Post Run Yoga Sequence: The Perfect Cool Down for Runners
My favourite part about going for a run? The cool down at the end. There’s something so rewarding about moving your body with power and speed—then slowing it all down to honour what it just accomplished. Our bodies are capable of amazing things, and it only feels right to show them some love afterward.
A post run yoga sequence is the perfect way to unwind both physically and mentally. Not only do they help lengthen the muscles you’ve just worked hard, but they also shift the body out of “go mode” and into recovery.
For runners, yoga offers more than just a stretch. The repetitive nature of running can create muscular imbalances—overusing some muscles while neglecting others. Over time, this can lead to stiffness, pain, and even injury. Yoga helps correct these imbalances by encouraging both flexibility and strength. It activates underused muscles, supports better posture, and promotes recovery.
As one article on The Benefits and Effects of Yoga for Runners highlights, running without balance can increase the risk of biomechanical issues. Yoga helps restore symmetry by stretching tight areas and strengthening those that are underutilized—ultimately improving running performance and longevity.
So next time you finish a run, take a few moments to breathe, stretch, and give your body what it needs with these post run yoga poses. It’s not just recovery—it’s an investment in your next great run.
TRAINING TYPE: FLOW SEQUENCE
CATEGORY:YOGA
SUBCATEGORY:YOGA FOR ATHLETES: POST RUN YOGA SEQUENCE
PLANNED TIME:30 MIN
LEVEL:ALL LEVELS
PROPS:STRAPS
INFROGRAPHIC: Post Run Yoga Sequence
HOW TO DO INSTRUCTIONS
Downward Facing Dog – Adho Mukha Svanasana
Pressing the palms down into the earth, tuck the toes and send the hips up high, coming into Downward Facing Dog. You can pedal out the legs, bending one knee and then the other, warming up into the hamstrings, the calve and the back of the ankles.
Low Lunge – Anjaneyasana
Open the right leg back and up and then step it forward in between the palms coming into a Low Lunge. There is the option to have the back knee on or off the earth. Squeezing the glutes to activate the hip flexors. Press down into the heel of the front foot, to activate the underside of the front leg.
Lizard Pose – Uttana Pristhasana
Drop the back knee down and take the hands to the inside of the front foot. Work the right foot out to the left to come into a Lizards Pose. The right foot can turn out and toes can be lifted to support the knee. Allow the knee to fall open to the side.
Downward Facing Dog – Adho Mukha Svanasana
Walk the hands back either side of the front foot, press the palms down and send the hips high, coming back into Downward Facing Dog.
Low Lunge – Anjaneyasana
Step the left foot forward in between the palms, coming into Low Lunge. There is the option to drop the knee down to the earth. Keep the spine straight with the head and neck in line. Gaze can be just slightly forward. Squeezing the glute muscles to turn on the front of the hip flexor.
Lizard Pose – Uttana Pristhasana
Place the left hand inside of the front foot. Walk the front foot out to the left. Turning out the toes, coming into Lizard’s Pose here. There is the option to come down onto the forearms to intensify the stretch.
Tip Toe Hero Pose – Prapada Virasana
Come onto all fours and tuck the toes underneath. Send the hips back to sit on the feet, coming into Tip Toe Hero Pose (also known as Toe Squat). If the pose becomes too intense come forward onto the fingertips to release the pressure and then go back in.
Ankle Stretch
Moving into Ankle Stretch by taking the hands behind you and lifting the knees so as to apply pressure to the front sides of the feet.
Seated Forward Bend – Paschimottanasana
Transition to sitting and extend the legs out in front. Remove the flesh from underneath the sit bones and elongate the spine. Inhale and raise the arms overhead. Exhale and slowly bend forward from the hips, reaching the hands towards the toes. Inhale, peel the body back up and bring the arms back up over head. With an exhale bend forward and come into Seated Forward Bend. Settle into the pose.
Supine Pigeon Pose – Supta Kapotasana
Lie down on your back and bring the soles of the feet to the earth. Bring the right knee in to the chest and place the ankle onto the left thigh creating a figure four shape. Bend the left knee up and reach the hands through to interlace the fingers, either around the shin, or behind the thigh. Pull the left leg towards the body and allow the right knee to open. Repeat on the other side.
Beginner Yoga For Runners Video – Post Run Yoga Poses
Strength Yoga for Runners
Yoga is more than a means of opening the body and working on flexibility, as it is also an opportunity to work into our strength! Yoga is going to keep the body light and open. At the same time it will allow you to develop the kind of strength that is going to make your performance during other intense workouts more explosive. You want to target the whole body, building strength from head to toe. In particularly you want to build into the muscles of the legs. Any standing pose where there is the opportunity to hug and draw everything to the midline, is going to really activate these particular muscle groups and get them firing and strong.
