In the interest of having healthier, stronger legs for training, I’ve added a new element to my running routine: yoga.

My little brother scoffed at me – “that’s just fancy stretching” – but fancy or not, the outside of my left knee is feeling better than it has in…forever?

I can’t pinpoint exactly what’s helping, whether it’s the hamstring- and calf-expanding pressure of the basic downward dog, or the hip- and outer-quad tension release of the pigeon pose, but whatever it is, it’s working.

I’m pretty excited about the results so far, and more excited still by the prospect of attending a specialized yoga class in Toronto that I’ve read about; it’s specifically for runners!

I’m planning to attend in the next couple weeks, so I’ll report back on the details of the running yoga program.

But in the meantime, if you're just beginning to run, or if you're a runner with ANY sort of chronic running pain, maybe you want to poke around your hood, throw on some flow-y pants, and check out a yoga class of your own?