Running Yoga: What Happened When 21 Runners Trained Their Breath

By Chris Lalor, Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and Certified Yoga Therapist, and Dr Stuart McGill, Yoga Teacher, Flametree Yoga Darwin

What happens when runners train their breath the yoga way? In one trial, 21 runners were split into two groups. For three weeks, 11 of them practised three kinds of yogic breathing, 30 minutes a day, six days a week. Afterwards, at the same felt effort, they chose to run faster. The other 10 runners did not change.

Running yoga, meaning regular yoga classes for runners, builds what running asks for: strong, even legs, free hips, a trunk that can turn, rest for tired legs and an easy, steady breath. This page shows how: runners’ own stories, what our kind of yoga is, the studies, the kinds of poses that help and why, and the easiest way to start, in Darwin or live online.

Running yoga in short: strong legs, an easy breath, a quiet mind

Running yoga is regular yoga and pranayama (yogic breathing) classes that build leg strength, free hips, recovery and a steady breath for runners. You can do it in our Darwin studios or live online from anywhere in Australia.

The whole page, in short:

• In one trial, three weeks of yogic breathing went with runners choosing faster speeds at the same effort.
• In another, two months of yoga-based breathing changed how 46 teenage runners breathed.
• Runners, including two of our own students, say yoga helped their hamstrings, balance, breathing and calm.
• Standing poses build strong, even legs. Twists and supported backbends free the trunk and chest.
• Restorative poses rest tired legs, and breath work steadies the mind.
• One class a week helps, and more helps more.
• Start with 2 free classes and 2 free ebooks.

Running yoga in one picture: strong underneath, easy in the breath.

What is Iyengar yoga, the yoga we teach runners?

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 such as chairs, blocks, belts and the wall. His style is sometimes called modern classical yoga. It’s the style we teach at Flametree, in Darwin and live online. More in Why Yoga Works For Sport.

Is it just about being flexible? No. In a held standing pose your own body is the weight, and your leg muscles hold it there. Iyengar yoga builds strength and flexibility together, and the muscle pull loads the bones too.

Which runners say yoga helped them?

Runners who do yoga describe looser hamstrings, an easier breath, better balance and a calmer head. Two are our own students. The others are runners elsewhere. These are their own accounts, told in our words, with the source linked. They are not trial results, and the outside runners do not endorse Flametree.

Sam P. and the “concrete hamstrings”

Sam P., one of our students, was always going from one sport to the next, and thought a good run meant a good workout. Then runner’s knee slowed the running down, and without exercise, she writes, “my mind raced and became agitated.” It was time to try yoga.

At the start, Sam could not bend forward without feeling what she calls “my concrete hamstrings”. A year and a half later: “the impossible is actually achievable.” She can touch the toes, and can now focus the mind clearly on each pose. (Sam’s own words, from Sam’s story on our site.)

D., six marathons, then yoga

D., another of our students, took up distance running at 40. Over 15 years he ran half a dozen marathons and more half-marathons than he could count, until his knees would not take the pounding and the “runner’s high” became a memory. A Flametree beginner class gave him another way to stay fit.

Years in, he writes that one knee still will not fully straighten, but he can now turn his head and back to look behind him, a “useful novelty” after years of stiffness. And: “my muscles are toned, my balance is much better.” (His own words, from his story on our site.)

A master runner who goes to Iyengar classes

David Learmont is an English master runner. In 2008, aged 54, he had been running for nearly 20 years and doing yoga for about 10. He practises at home and goes to Iyengar classes. He told the interviewer that he used to have a lot of hamstring problems, and has not had one since he took up yoga. And on the run itself: “Yogic breathing is a real help.” (Take The Magic Step, Andy Edwards, 26 September 2008)

A marathoner with recurring sciatica

Lily Partridge is a British marathon runner who ran 2:29 at the 2018 London Marathon. In 2019 she had recurring sciatica (nerve pain down the leg). She says short yoga sessions made it possible to finish her training sessions and long runs again, and called it “a big turning point”. On a long flight, she says, doing the sessions on the plane lessened the effect of the flight on her symptoms. (Athletes for Yoga, 2 September 2019. Athletes for Yoga is a commercial yoga website: her words, but not an independent source.)

