Yoga for Athletes and Runners: Flexibility, Recovery and Injury Evidence

Athletes and runners often add yoga hoping for more flexibility, fewer injuries and faster recovery. This page looks at what research actually measured. Yoga comes from Indian traditions; using it as a cross-training tool is a modern adaptation, and the studies below test particular programs, not yoga as a whole. It is information only and gives no pose or stretching instructions.

The short version. Small trials of athletes report gains in flexibility and balance. We found no readable trial showing that yoga prevents running injuries, and the general research on stretching and injury is unconvincing either way.

What studies found

1. Track and field athletes

   Promising but limited

   A 2025 systematic review reported moderate strength gains and significant flexibility and balance improvements, with reduced anxiety, though some studies found little impact on stress or performance. It noted wide variation in design and called for standard protocols.[1]

2. Volleyball players

   Very small trial; insufficient evidence

   A 26-player randomized trial (8 sessions, yoga twice weekly added to routine training, compared with added strength exercises) reported greater gains in flexibility, balance, endurance and service accuracy.[2]

3. Cricket players

   Waitlist comparison; promising but limited

   A trial of 82 male first-class players compared a 6-week yoga module with a waitlist and reported better core stability, flexibility, range of motion and balance measures.[3]

4. Stress, anxiety and sports performance

   Mixed

   A 2023 meta-analysis of yoga and mindfulness in recreational athletes aged 18 to 45 found a significant effect on stress, but no significant effect on anxiety.[4]

5. Muscle soreness after hard exercise

   Insufficient evidence; groups were not randomized to training

   One small study of 24 women found less soreness in yoga-trained women than in non-trained women after a standard exercise bout.[5]

6. Injury prevention

   Proposed, not shown

   A 2023 narrative review of 88 articles concluded that yoga should be integrated into sports science to prevent and manage injuries,[6] but a narrative review is a lower level of evidence than a trial or meta-analysis, and it relies on proposed mechanisms.

7. Yoga specifically for runners

   Not assessed

   Proper evidence not found. We searched PubMed for yoga and runners and for yoga and running injury and found no readable trial or review.

How to read this: athletes know when they are doing yoga, so expectation can shape self-reported results. Flexibility, balance and strength tests are objective but short-term, usually weeks. Programs ranged from 2 to 4 sessions a week over 8 to 15 weeks, and the reviewers said design variation limited conclusions.[1] The volleyball authors conclude yoga may reduce injury risk, but the outcomes they list are fitness and performance measures, not injury counts.[2]

What about stretching and injuries?

Yoga includes stretching, so research on stretching is relevant. A 2004 systematic review found stretching was not significantly associated with a reduction in total injuries and concluded that evidence was not sufficient to endorse or discontinue routine stretching before or after exercise to prevent injury.[7] A 2001 review of ways to prevent lower-limb soft tissue running injuries found that a high training load raises injury risk and that changing the training schedule can reduce injuries, while the effect of stretching on running injuries was not known.[8] Both reviews are old, so newer trials may exist that we did not find. See Stretching: What Research Shows.

Fitting yoga into training

A gentle session on a rest day, or after a hard session, is how most programs described in these studies were used, but none of the sources we read tested a specific schedule for runners, so Proper evidence not found on the best timing. A coach or sports physiotherapist who knows your training load can help. See also Recovery After Exercise, Yoga Evidence by Outcome and Yoga vs Exercise.

Mental skills

Yoga classes often include breathing and mindfulness. The meta-analysis of athletes found a significant effect on mindfulness and flow-state measures but not on attention or acceptance scales.[4] Teams with a history of eating disorders or body-image concerns should involve a clinician before group yoga; see Yoga for Eating Disorders and Body Image.