On saying 'thankyou'

Do you ever say 'Thankyou' to yourself?  Are you ever grateful and compassionate to you? In this very brief discussion I look at the possibility that the answer to most of our woes is to focus on inner compassion, letting go of anguish beginning with the simple word 'Thankyou'. I am not talking about being over generous, greedy or even the word which is often used as a positive but I still view with suspicion namely pride.  Personally the flip side of pride is jealousy.  

We start, however,  with a radio show ( I think radio 2)  I was listening  to.  On the show  Archbishop of York (Dr John Sentamu)  was discussing how he approaches the beginning of  each new day.  I was struck by one thing  he said and one thing  alone and it was this; every time he wakes up for a new day he always begins the day by saying 'thank you lord'. 

I thought long and hard about this, it seemed so simple, but, as  I thought about it, a gradual sense of growing awareness seeped into my consciousness.  'Thankyou, hmmmmm'.   Worth a try I thought.  So I resolved to say Thankyou the next morning.  As I opened my eyes the next morning I remembered my promise to myself and I  focused on a good breath, deep and pure and on the out breath saying 'Thankyou' to myself.

The sensation was good, cleansing; it felt that any anguish was being let go.  Of course this  is the whole point of Buddhism and meditation but here was an answer and action that came from the left field.  I enjoyed the sensation of  saying Thankyou to 'who or what ever'.  

So I began to say Thankyou whenever I felt a little stressed or busy, peeling the carrots, doing the ironing!  Why say Thankyou to these things? It is simple really. The reason I say Thankyou is because I can peel carrots, I can do the ironing and I can cook etc.  the act of saying thankyou to the simplest of things brings an awareness to that act.  I also say Thankyou before running and after running.  If the run has gone well and achieved some good form a Thankyou for that is good but I also focus on the route, what I saw and noticed on the way.  If the run was curtailed or changed because I felt a little out of sorts then good, I acted and changed and was observant. No harm there!  

Again I stress the simplicity of this action is fundamental in achieving an empty state of mind. We tend to go from task to task and not observe our moments. This very simple action  can make us be more in tune and thankful for the small things in our lives.

Worth a try? 

Tuning our Instrument

One of the analogies I use when teaching chi running is the idea that we are musical instruments that need tuning up.  In particular I focus on the principle that we are  both stringed  and wind instruments and that the quality  of the sound produced  is linked to the construct of the instrument and how you play it.  This idea helps people appreciate that we are all in need of aligning and  regular tuning and that the wind (our breath) is the key to the sound their  instrument makes.  

This helps a lot of people who approach form analysis in a heavy handed manner.  That is, they would like instant or quick results after the session.  The instrument analogy is a strong one because it allows the principle of practice and mastery to be understood.  When you first begin playing an instrument one can feel clumsy and a little out of sorts. 'Getting it'  takes time and although we would love to play fast pieces of music there is a deep understanding that practice makes perfect.  Running in my mind is no different from any other skill.  As you understand your instrument, alignment and breath you will get the best out of it.  Even as we get older your will simply sound different.  Not as fast but perhaps more graceful, thoughtful and at peace with the simplest of activities.  

This analogy helps further when developing the idea of practising with control and the common error of aiming too high for speed and impressive short times early in the development of mastery when of course all good musicians would say learn to play slowly and well and only increase your speed when you have mastered the basics.  This is true of many many things in life not only music and running.  

The best recreational activities are the ones that can help us become a more focused, compassionate individual who grows and becomes more sensitive to the needs of others and is much more in tune with what the present can give. They also impact on how we interact in other areas of our lives.  In a study at Southern Illinois University it was concluded that individuals experiencing leisure activities to the fullest have:

•A feeling of freedom

•Total absorption in the activity at hand

•Lack or focus on self

•Enhanced perception of objects and events

•Little Awareness of the passage of time

•Increased sensitivity  to body sensations

•Increased sensitivity to emotions

So by using the metaphor of an instrument that requires constant tuning and developing a mastery by practice we can see that really we are approaching a deeper state of awareness in ourselves. In gaining mastery of ourselves we must have the correct effort, complete focus and a deep calm resonant state to perform at our best. 

Extremes in running.....

