Man, I'm totally for the yoga-style stretching, having being doing it for a week or so (i know, not much but I can feel the difference already).
I find that several of the asanas (poses) _really_ do stretch the targeted area- more than "traditional" techniques seem to.
In particular, I find the
iYoga Life website to be awesome, esp of course the section for Runners.
I perform
these stretches on off-days and after a run.
IT Band Help
Very much in particular, I have been one of the typically 50% or so of runners who at some point have an
IT Band injury. I've had it twice, first on my left leg, then on my right, and man, it really drives me nuts.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, till about 2 months back I had IT pain... I currently don't.
I did three things which I feel have really helped:
1) I stopped running for 3-4 weeks, did some cycling, allowing time to work it's magic
2) I take an OTC Glucosamine supplement - apparently, it's mostly cod-liver oil kind of stuff...and recommended by many runners
3) The Yoga stretches.
Update
So, fellow IT band sufferers (ya i know i sound overly dramatic here :-), I know what it's like! try 'em...
This article
"Yoga on the Run: Post-Run Pose" by Paige Greenfield I can empathize with. The IT band stretch is awesome! I feel it really helps...(did i say that before?).
