From the minute I walked into Circle Yoga’s “Yoga for Runners and Cyclists” class last Sunday afternoon, I could tell this wasn’t going to be your standard yoga practice.
Participants chatted and joked as they waited for instructor Mercedes Santos to enter the room—a far cry from the silent meditations that dominate the pre-class space before other yoga classes I’ve taken. There were as many ratty running shorts and race T-shirts as there were fancy Lululemon tops and yoga pants. And although we were in a sun-spattered yoga studio with bright wood floors and a calming vibe, the atmosphere felt more like the start of a friendly group run than the beginning of a yoga class.
Circle Yoga’s yoga class for runners and cyclists focuses on stretches and poses that allow athletes to be aware of possible injury-prone muscles and joints. Photographs courtesy of Circle Yoga.
The idea that runners, cyclists, and other athletes can benefit from practicing yoga isn’t new. Yoga instructors such as Sage Rountree, a marathon runner, triathlete, and frequent contributor to Runner’s World magazine, have long touted the flexibility, alignment, breath control, concentration, and focus athletes can reap from a regular yoga practice. But Sunday was the first time I’d taken a yoga class geared specifically toward runners and cyclists, and I was eager to find out which of those benefits might address the soreness and snap-crackle-poppiness in my legs following a hilly four-miler that morning.
Finish reading this story on Washingtonian Magazine’s Well + Being blog’s website.
Amy Reinink 
I wish this studio was closer to me. It sounds like a great class!