Roga: The new run for yoga that offers you all the exercise you need

Roga comes as a silver bullet. It offers the best of both worlds as it combines high-intensity training with a low-intensity regime, resulting in a holistic workout.
For representational purposes
For representational purposes

International Yoga Day on June 21 will be a quiet one this year. But within the yoga fraternity, a new storm is brewing. It’s called Roga, a hybrid exercise combining running and yoga.

It’s also called runner’s yoga, simply because the ancient discipline is an ideal recovery activity for runners.Experienced sprinters know their glutes, quads and hip flexors well.

These are the core areas of muscle function that get activated in every run. But over time, running-triggered sourness is inevitable. Tissue attrition is not uncommon. Keens and joints take the biggest hit.

Roga comes as a silver bullet. It offers the best of both worlds as it combines high-intensity training with a low-intensity regime, resulting in a holistic workout.

What this typically entails is a half-hour run followed by a half-hour yoga, targeted at repairing specific areas of the body for strain recovery.

“Running leads to muscle rigidity and inflexibility, especially in the lower body. To bring back the elasticity and improve overall performance, yoga works wonders,” says Chandigarh-based Hartaj Sahdra aka Hugo, an investment banker-turned-certified yoga teacher.

Interestingly, Roga has been around for a while but was largely operating on the fringes of the fitness industry. And given the sheer number of yoga versions available today, it probably got lost in the crowd. But since the lockdown, it has come back into popular use, as runners took to the treadmill to get their daily dose of adrenaline in the absence of an outdoor workout.

“I attribute its success to people becoming more self-aware. Information is at everyone’s doorstep. Look at social media. It has negated distance.

As soon as there is a new idea, it’s dispensed through online platforms, which people have access to all over the world,” says Mumbai-based Pallavi Barman, head, Marketing and Operations at HRX, Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan’s fitness brand, adding, “Instagram gives the whole thing a further impetus. The attractive images, the instant comments, the likes… everything makes anything new stand apart. Roga too may come back into the popular imagination as a result.”

While ramping up the intensity on the belt is a great way to drop calories, the effect on keens and the lower back is unforgiving. Given this, instructors today have turned to Roga. The running part remains largely the same as what it was before for an individual, but the only expectation is to keep aside enough to follow a set of specific asanas (yogic postures) that help in post-running recovery. Some of the best ones are Wall Adho Mukhasana (wall downward dog), Parsvottanasana (intense side stretch), Prasarita Padottanasana (standing wide-legged forward bend), Parivrtta Anjaneyasana (revolved low lunge/lizard pose with quad stretch), Supta Kapotasana (reclining pigeon pose), Ardha Bhekasana (half frog pose), and Toe Vajrasana (toe squat),” says Sahdra, who adds that a teacher must be reached out to before trying these to avoid injury.

Another aspect for which it’s being taken up by runners is to achieve better breath control. Yoga’s emphasis is squarely on the inhalation and exhalation process, while asanas are built around this central paradigm. Once you breathe correctly, it helps in any form of training, especially running that requires a steady pace to be kept. Roga builds lung capacity and, not to mention, improves a runner’s form and balance.

The cherry on the cake is that this fusion workout doesn’t require one to leave their home. You can take an online class or have somebody come in for an introductory session. Having said that, runners could experience initial discomfort in performing certain asanas due to stiffness. But this will ease out in a couple of days. A hot compress or a warm bath may help. Take out those yoga mats 
and get ready for a run. 

Check list

Benefits

❖ Strengthens the core that aids in long-distance running. Also, improves the lung capacity.
❖ Boosts cardio fitness while increasing stamina
❖ Builds mind-body stability
❖ Works on agility and flexibility by keeping muscles relaxed 
❖ Helps a runner maintain form

Precautions

❖ Consult a yoga practitioner for clarity over which asanas work well for you and how to perform them correctly 
❖  Don’t overdo it. If you usually run for an hour, bring it down to a half-hour so that you can incorporate yoga into the regimen
❖ Take a 10-minute break before the two to let the body cool down
❖ Simple stretching post running but before yoga, will help the body transition better
❖ Menstruating women should go slow with certain asanas while avoiding inverted postures 

Roga is a silver bullet that combines high-intensity training with a low-intensity regime. It typically entails a half-hour run followed by a half-hour of yoga, targeted at repairing specific areas of the body for strain recovery.  

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com