HER Mindful Moments

HER mindful moments are sacred. These are the moments we take to check-in with ourselves and realign to who we are without the distractions or influences of our environment. 

Running is as much a mental sport as it is a physical sport. For long distance runners, you are met with the challenge of focus and sifting through the thoughts that do not serve you in the time you are moving through the race. Being left with our thoughts for long periods of time can leave openings for distracting thoughts such as personal traumas, creating to do lists, or ruminating on something that one person said that time you accidentally cut them in line. 

When asked, one of our HER members shared with us why she meditates daily and especially before a long run. 

“I meditate because during my day, I don’t consider what is going on inside of me. Part of growth is being able to work through personal issues with myself. I meditate especially before a run because in my early start in running, I would begin and find myself afflicted with really negative thoughts from something I hadn’t worked through. It made running uncomfortable and prevented me from continuing.”

Meditation, being still, enables us to meet all of those thoughts head on. They help us to work them out during those sessions and even help us to develop a discipline to manage our thoughts in the same way we manage our tasks, by priority. That same discipline allows us to control our mind at higher levels. Intuition and self-awareness become elevated so one can seemingly make predictions that are more accurate. Scary? It isn’t and you are probably wondering how this can help you in running? 

Another HER member described how meditation prepares her physical body for the pains of a long run,

“When I meditate, I picture myself running on an empty road. On this road I become really in tune with my body, I can feel the aches in my legs from the miles and I detach from those aches in my mind. I focus on my breathing, checking in with my heart. I acknowledge the pain of a cramp in my side and I use my breath to circulate it from my body so that I may continue un-afflicted.”

A lot of people believe that meditation is sitting very still for long periods of time. Well, you do have to be still but meditation doesn’t have to be long and it should be carried out in a comfortable position. One that allows optimal breathing. There are plenty of apps like the one Coach Bec uses, Headspace, that guide you through meditation or you can YouTube meditative music to help relax your body and redirect your mind. These moments can be as short as you’d like, time is not the focus of meditation. Being with yourself is highly beneficial and enables you to meet yourself without the possible input of your environment. 

We challenge you to take a moment to be still. Focus on your breathing at first, pulling it in for 3 seconds and then releasing for 3 seconds. Thoughts are natural and are not to be battled. The beauty of thoughts is their fluidity so let them come and go like wind through your hair. Meet yourself and watch the things you think about. 

Want to share how meditation helps you? Or maybe  you practice mindfulness in another way. Tag us on Instagram @here_we_run and @becwilcock and let us know. Namaste

HER xx