Not quite, but in my training to be a chi running instructor and now a practicing chi running instructor I have been intrigued in meeting these ultra marathon runners.  For those who do not know the term these are  people who run more then a marathon length for an event.  Some events such as the Marathon des Sables run across the Sahara for 150 miles or other events, such as the Itarod trail, run  the 1000 miles across the Alaska wilderness following the husky race track which is used in the winter for the sleigh race.  Some of my chi running colleagues regard this as small fry!  My friend Purna ran 3500 miles around the same New York City block in 50 days, his aim was to achieve a form of transcendental meditative high.  Another colleague, Marion,  thinks nothing of running for 6 hours on a beach or running for 24 hours around a 400m track.  I am an infant in the eyes of these distance monsters :)

I am smiling as I  write this because when I discuss the reasons why I run with these people, they are  fundamentally the same as the reasons why they run. Increased clarity of thought, focus, sense of balance, mastery of breath and improved feeling of well being.  

I , though, have an obsessive background. I have a feeling that if I pursued ultra marathon running or iron man events I would ask all to follow in my wake , my sense of personal balance would be lost. Also I have the T shirt in two ways, one physical and one mental. In my brief stint in the armed forces I spent two weeks surviving in the New Forest. We were chased by Royal Marines, starved, forced marched for 24 hours and I  lost about 2 stone in weight, I know about exertion and focus and to be honest I survived. 

I come from the generation whose parents fought in the 2nd World War.  My Father never talked about it but I got the sense that because he survived the atrocities and true horror of war he was content with this so called mundane life.  He would repeatedly say ' you have no idea!'. Perhaps because our path is not full of life and death choices that some of us strive to be questioned in an extreme manner?  In addition nursing a terminally ill child for two years leaves deep scars that heal well if you know what to avoid.  Running to the point of extreme endurance I think would open these wounds again.  Leave well alone :). But you enjoy them ok!

Another key issue that seems to reappear in the distance running literature is achieving a sense of enlightenment, a sense of deep realisation of who you are and your place in the Universe.  Many people come to running after surviving ill health, psychological problems or simply feeling overwhelmed about their responsibilities in the world. A good way of thinking about this is seeing a stable and wholesome self as securely suspended by strong cables. These cables would represent love, family, community, relationships and basic needs.  If you replaced these cables by very many fine threads then perhaps you could see these threads as quick fixes, short relationships, meaningless friendships, materialism and a sense of always reinventing yourself according to your immediate position.  It takes a great force to break many thick cables and sadly it does happen but more often than not a simple swipe of a sharp blade will cut many or all the threads.  Many people have a life suspended by a multitude of thin threads.  They feel that these are required and that allowing more thin threads to further suspend their lives will bring meaning and purpose to their lives.

I have been challenged to re think and re-script many times in my life. My conclusions are that one needs to identify those threads that need to be replaced by strong cables.  However, and this is important, if you are not compassionate to yourself,allowing yourself time to grow in physicality and emotional maturity then you will never find these cables out. In other words what do we really need to live? The level of maturity a person has is how much they can dispose of and still be content.

Unbelievably running does just that, if you allow yourself to focus on  running as a process for you and not simply an outcome to be squeezed into a challenge frame of mind then you learn to be compassionate to yourself, your awareness of who you are becomes heightened and, if following a form based approach to running, then your understanding of what a moment can bring becomes clear.  When I teach chi running I emphasise that I am not teaching a static fixed movement that is rigid but an awareness that the window of balance is fluid, this moves depending on the surface, gradient or just with you.

This has strong links to Iyengar yoga asanas where the appearance of a static posture is very deceiving, when in posture the movement is either internal, focusing on energising lines and alignment or external by focusing on small body corrections to allow for the further  flow of energy to run smooth across and around your body. 

An example in my own running practice has been focusing on my hands during running. Such a small thing I hear you say.  Well my right wrist has a habit of dropping and my thumb does not point 'thumb to nipple' instead it moves horizontally.  It takes a good deal of concentration to focus on correcting this but strangely my running feels more fluid when the alignment issue has been corrected.  The parallels to yoga practice are clear.  It took me a good 2 years to turn my arms correctly in a certain yoga posture.  The result? A more aligned, controlled and engaged form that was controlled by me.  

