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Moving meditation: how to improve your run

Photography Getty Images

My mind on a run goes something like this:

“This is a steep hill. I’m puffed already. I can feel my thighs rubbing together. Aah – dog! I’ll never be as fit as I used to be. I’m such a baby – I need to toughen up. God, I’ve been doing this for years and this is the best I can do? I’m thirsty. I’m bored. How long to go? Run to that big tree and then you can take a break.”

The whole process is just like taking my kids to Woolies: all tantrums and bargaining. Except it’s in my own head and I can’t stop the complaining with a sneaky Chupa Chup.

I carry my running complaints over to coffee with a friend, who's a practising Buddhist. She listens patiently while I tell her about the smack-talk taking place inside my noggin. "You need to read Running With The Mind Of Meditation," she says.

Written by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, spiritual leader of Shambhala (a global network of meditation meeting centres), The Sakyong, as he's known, also happens to be a seasoned marathon runner. His wisdom, she claims, will change my life. OK, not really, but his guru-guidance could help clear my head over 10km.


More: Running techniques to improve your performance

Taking her advice, I spend the weekend with my nose stuck in the book, scribbling down bits I want to remember on the back of my gas bill. (Note to self: turn over that gas bill and pay it before we run out of hot water.)

The Sakyong reckons linking meditation and running is obvious. Meditation reduces chaos and stress, and running relaxes and revitalises the body. Put the two together and your mind and body work in harmony to make you feel alive and strong.

Sure it'll take time and practice to build up your Zen running skills, he says, but you'll also notice benefits from your very first try, and feel better instantly. Instantly? I'm in!

I set myself the mission of conquering the enemy within - my own negative thoughts. Buddhists call it "monkey mind" - when your undisciplined mind jumps from thought to thought as a monkey jumps from tree to tree. My monkeys have had run of the place for too long - the cheeky bastards have to go.

Running Zen
My first attempt at running meditation is also the first time I've run without my iPod in years. I feel like I'm leaving my security blanket behind. It's just me, my running shoes and a long bush track. Before the run, The Sakyong suggests you spend a few moments visualising the route and thinking about how far you want to run.

It's also important to notice how you feel at this moment. Tired and heavy? Light and energetic? "Don't be concerned or opinionated. Just feel." I feel like I shouldn't have had that pork taco for lunch, but following The Sakyong's advice, I just roll with it.

Setting off, "be present" is bouncing around in my mind. I try to focus on my breath. Of course, I've chosen a route that has an enormous hill about two minutes in, so my breath is quickly shallow and laboured. And focusing on it doesn't help. So I switch to focusing on my feet. And something amazing happens: soon I'm lost in the rhythm of my footfalls.

I'm also observing how my body feels. I'm noticing the dappled light breaking through the leaves and falling on the path in front of me. Birds. A lizard scuttling out of my way. The sound of kookaburras in the distance. Then I start thinking: "Hey, that works. I can't believe that works! Can it work for the whole run? Oh, hang on, apparently not. Bah, meditation fail! There's still so far to go..."

But instead of dropping my bundle I try again, and fall back into the rhythm of my footfalls, and noticing my surroundings. And so it goes for the duration of my run - meditation - monkey mind - meditation - monkey mind - meditation - monkey mind...But I make it - without music and with some moments of clarity and wonderful relaxation. And when I check my running app afterwards, I find I've shaved 30 seconds per km off my normal pace. And that was my first attempt - winning!

Finding focus
I've been combining running and meditation for three months now, and at the sake of sounding cliche, it honestly has become easier with every run. I still have neggy thoughts with annoying regularity - last week I was convinced I could feel the fat on my body lagging half a second behind me, only to slap back into place as it caught up with each footfall.

But I've found, with practice, I can recognise those moments as just a passing shower. The thoughts are merely concepts in my head - I don't have to accept them as reality.

Running is no longer a painful bargaining session, it's something I genuinely look forward to each day - and as someone who has struggled to embrace running for years, it's a sprinting leap forward.

Carolyn and her monkeys are currently training for a half marathon. Sleep, meditation and plenty of dark chocolate are helping her through each training run.