A runner’s day at an Iyengar workshop

Katie Holmes, a runner who blogs, went to a full-day Iyengar yoga workshop feeling tired and out of sorts. She left “much calmer than I had all week”. She writes that practising Iyengar yoga has made her more flexible, especially in the shoulders, and that she sees running and yoga as a good pair. (Run Young 50, 22 October 2017)

Scott Jurek: an ultrarunner on yoga and meditation

Scott Jurek, the American ultrarunner, began yoga about 12 years before this 2011 article, after his wife started practising. He had thought yoga was for very flexible people. He practises a mix of styles, with Iyengar yoga an important part, and says it “has made the poses more approachable”. He also says yoga and meditation have made him more aware of his body, and that meditation helps him get beyond the noise of the mind in a 100-mile race. (Charlotte Bell, Hugger Mugger blog, 22 November 2011. Hugger Mugger sells yoga props, so this is a commercial source.)

And the two of us

Do we practise what we teach? Yes. Stuart does at least an hour of yoga and an hour of pranayama every day. Chris practises between one and three hours a day, and does pranayama almost every day.

More runners’ stories, and swimmers’ too, are on our page Yoga For Runners And Swimmers.

Running yoga: standing poses for strong, even legs

Want to try it? Start with 2 free classes and 2 free ebooks, or if you are new, just come along, at the studio or online, and your first class is free. Registering gets you more. Every option is in how to start, further down.

What does running ask of your body?

Running asks your legs to take your weight, one leg at a time, thousands of times a run, while your breath keeps pace.

Many runners get hurt along the way. A review of running injury studies found that about 40% of runners in the studies were injured over the time they were followed, most often at the knee, ankle and lower leg (Kakouris and colleagues, 2021). Achilles trouble, shin pain and knee-cap pain were among the most common.

The good news: strength, an even body and a steady breath can all be built, at any age. That is what a regular yoga class trains. No trial has yet tested whether yoga lowers the number of running injuries, so we say what yoga builds, not what it stops.

Walkers have their own gaps to fill: see yoga for walkers.

What does the research show about running yoga?

What The Research Shows

The studies in runners so far tested yogic breathing and mindfulness. No trial has yet tested yoga poses in runners. Here is what each study did and found.

• Yogic breathing, and runners chose faster speeds at the same effort. 21 runners; 11 practised three styles of yogic breathing (pranayama), 30 minutes a day, six days a week, for three weeks, and 10 did not. On a treadmill, they picked their own speed at a light effort and at a hard effort. The breathing group’s chosen speed rose at both: from about 158 to 181 metres a minute at the light effort, and from about 202 to 223 at the hard effort. The group that did no breathing practice did not change. Clifton and colleagues, International Journal of Exercise Science, 2023. Read the study
• The same design: better lung measures, no change in running economy. A second paper by the same research team, with the same group sizes (11 and 10) and the same three weeks, reported that the breathing group could blow out more air, and faster, but their running economy (oxygen used at a set pace) did not change. It very probably reports the same 21 runners, so we count the two papers as one trial reported twice. Seltmann and colleagues, International Journal of Exercise Science, 2020. Read the study
• Yoga-based breathing changed how teenage runners breathed. 46 endurance runners, average age about 17, randomly split into two groups. After two months of yoga-based breathing exercises, the breathing group used their belly more, breathed more slowly and took bigger breaths during a bike test. This measured how they breathed, not their running times. Bahenský and colleagues, Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2021. Read the study
• Mindfulness training, and fitness held up through hard training. 65 trained runners, randomly split; one group added brief mindfulness training for 8 weeks. Over the hard part of the season, fitness fell in the group without mindfulness and held steady in the mindfulness group. This tested mindfulness, not yoga. Barbry and colleagues, International Journal of Sports Medicine, 2025. Read the study
• Mindfulness added to exercise, and less knee pain when running. 30 women recreational runners with knee-cap pain. Those who added 8 weeks of mindfulness to an exercise program had less pain when running and stepping, and fewer limits on their knee, than those who did the exercise program alone. This tested mindfulness, not yoga. Bagheri and colleagues, Journal of Athletic Training, 2021. Read the study
• Track and field athletes gained flexibility and balance. A 2025 review of yoga studies in track and field athletes found moderate strength gains, clear gains in flexibility and balance, and less anxiety. Some studies found little effect on stress or performance. The programs ran two to four sessions a week for 8 to 15 weeks. Singh and colleagues, Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 2025. Read the study

What has not been tested yet: yoga poses in runners, yoga in masters and parkrun runners, and whether yoga lowers running injuries. Not yet studied is not the same as not working. The breathing studies tested yogic breathing in general, not Iyengar yoga. Why the difference matters: Yoga Or Iyengar Yoga?