Here are five of the best poses to build strength in the whole body.
Plank Pose – Utthita Chaturanga Dandasana
Plank Pose is the number one when it comes to firing up the core, as it activates all four muscle groups in the stomach. However, not only is it an effective means of firing up the abdomen, it also works into the shoulders, chest, legs and back. Spending a few minutes here (if you can!) encourages the body to manifest stability which will improve balance and coordination. This is going to have profound effects on your running practice. Do a few rounds, holding at first for 30 seconds, then a minute, maybe a minute and a half… Each time try and better yourself!
High Lunge – Alanasana
High Lunge is going to challenge your strength and flexibility. Over time it will teach you how to stabilize the legs and will improve overall balance. Use this opportunity to ground down into the feet and energetically draw them together to activate and work into the underside of the legs.
Humble Warrior – Baddha Virabhadrasana
As the names suggests, we have the perfect opportunity to practice humility in this pose. It requires strength and stamina from the front leg, as well as the lower back and core. At the same time you’re also maintaining balance as you vulnerably offer yourself forward. True power lies in the ability to be vulnerable. This pose is the perfect encapsulation of the strong, yet vulnerable and humble warrior.
Warrior Two – Virabhadrasana II
Warrior Two is a legendary strength building pose, as you stand your ground like a mighty warrior. The weight is balanced between both hips as the torso rises up straight and strong. True strength lies in the ability to remain focused and balanced no matter what life serves up. Warrior Two provides the perfect opportunity to stand in your own strength. Find some ease in the perceived effort and to relax into a fierce incarnation of Shiva the warrior – empowered and ready to face any challenge presented.
Boat Pose – Paripurna Navasana
Boat Pose requires the coordination of all four limbs and your torso, whilst strengthening up through the spine, and maintaining breath awareness! This can teach you a lot about yourself and the quality of your mind; as the effort of the pose begins to draw out thoughts and stories of perceived effort. Committing to the breath and drawing everything to the center will be your saviour. You will find a power you didn’t know you have, as you integrate the strength of the whole body to support you.
Post Run Yoga Sequence for Recovery
No one will deny that stretching after a run is a wise move. However, knowing and doing are two very different things – especially when you’ve come back from a long, hard run and you’re scraping the bottom of the motivation barrel. Make things easier on yourself and have the mat ready and rolled out for you, so all you have to do is crawl / fall onto it. Even if you have only five minutes in mind, once you’re down there you’ll be surprised how easy it suddenly becomes to spend fifteen to twenty minutes cooling down the body – and that’s simply because it just feels so damn good!
Cooling down the body is an important part of any athletic workout. Yoga provides the perfect opportunity for the body and mind to rest and recover. Here are three of the more restorative poses you can take when the body is needing some extra love and some time to recuperate!
Extended Child’s Pose – Balasana
Here we have the best excuse to really just melt into the floor and say we are doing yoga! Which we are! There is zero physical effort required, as the spine stretches from the tailbone right through to the crown of the head. The belly is allowed to be soft and to fall between the thighs; the extension of the arms releases into the shoulders (AND you can even take the forehead left and right and give yourself a little massage). So even when energy is in the gutter, there is no excuse to not settle into this simple pose and find some stillness.
Supported Bridge Pose – Setu Bandhasana variation
Setu is translated from Sanskrit as bridge, and this is the shape we are aiming for with the arch of the spine. In this variation however, we are taking out all means of physical effort, by relaxing our hips down onto a block. This is going to provide a juicy stretch to the front of the hip flexors. When we engage our strength without the block, this pose has an energizing effect on the body. When we support ourselves in this way there is the opportunity to just let gravity melt you down either side; this can be luxuriously therapeutic.
One-Legged King Pigeon Pose, forward bend variation – Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana
Here we have a deep hip opener which is going to support the kind of range of motion that running requires. We’re targeting both legs simultaneously, creating space and releasing tension post run. This pose is great for any piriformis issues, but it might be a little uncomfortable if you are tight in this area. Ease into the pose and use any blankets to prop the hips up if that’s more comfortable.
TEACHERS INSIGHTS
It is important to spend time stretching and opening the body both before and after a run. This decrease the likelihood of injury, and simultaneously boosts performance.
CONCLUSION: Post Run Yoga Sequence
It is not essential to include all of these poses in your warm up and cool downs. Just choose two or three to really spend some time with and this will really compliment your running practice and performance. When the body is warm and open, you are taking precautions to prevent future injury. Increased flexibility is going to bring more mobility into the legs, hips and back and literally add strides to your performance. Yoga is so complimentary to many dynamic forms of exercise, but especially to running. So spend some time cultivating stillness of the body and mind, so that you can really leave anything that is not serving you at the door.
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