When I started running last year and telling people how much I was running, a common response was a question: What are you training for? I was surprised at the emphasis on racing, but realize now that I was a naive. I really hadn’t thought about racing. I was running for the fun of it. It was an intimate experience taking me all kinds of places–maybe even to the starting line of a race!
Running is a metaphor for life, reaching physical, mental, emotional highs and lows, and touching the spiritual. Here we want to be fluid–see running imaginatively, look around corners for an embrace of things connected to running. Who knows where this will take us? And by “us,” we mean to include readers who might want to become writers on this site.
We really aren’t sure where this exploration will go, but we have a few topics in mind at the very start: Meditation, Raw Foods, Creativity, and Health.
Running can be an active form of Meditation. Those familiar with Tibetan Buddhism are aware of sitting meditation and walking meditation. Walking meditation might rely on a focus of breath and steps. Running meditation extends walking meditation to include perhaps an appreciation of nature, in addition to awareness of one’s breath and stride (plus it can be especially soothing for us ADDers).
Raw Foods are an exciting complement to running. We have learned that a largely raw foods diet can provide a big boost to recovery from intense running schedules. It is also a diet that cultivates appreciation for the life that sustains ours, providing nourishment, sensual delight, and mindfulness in eating.
Creativity flows naturally from a runner’s high. On this site, we plan to share our art and music, creative pursuits with energetic ties to running.
Running produces an endless flow of benefits to body and soul. We will explore effects on Health, and invite runners and health practitioners to share their stories and wisdom. Running is fun (except when you’re injured, which we hope isn’t often)!
So this site is an exploration of how running can lead us to self-discovery, pointing the way to a mindful path that includes all kinds of satisfactions, and probably some surprising but meaningful detours.
Running Meditation T-Shirts for sale!