So much to think about , in the next article I am going to give you my secrets on how to defeat stress and anxiety and allow a more compassionate self to flow out into the open.

We are hard wired to Run

As part of my part time freelance lifestyle I also happen to be a maths tutor. I really enjoy this role as I can see young people grow in confidence, not only in tackling a subject they had found difficult, but they also seem to develop a new found aura of confidence.  Interestingly enough, parents also report that their whole child's demeanour seems to improve?

The other day I was tutoring a young man and the conversation turned to the general idea of how we learn, I know , I can hear you, this is no normal tutor.  Anyway my thoughts to turned to Noam Chomsky who wrote extensively about many things but in particular he wrote about how we acquire and develop language. Basically, he argued, we are wired for language, when we are born we acquire language provided we are placed under  the right conditions for this to happen.  Our circuits for language just need tuning and refining.  It is all there in our brains ready for the triggers and switches to be turned on.

Speaking to my trustee I discussed the idea of speaking mathematics and training your mind to initiate learning through dialogue.  The point being that we are hard wired for mathematics as we are in language acquisition. So for the session I insisted that he spoke out his thoughts when solving the set problems.  This practice of focusing your language as you think slows your thoughts down , encourages reasoning and reflection and also promotes deeper 'thought furrows' in your mind.  Quality thinking penetrates your mind and has strong comparisons to the Buddhist approach  of mindfulness.

It does not take a great leap  to deduce that our human minds are different from other animals because we think mathematically, artistically, philosophically, have a complex language and  of course we also have the ability to make tools.   

Where is the running I hear you cry!  Well our bodies are the hero. I am amazed just how adaptive and how quickly our bodies  change when we begin to exercise. Equally I am amazed that even those people who live unhealthy lifestyles , overweight or simply sedentary in the extreme can respond so well in such a short space of time to adding some activity and changing their diet.   

The key difference in chi running is that the process of running is defined. If you take the example of the tutee he simply wanted to 'survive' each mathematics problem and 'get to the end'.  Many runners who first attend my chi running classes have cottoned on to the  fact that there must be more to running then simply the end product. Some are intrinsically aware that following this programme or that programme have the external measures of time but perhaps the holistic sense of activity is not being answered or even asked.  In other words they arrive home from a training session in a more stressed state of mind because they have not achieved the specific outcome.  In Chi running the process and signposts of form are as  important in raising your awareness of the present. Your running furrows become deeper: you appreciate metaphorically and physically each step.  Chi Running improves mindfulness, enhances your quality of thought and gives a sense of balance.  This is above and beyond the physical benefits of running which there are plenty.  

What I would say to those people who are performance based or at an elite level may need to reexamine the question of training.  The benefits of mindfulness coaching and meditation together with exercise create, in my view, a more resilient and focused athlete.  

In my previous article I discussed the term Dis- ease.  Our constructed society focuses on the next thing, the qualification to enable you to......., the coaching certificate so that you can.......almost a sense of badge collecting.  Find a crafts person making something, drawing something,  watch their focus on the exactness of that moment, they realise that each part of the process depends on the previous action.  There is no ego attached to this; the whole process is an act of giving yourself  up entirely to the creative process.  Think about  treating your running as learning a new skill. It takes time to apply the chi running focuses and develop a sense of craft to this but as your senses develop take in each moment; then the act of running becomes a form of meditation. 

Wherever you go, there you are!

I was surprised to see so many had read my previous article and how many had recommended it to others via Facebook!  Many thanks it pleased me to think others found it of value.  So, inspired, I have dared to write another article about running and yoga. 

The title may confuse people or it may at least feel a little unclear about the aim of this short article.  However the key point I want to get across is that many of us spend too much time on the 'next thing' with too many distractions around us and not enough time focusing on the present, the now; the things that matter to us may be future based but you can do a lot of good by focusing your attention on the moment and letting go of the chattering monkeys' in your head.  

Clearly I must return to my home base of meditation, yoga and Buddhist thought to answer these concerns and why I think the simple act of running can help so much if approached from a different viewpoint. Before then let us remind ourselves of the quantitative evidence about exercise.  

