Yoga and Running Retreat Report October 2, 2008
Here are the participants in last weekend’s yoga and running retreat at ZAP Fitness near Blowing Rock, NC. What a perfect weekend we had: we enjoyed yoga nidra, a long run, a long afternoon of practice, a yin yoga session combined with a book discussion, a recovery run with yoga included, great food, and wonderful company.
ZAP’s facility is wonderful: spartan but comfortable, clean and cozy, very quiet. It is a running monastery, as we came to call it. It’s a huge treat to be able to focus on the practice of running and the practice of yoga for two days without worrying about food or housekeeping. At the end of each practice, we could linger in the knowledge that there was nowhere else we needed to be other than right where we already were.
I’m already thinking ahead to next year. Perhaps I’ll lead two retreats: a spring one, possibly for beginners, with an emphasis on running form and on building strength with yoga; and a fall one for marathoners, timed a few weeks out from the major races, where we’ll do a long long run, discuss mindfulness and mental focus, and practice restorative yoga for recovery. If you’re interested, let me know, and sign up for my newsletter to stay in the loop.
Hi Sage
I just read your tips in the latest edition of Runner’s World! Maybe one day I will get to take a class under you, i’d also like to talk sometime about the psychological benefits of yoga for marathon athletes…
cheers, k2