How do you think about your running program? Is it an hour workout that you must do in order to stay in shape? Do you just wish you could snap your fingers and just be over with it? Or do you look forward to it and afterwards you feel refreshed and rejuvenated? Do you learn new things about how your body responds to your running practice? Since I have been practicing Chi Running every run provides me some type of lesson about myself. The majority of runs, I feel so refreshed afterwards. This comes from the focuses I worked with on different parts of my body, truly learning to relax my limbs and keep my posture lifted and to take in the beautiful things around me. This relaxation allows my Chi to flow throughout my body which re-energizes me. Remember “Chi” in Chinese means energy. The few times that I am not able to find that relaxation right away, I find that my body is telling me to slow down, learn to look in the moment and find what I am missing. Or I am taking on too much and maybe today is not the day to run.
The next time you head out for a run, try to look around you, feel what your body is telling you and work with the two together. Practice learning to respond to what your body is telling you and maybe your running will become a practice too.
Attached is a very short clip from the founder of Chi Running, Danny Dreyer, about what running as a practice means to him.