There is clear physiological evidence that exercise is mentally good for us, seratonin levels rise and our 'feel good' outlook increases.  Exercise has lasting effects on us and is not isolated at the point of exercise so all this is a good thing.  I would, though, like to ask what motivates us to run? Do we approach running and exercise as an escape from our daily lives which are uneasy in terms of balance, relationships and direction? Do we use exercise as a sort of shield that needs thickening up on a regular basis from the daily onslaught of work, tasks and simple survival.  Is it possible for exercise and the act of running to develop clear thought and careful attention to detail in terms of work and relationships?  Can running do this?  

Jon Kabat-Zinn in his book 'coming to our senses' points to a requirement in society to come to terms with our dis-ease. In the book he clearly details the benefits of mindfulness and the practice of meditation in developing this laser light awareness of breath, self and of a deeper awareness of others.  He suggests, I agree with him , that we are ill at ease with ourselves and the uneasiness is countered by busy-ness and distractions from the moment by moment issues that we all must face.

When you run are you dominated by thoughts of time, training and the next challenge?  Do you need these challenges to motivate yourself to  run?  What if there were no challenges at all. No T shirt or medal would you still run? Are you running to lose weight and look better?  I understand  completely about the benefits of training, competition and challenges. You can use these to hone your skills, improve your performances and do some great work for charity. But as a yogi, there are no competitions or performances only you.  The principles of yoga are based on alignment of the mind and body, yoking and tying the two together with the postures.  It is not about who is the most bendy, supplest and who looks good.  You focus on you and where you are at the moment.  Postures come alive with that focus on energy, breath and alignment.  What is interesting is that as you develop practice then this practice informs and changes your life.  You become present and aware of self and your surroundings.  You certainly become more in tune with people and resonate an awareness back. 

So now we come to running and the development of this point in your running practice.  This though is my first point. Your running practice, not competing, not completing just the process of running.  Chi running does focus on form and the meaning of that in your running in terms of the biomechanics and efficiency however it also clearly stresses identifying clear signposts in your body to align and focus on.  Hence it equates in my eyes  as a yoga posture with clear benefits equal to yoga.  Either way minimalist running insists that you must attend and be attentive to your form and feet.  You are more in tune with the environment and as a result more mindful and thoughtful. 

Approaching running  as a practice I have found that I naturally run more.  In terms of training terms I have increased my volume for  running but only as a natural consequence of form development and extending time spent running matched to aerobic improvement. This does parallel well with a yoga posture I know  and have finally come to terms with.  'Dog with head down' is, in yoga terms, a resting posture. When I first met this I could hardly keep the form for a minute!  It was so tiring and stressful. Now 15 years in, yes it is a resting posture, I understand the form and my body has conditioned itself to focus on the key elements that bring the posture together.  So there is the parallel with focusing on your form as a runner.  Fluency develops with time and provided you have the correct signposts at your disposal then your practice develops at the correct rate for you.  

The best effect of form running is that this does influence you outside of your running time. As you become more aware of your body and it's responsiveness to different environments   You become more acutely aware of your inner you (breathing) and how you respond and engage with the outer you(improved relationships, calmer, focused, steady, time for people) . 

A lot to take in and I suppose it again may challenge some.  Finally if people were more mindful, compassionate and understanding would we be in this mess now?  It is such a shame but I have not heard those words being used in the very senior debate that world leaders are having re the world and it's economy. Perhaps they should run? :)

The Art of Nothing Special

Let me start with a phrase from B K S Iyengar one of the great yoga teachers of our age who stated  'western minds and eastern thoughts' as a way of understanding the mutual strengths of both apparently opposing philosophies.   When one thinks of running I reckon most people think of a hard rational training approach to their running development, this would include training programmes, the science of shoes, competition and the like.  This, in my view, would be the western mind.  When one thinks of yoga and other alternative forms of exercise I think most people view them as a soft option, holistic and soft and fluffy around the edges. A lack of impact in an exercise regime that needs a clear outcome.  Sound familiar?

I am a yogi first and a runner second, I happen to be a chi running instructor ,  Iyengar yoga student with 15 years experience and a keen tour cyclist. I do 'stuff' to keep myself fit,mentally, as well as physically.  I have, thanks to my PE and Maths teaching background, a lot of 'coaching awards'.  So I understand about technique, drills and performance related targets.  They do work but I believe there is a missing element when one only approaches exercise in this manner.

