After a bike ride yesterday, my left hip was noticeably tight and some soreness set in. My fall ride was fabulous. I had a little bit of time for some stretches afterward, but apparently not enough.
So, to work out my left hip, I followed some hip stretching and strengthening exercises illustrated in a recent issue of Runner’s World (see Move those Hips!) I even had Bruce on the floor doing some bridges and marching- the boys had a few good laughs at how inflexible their father is! Slowly, my hips started feeling looser and better – not so stiff. As Bruce and I discussed, we may need to have a gait analysis while I run or someone look at my pedal stroke to see what’s going on. I don’t want tight hips as I continue to train.
This morning I rolled out my yoga mat at a Vinyasa I class at North Shore Yoga. Ah…time to really stretch out my hip – and I did. Last week I started back into yoga little agressively – starting with a Vinyasa II class. I could do it, but then was really sore afterwards. I realized I needed to start a bit slower and work my way back up. Anyway, we started the class (how I should start every DAY) with savasana – or corpse pose. Strange to think of it that way, but you are basically laying on your back with your legs and arms relaxes. The key is to be active – you are not falling asleep here- but focusing on gravity and your weight being pulled to the floor, then focusing on a tight/troublesome area in your body (ahem..my left hip). This helped to start my yoga practice. Voila! We did more hip openers – triangle pose with a revolved variation and WOW – I could feel it in my hip and side. What’s more is you have to hold it. Then you get the max stretch while working your core. Key to running, cycling, and swimming.
After the class, as always, I felt a stirring inside – I captured my breath and my circulation and insides seemed to be revitalized. With all the downward dog positions, my face always looks healthier -my complexion clearer. Check out these demonstrations of poses on Yoga Journal.com
We’ll see how my hips feel when I get ready to run with the girls during Girls on the Run today…They are all doing so well with GOTR! I’m very impressed with their attention to our lessons, their interest, the connections they are forming with one another and their motivation to run. I’m truly impressed. They are making strides and will no doubt be able to run the 5k on Nov. 13 th at Toyotal Park. I signed up my whole family to do the run – you can too…it’s not timed so just get out there and have fun running. I’ll have to bring some yoga stretches to our run cool down! Click on the link to register: Girls on the Run 5K
