yoga: beneficial?

I woke up extra early before work for no reason, and I actually have time to blog right now!! I did an hour long yoga class last night (which I have been doing every Monday) and then knocked out a mile run after that. I am not sure how beneficial the yoga is. It's not that I don't like it, but I can't help but feel it's sort of a waste of time. I also get very bored half way through and find myself doing the poses while daydreaming about last week's Jersey Shore episode.

A problem I've been having for a while is the pain in my upper left leg. I am not 100% sure but I think it is my IT Band. It's been hurting for a few months now and there's no way I can continue training for the marathon if this continues to hurt. I did some stretches I saw in a youtube video, and it temporarily fixes the problem (kind of) but in the long run, it continues to hurt. I am going to try using one of those roller things to see if that will help. In the meantime, I am going to take a break from the gym today because I have a lot of other things to do, i.e. fold laundry that's been sitting on my couch for 2 weeks.