Two of the studies tested mindfulness. That still counts for our classes: mindfulness is steady, present attention, and yoga poses and pranayama (yogic breathing) are old routes to that same state. Read Yoga And Mindfulness.

A steady breath is a skill, and it can be trained.

What kinds of yoga poses help a runner, and why?

Six kinds of practice do most of the work for a runner: standing poses, balance work, twists, supported backbends, seated and hip work, and restorative poses, with breath work alongside. We name the kinds here. Your teacher shows you the poses themselves in class, adjusted to your body.

What we find: flexibility comes from extending your range of movement, and that means straightening your legs and arms. Many people in sport, and in gyms, Pilates and CrossFit, cannot fully straighten their legs, because strong, short muscles hold them a little bent. Many runners cannot fully straighten the back leg, so they never get enough flexibility until they build that straightness through yoga. Hips are often stiff too, from short muscles and short, tight tendons.

• Standing poses build strong, even legs. Running loads one leg and then the other. Standing poses work the thighs, hips and ankles on each side in turn, so you can feel and even out the side that does less.
• Balance work, with a wall or chair, trains the one-leg moment. Every running stride lands on one foot. Balance work steadies the foot, ankle and hip that take that landing.
• Twists keep the trunk turning. Running drives you straight ahead, for kilometre after kilometre. Twists turn the spine both ways and help the back move freely.
• Supported backbends open the chest. Over a chair or a bolster, the chest lifts and the ribs open, which gives the breath more room.
• Seated and hip work frees the hips. Free hips let the legs swing without the low back doing the work.
• Restorative poses rest tired legs. With props holding you, tired legs and a tired back can settle after a long run or a hard week.
• Breath work (yogic breathing) steadies the breath and the mind. A slow, steady breath steadies your attention. It is the same skill the breathing studies above trained.

That is our teaching, known from practice. Every pose is done on both sides, with props so a stiff body can do it well.

Running yoga: twists to turn the trunk

Running breathing technique starts with an open chest

How does running yoga help your breathing?

Yogic breathing trains a slower, deeper, steadier breath. In the trials above, that is what changed: more belly breathing, bigger, slower breaths, and better lung measures. One trial also found runners chose faster speeds at the same effort.

In class, pranayama (yogic breathing) is usually taught lying down or sitting, with props, once you have some beginner classes behind you. A morning pranayama class leaves you calmer and more focused for the day. That is our experience as teachers, not a running trial.

Breath work, lying supported

How much running yoga does a runner need?

One class a week helps, and more helps more. This is Flametree’s view as teachers, from many years of classes:

• One class a week works.
• Two or three a week work better.
• Five or six a week work better again.

The same holds for pranayama classes. Regular classes are the point, not a quick routine before a run. The track and field studies ran two to four sessions a week, which fits what we see.

Which classes should a runner start with?

Start with a beginner class, then add others. These suit most runners (Darwin time, from the beginner timetable updated 12 November 2026):

• Beginner 1 classes: every day of the week, at Woolner (19B Bishop St, near Parap) and Coolalinga (Shop T31, Coolalinga Central), and some live online. Standing poses, balance work, twists and more, set for your body.
• Gentle Yoga: Fridays 10.15 to 11.15am, Woolner and live online. Slow and easy, with plenty of props, for stiff bodies and tired legs.
• Yoga For Backs: Wednesdays 7.15 to 8.15pm, Woolner, open level. The whole back, from the lower back up through the neck and shoulders.
• Restorative Yoga: Saturdays 4 to 5.15pm, Woolner and live online, open level. Supported poses that rest and restore. A good end to a Saturday that started with parkrun.
• Restorative Yoga and Immune System Yoga: Thursdays 5.45 to 7.15pm, Woolner and live online, open level. The timetable asks for 3 months of yoga first, or your teacher’s OK.
• Pranayama (yogic breathing): once you have some beginner classes behind you, your teacher will tell you when to add one.

See every class time.

Is there running yoga in Darwin?

Yes. Flametree teaches running yoga in Darwin at Woolner and Coolalinga, and live online. Parkrun Darwin is every Saturday at 7am at Bicentennial Park on the Esplanade, and a weekday class fits easily around it.

A word on Darwin heat. Pace yourself on hot, humid runs, and stop when you need to.

Yoga for running clubs: a group class at your club, at our Woolner studio or live online, is a simple way for members to try it together. Details are in the offers below.

Can I do online yoga for runners?

