Through this book, I’ve
learned many new things about running but the most surprising thing I’ve
learned is about how connected running and the mind are. Your motivation, your emotions,
your hobbies, and everything in between is controlled by the mind. Sometimes
when I’m running, I feel like my mind drifts off and I lose my connection with
running to the point where I forget to push myself. I’ve noticed that the less
focused I am, the worse I run. To fix this, Sakyong Mipham uses the strategy of
mindfulness. This is the process of training the ability to focus on an object
and maintaining it. It’s like exercising a muscle of the mind because the more
you exercise mindfulness, the stronger it becomes (Mipham 64). I want to make
my mindfulness “muscle” stronger as fast as possible. That’s why whatever
exercise I do, I try really hard to stay focused. If I am at the gym, I keep
myself concentrated on my workout by listening to my favorite music because it’s a constant
reminder of why I am at the gym and putting my phone on airplane mode because
it stops me from wandering on to social media. Right now, the weather isn’t
ideal for running so I typically run on the treadmill at the gym or at home.
However, when the weather gets better, I’ll start to run outdoors and I’ll
really have to work hard to stay focused because I can’t run outside with my
headphones since I can't stand holding my phone or putting it in a pouch around my arm. Luckily, my mindfulness
will play a large factor in keeping me on track but I’ll need to have a strong
willpower to stop my mind from drifting so I don’t miss the opportunity to
challenge myself.
Sakyong also informed me
that, “If we do not pursue mindfulness, earnestly stabilizing our mind in
meditation, we will inevitably never feel the results. Therefore, we might feel
disheartened and give up.” (Mipham 66). When I use concepts of meditation
during my runs or any other exercise, I feel my body relax to some
extent. I still feel a little uncomfortable but normally the pain,
soreness, or any other major discomfort eases because my mind is wandering someplace
more important that gives me the energy to keep going. Typically, I try to think about the end goal, meditational concepts (breathing, peace, stability, etc.), and how I can better myself for the next track and cross country seasons. The relaxing sensation
isn’t immediate nor does it last for very long but it’s a nice feeling to have
when you’re sweaty and tired. Mindfulness will help make that feeling last even
longer and allow me to place more emphasis on a given exercise. Most of the time before a big
race, I feel anxious and become worked up by starting to worry that I won’t be
able to finish and will stop in the middle of the race. Although it’s has never
happened before, it’s a scary and embarrassing feeling to have. With the
methods Mipham has taught me, I can calm myself down and refocus my negative
energy to become positive and finish the race strongly. Using concepts of
meditation, especially mindfulness, has helped me keep my exercise positive,
driven, and focused so my mind isn’t darting here and there, but is rather
concentrated on what’s important.
| music playlist to keep me energized |
| Treadmill at gym |
I want to know: How do you focus yourself when doing a specific activity
and have you ever tried meditating? If yes, do you have any advice on how to
improve mindfulness or any other meditational concepts?
Mipham,
Sakyong. Running with the Mind of
Meditation. New York, United States: Harmony Books, 2012. Print.
Hey Roshni!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with this article more, I run cross country and track myself and what matters before the race if anything is my mindset. The races where I say "I'm not feeling it" are the ones where I tend to do in poor in even though I start the race feeling the same as any other race. The fastest race I've ran was when I knew that this was my last chance for the season, and that I had to go in the front believing that as long as I could dare to keep that pace, I can run the fastest possible. Focusing on how you prepare for a race will surely affect how well you perform.
Answering your question, a specific activity I do often is train for cross country or track season. Before working out I like to listen to music or even play guitar like in my blogposts just to calm myself, and if I listen to music it is the type of music that makes me picture myself winning a race. Once I go out to workout and I'm feeling the urge to give up, I picture my goal and push myself. My advice is to do the same as me, and picture you achieving your goal whenever you feel like giving up in order for you to know that if you don't push yourself when you are working out, you will end up failing to reach your goal. Now that I have shared my instances with my mindsets effecting my race, what sets you up to have the best race?
Hi Icevar!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the great advice and commenting on my blog! I definitely think that imagining your goal when you're giving up will give you the burst of motivation you need to keep going. Mindset it key to having a good race and if you're constantly thinking you're going to do poorly, you will perform poorly. That's why I try to stay as positive as possible to have the best race possible. I normally get really nervous before a race so I try to calm my nerves by setting up some goals to accomplish while running. I typically think about the time I want to get, how many people I will pass, and how I will keep myself pushing even through the toughest moments. Before a race, I like to warm up and do some line exercises to get my body warm and energized. During this activity, I try to be by myself to help clear any thoughts and just focus on each little movement I make. If I occupy my mind with the exercise, I forget about the nervousness and seem to relax a lot more.
I think it's pretty cool that you play guitar to calm yourself down. Music is another great outlet to use but I mostly only listen to music during my workouts. It's amazing to see that two runners like us have so many similarities in their routine before a good race. Good luck with the guitar and running!