A basic Zen teaching is to, well, Stop Thinking. Do not let attention get lured away by random thoughts. I am going to try to capture my inner rumination through the concept of trying to limit extraneous thinking while engaging in any one activity to Three Thoughts. We'll see how long this lasts or whether it is a useful construct at all. Can most things in life get distilled down to three thoughts?
I am training for a 5K on my local college campus. I have not attempted to run a 5K in 7 or 8 years, when I was tripped by an Australian Shepherd at the outset of a bring-your-dog Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. There's four weeks until race day, and I have worked up to two miles. It's been painful. I can confirm that walking and running don't use the same muscles. If you start thinking about the environment while running - It's too hot, or How much longer? or That old guy passed me again! - the run becomes that much harder. I find it easier to have some sort of mantra, and decouple from the physical. So, here are my three thoughts while running:
1) Pressure Breathing: When I really feel winded, I do pressure breathing, a trick I learned from hikers (see for example youtube.com/watch?v=LAEmAT_Nt8Q) to feel more oxygenated. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAEmAT_Nt8Qyoutube.om/
2) Power Chakra: I envision a strong third chakra. In the theory of energy centers located along your spine, this is located around your solar plexus and its energy color is yellow. So I envision a big glowing sphere of yellow giving me power.
3) My Mom. Mom passed away in March after many years with Alzheimer's disease. I was surprised when the remembrances from relatives started coming in that so many people mentioned her sense of fun. "Mother" loomed so large in my child's mind that I never saw this part of her, so it is interesting to think about. When I run uphill, it's almost as if I feel my mother's impish spirit, once again young and light-hearted, pushing on my back saying "Come on! You can do it!"
So those are my 3 thoughts for jogging - pressure breathing, power chakra, help from Mom's Fun Spirit.
Strength in Running!
Cali Kathy