Yes. You can join our live interactive online classes from anywhere, with a teacher who can see you and guide you. Running clubs can book a live online group class that comes straight into the clubrooms on a big screen.

Live in a regional or remote area? Many towns have no good yoga nearby. Online, Iyengar-trained teachers can come to you. See our live online classes.

How do I start running yoga in Darwin or online?

Come to classes, learn more about yoga, and build your strength, fitness, flexibility and mindfulness. Then you can see for yourself whether it works.

1. 2 free classes, plus 2 free ebooks. New to Flametree, or back after 3 months or more? Choose 2 free ebooks (the sport and men’s book is Stay In The Game) and get 2 free classes, live online or in our Darwin studios. Claim them here
2. Or just come along, at the studio or online, and your first class is free. That is one free class. Register first and you get two free classes and two free ebooks, plus a few short reminders and tips to help you get started. So registering gets you more. See class times
3. Then the half price beginner 10-pass with 2 free. 10 half price classes plus 2 free, $59.50. That is 12 classes, $4.96 a class, in our Darwin studios or live online.
4. Then the unlimited beginner weekly pass, to come as often as you like: studio, $17.95 a week; studio and online, $21.95 a week; online only, $10.95 a week.
5. A private lesson: private class pass, $109, or 5 private lessons at 10% off. Talk to us to set a time.
6. For running clubs: group class, $149 a session, at your club, at our Woolner studio or live online. Book 10 sessions together for 10% off: contact us.

See the timetable and book here

Once you have started, learn much more. Our 2027 Masterclasses with Chris Lalor start on 28 December: six masterclasses over four months, in Darwin or live online, on how this yoga works for arthritis, sleep and energy, pelvic floors, backs, wisdom, and anxiety, upsets and anger.

Start free, then pick the option that suits you.

Running yoga questions, answered

What does the research say about running yoga?

The studies in runners so far tested yogic breathing and mindfulness. In one trial of 21 runners, three weeks of yogic breathing went with faster chosen speeds at the same effort, and in a trial of 46 teenage runners, two months of yoga-based breathing changed how they breathed. No trial has yet tested yoga poses in runners.

Can yogic breathing improve a runner’s breathing technique?

In trials, yoga-based breathing gave runners slower, bigger breaths, more belly breathing and better lung measures. One trial found no change in running economy. In class, pranayama (yogic breathing) is taught once you have some beginner classes behind you.

Can running yoga help my recovery between hard weeks?

Restorative poses, with props holding you, let tired legs and a tired back settle. That is our experience as teachers. Restorative Yoga runs on Saturday afternoons at Woolner and live online.

Will yoga stop me getting injured from running?

No trial has yet tested whether yoga lowers running injuries. What yoga does build is strong, even legs, free hips, balance and a steady breath. Tell your teacher about any niggles, and they will adjust the poses to suit you.

How much yoga does a marathon runner need to notice a difference?

One class a week helps, and more helps more: two or three a week work better, and five or six better again. That is our view as teachers at Flametree. The track and field studies ran two to four sessions a week.

Is running yoga good for runners over 50?

Yes. Iyengar yoga uses chairs, blocks, belts and the wall, so a stiff body can do each pose well, and many of our students start in their fifties and beyond. Start with a Beginner 1 or Gentle Yoga class.

Where can I do running yoga in Darwin?

At Flametree’s studios in Woolner (19B Bishop St, near Parap) and Coolalinga (Shop T31, Coolalinga Central). Running clubs can book a group class at the club, at our Woolner studio or live online, at $149 a session.

Is there online yoga for runners outside Darwin?

Yes. Our live interactive online classes work from anywhere in Australia, with a teacher who can see and guide you. A running club can also have a live online group class shown on a big screen in its clubrooms.

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More for sportspeople: yoga for runners and swimmers, cycling yoga, and the whole Yoga For Sport section.

Sources: Clifton and colleagues, International Journal of Exercise Science, 2023; Seltmann and colleagues, International Journal of Exercise Science, 2020; Bahenský and colleagues, Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2021; Barbry and colleagues, International Journal of Sports Medicine, 2025; Bagheri and colleagues, Journal of Athletic Training, 2021; Singh and colleagues, Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 2025; Kakouris and colleagues, Journal of Sport and Health Science, 2021; Take The Magic Step (Andy Edwards), 26 September 2008; Athletes for Yoga (commercial yoga website), 2 September 2019; Run Young 50, 22 October 2017; parkrun Darwin event page. Research via PubMed. Runners’ stories are their own accounts, not proof. This page is general information.