to cool down after a long day in the sun.
6. Breath. Ocean Breath (Ujjayi) lying down.

Five things to notice, from Mr Iyengar’s “Special Hints for Sportswomen”. In any pose, notice how much of the foot touches the floor, where the weight falls, whether the whole leg turns together, whether the inner side of the limb is as awake as the outer, and whether the breath stays smooth. It is a simple checklist for practising with skill.

Looking for mindfulness? Yoga and yogic breathing create it. Holding a pose and following the breath is mindfulness, practised in the body. Read Yoga And Mindfulness.

What Athletes And Researchers Have Found

• Track and field athletes gained flexibility and balance. A 2025 review of yoga studies in track and field athletes reported significant gains in flexibility and balance, some strength gains, and lower anxiety. Programmes ran two to four sessions a week over 8 to 15 weeks. Singh and colleagues, Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 2025. DOI
• Four minutes a day loosened hamstrings. In a trial of 150 healthy young adults (not athletes), four minutes of Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana) a day, six days a week for four weeks, improved hamstring flexibility. Thapa and colleagues, 2026. PubMed
• Mindfulness training lowered anxiety in athletes. An analysis of 11 studies of 582 athletes. Si and colleagues, 2024. DOI This tested mindfulness, not yoga; it still counts for our classes.
• Athletes say why. Goucher, Partridge, Sodaro and Soni describe recovery, freer hips, a quieter mind and better body awareness.

These studies tested yoga in general, not Iyengar yoga. Researchers say longer trials in athletes are still needed.

Breath and mindfulness in netball

This section is about breathing and meditation, not yoga. None of the sources below say these netballers do yoga, apart from Sharni Layton.

Netball is fast, stop-start and decided in tight moments. Some of the best players in the game now train their breath and their focus.

• Sulu Fitzpatrick, Silver Ferns. Relearned how to breathe after post-Covid fatigue. She has built the breathing into her daily routine, says the team uses it to centre and recover faster, and wishes she had learned it earlier. Breathing, she says, is “another tool you can add to your kit as an athlete”. NZ Listener via NZ Herald, 21 April 2023
• Ameliaranne Ekenasio, Silver Ferns captain. Says meditation gives her space from her thoughts and lets her catch them when they turn negative. Brand blog. ASICS NZ, 14 June 2021
• NSW Swifts, 2021 Super Netball premiers. Their mindset coach, Emma Murray, says much of being present comes down to breath work; the team took a deep breath together in huddles to get through the grand final. These are the coach’s words, not the players’. ABC News via inkl, 2021 season, undated
• Sharni Layton, former Diamonds captain, then AFLW. Calls yoga her favourite workout because it grounds her in a busy life. Women’s Agenda, 28 July 2021

Where yoga fits: yogic breathing (pranayama) such as Ocean Breath (Ujjayi) is a structured way to train the same slow, steady breath these players describe. Mindfulness, pranayama and breathwork overlap; where they overlap, they mostly calm the system. More in Yoga And Mindfulness and our Air Hunger breathwork film review.

Ready to give it a try?

1. 2 free classes, plus 2 free ebooks. New to Flametree, or back after 3 months or more? Choose 2 free ebooks and get 2 free classes, LIVE online or in our Darwin studios. Claim them here
2. Half price 10 class passes. New to yoga: 10 half price classes plus 2 free, $59.50. Done yoga before: 2 free plus 10 at half price, $104.50. Tight hips and hamstrings: Too Stiff For Yoga? 10 classes for $59.50.
3. A private lesson for runners or swimmers: private class pass, $109. Talk to us first to set a time.
4. For running clubs, swim squads and netball teams: group class, $149 per session, at your club, at our Woolner studio or online. Ask us about a five-lesson or ten-session club package: contact us.

See the timetable and book here

Frequently asked questions

Is yoga good for runners?

Yes. Runners such as Kara Goucher, Lily Partridge and Chelsea Sodaro use it for freer hips, recovery and a quieter mind, and a review of track and field studies found gains in flexibility and balance.

Should runners stretch hard in yoga?

No. Lily Partridge found hard stretching made her sciatica worse, and slow, gentle hip work helped. Iyengar yoga uses props so you can work precisely without forcing.

Is yoga good for swimmers?

Swimmers Rebecca Soni and Cortney Jordan Truitt both credit it, for body awareness, breath control and calm, and Swimming Australia added yoga to the national team’s training in 2017.

How often should a runner do yoga?

Regularly. Rebecca Soni did up to five classes a week, and the track and field studies ran two to four sessions a week for 8 to 15 weeks. Two or three classes a week is a good start.

Do netballers do yoga or breathing?

Some do both. Silver Ferns player Sulu Fitzpatrick trains her breathing daily, and Sharni Layton calls yoga her favourite workout. Yogic breathing trains the same slow, steady breath.

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Sources and dates: Athletes for Yoga (commercial yoga video platform), 17 January 2017, 2 September 2019, 14 June 2020; Women’s Fitness, undated (about 2022); Yoga Journal, undated (two articles); Mudgee Guardian, 29 July 2017; NZ Listener via NZ Herald (Niki Bezzant), 21 April 2023; ASICS NZ, 14 June 2021; ABC News via inkl, undated (2021 season); Women’s Agenda (Allison Ho), 28 July 2021; B.K.S. Iyengar, Yoga For Sports (2015), Kindle edition. Research via PubMed, with DOIs above. Athlete statements are their own experience, reported at the time; none endorses Flametree. This page is general information.