There is so much I want to share from the all day
event!! The day began with a 5k run
within the park. After the run there was some downtime to explore the
vendors. All the vendors gave away
wonderful goodies and each booth was interactive. One booth screen-printed your choice of
design on a cloth bag while you waited and others gave away a t-shirt if you
showed them a social media pic you shared holding their product.
Next up was the guest speaker Former NFLPlayer Keith Mitchell and a meditation session with Sage Rountree. During
another break the Atlanta based Good Times Brass Band performed while food
trucks arrived.
The rest of the afternoon was dedicated to yoga. Octavia Raheem and Neda Honarva led a traditional yoga class; then the not-so-traditional
MC Yogi and DJ Sol Rising led a hip hop yoga class while playing Outcast and
Beastie Boys!
The last hour or so of the day was more music and
celebration. I rode my bike to the event from a friend’s house and feeling
pretty tired I decided to head home. My overall takeaway from the event was how
nice everyone was and how thrilled everyone was to be there. I went alone and
met so many nice people! From the organizers to venders to participants,
everyone had a smile and something nice to say. It was a fantastic event!!!
It was a neat coincidence that I attended Wanderlust on
Sunday, as this was my ambassador week for J&A Racing. Each Ambassador was
assigned a week to write about a topic related to running. My topic was Yoga for Runners and I have included my
content in this post for those not on Facebook!
I have dabbled in yoga on and off since college. It wasn’t
until my third half marathon that I decided to give my body a rest from
training and focus more on my practice. I soon began to see and feel the
difference yoga made to my running. The stiffness in my legs and shoulders
became less, my core became stronger and my lower back pinched less often. The
quiet self-reflection of yoga even convinced me to try running without music
(something I still haven’t mastered). In this article from Runnersworld.com, Van Allen explains why yoga is great for runners,
how to get started with yoga, and how to avoid injury with poses.
Now that you’ve read why yoga is great for runners, lets
take a look at the various poses. In this slideshow from self.com, MacMillan explains
and demonstrates yoga poses that are the most beneficial for runners.
*Make sure to expand the description of each pose to the
right of the pic!
My yoga practice intensified after I injured my IT bands on
both legs. I was crushed! It seemed like forever for the pain to go away. I
began to focus more on yoga to ease the pain and to keep myself active.
In this video from DoYogaWithMe.com,
McAlpine shows us a yoga flow to help prevent running injuries before they
happen.
Hey Fellas! Don’t
think yoga is just for the girls! Lately I’ve been able to get my son, husband
and even my Dad into a little downward dog.
This slideshow from Menshealth.com
may explain why more and more men are willing to hit the mat than before! http://www.mensfitness.com/training/endurance/top-10-yoga-poses-for-men/slide/1
It was a fun experience sharing my thoughts and resources
for yoga and running with the J&A Racing community. Since J&A Racing is known for it’s fantastic half and full marathons, I felt it
fitting to finish with this article from Wanderlust.com
that explains the top 5 yoga poses for endurance athletes. http://wanderlust.com/journal/5-yoga-poses-endurance-athletes/
Get Bendy! Buzz!