Let me first explain why I practice yoga.   I will then briefly discuss how I changed my running programme to fit my overall well being philosophy. I  can only give signposts here but I have recommendations for further reading at the end of this article.

When I first began yoga it was three weeks after we lost our first daughter to tragic circumstances. A friend recommended the class and to be honest I needed something after two years of all consuming care, hospitals and the ultimate decision any parent would wish to avoid.  I was, in a sense, I believe ripe for re-scripting my views on exercise.  I should explain that in my twenties I was somewhat of an exercise junkie, long distance swims, cycling, weights etc were all consumed with a desire and perhaps even a narcissistic passion.

My time in the armed forces demanded competition and physical exertion. Put these two together and you have a description of me of old.  Attending yoga class for the first few times I focused on the territory I knew and could achieve.  That being 'who is the bendiest, who can keep the pose for longest'. I attended with a group of three other men; we certainly enjoyed it but again the desire for fitness was all consuming.

To cut a long story very short, yoga is not about exercise.  Yoga is about gaining an understanding that mind and body unite together through the asanas (poses) which are bonded by the breath ( the wind of the instrument).  Over the years I have learnt to be compassionate and generous in practice. To still my mind and focus on the now, the moment.  The outcome of yoga permeates life and as a result I have to come to terms with what mental and physical well being means.  The problem with yoga is that benefits are not immediately apparent ( western minds again). We demand immediate results, the now and do not pay attention to the process.  Yoga demands that we evolve in practice and grow mentally, becoming more resilient to what life can and does throw at us.  I am not sure a pure exercise regime does that.

Now we come  to running, as much as I love yoga I also love to run. The joy in simply being outside ( I stress here natural trails, beaches and mountains)is a real stimulus and gives further balance.

This was not always the case and even when practicing yoga I would run in a more muscle orientated manner.  This was fine to about mile 15 but bad form would take it's toll and I would collapse with foot injuries, Achilles strains or muscle pain.  What I did not realise but do now is that yoga is, of course, practised in bare feet.  We focus on strong feet being the initiator of a good line through your body including your core.  By strapping my feet to heavy trainers I lost my connection with my feet;my breath became ragged and I defaulted back to 'muscle man running'.

 Understanding that minimalist/barefoot running is not  a fad but about tuning into your environment in a more natural and instinctive manner.  For example, your body makes micro adjustments when you run barefoot in the sand. I get most of my chi running students to do this exercise on my local beach.  As a result of forming a running practice that focuses on good form ( chi running) then distance finally speed one recognises that fluency in running is achieved by practicing slowly, correctly and persistently this then is finally transformed to speed ( I must digress, Mozart is reputed to have said 'it is easier to play quickly and make mistakes, but is that music?).

Let me now share some thoughts from Shunryu Suzuki a Zen practitioner and master.  The book is recommended for reading among others at the end of this article.   I will take a few of his short article headers  and amplify the point through to what I think about when I run. it may be challenging for some of you to see running in this way.  I will be honest with you, it was for me but I had had enough of battling with time/speed and a former me that was no longer relevant.

BEGINNERS MIND

In Japan the word ‘shoshin’ means beginners mind.  Approaching your running in a beginners way every day means stripping bare all misconceptions, failures and successes.  Practicing means beginning again and focusing as you would as if you were learning fresh, from the beginning. Yes, learn from previous but do not cloud your mind in assumption  of knowing.

BREATHING

 Here I challenge you to observe every single breath when you run.  View your in breath as entering your inner world, the out breath as entering the outer world.  Thin long breaths through your nose work so much better than through the mouth, if you are gasping for breath and breathing hard then you are past your edge, slow down and breath long and thin.  when you observe your breath in this manner you are in tune with you, and interestingly tension in shoulders, legs and arms disappears.  Even if you get a few seconds of this feeling you will understand its potential.  Barefoot running or minimalist running heightens this sensation and, as I have found, my feet relax through this breath and I run quieter, more controlled and in tune with my surroundings.

NOTHING SPECIAL

Running is a simple practice, if you practice it everyday you will feel the power of attaining nothing special! The challenge here is to realise that yoga and running I believe give us humility in practice.  When I finish a run or complete yoga practice I do not feel the need to speak.  I am nothing.  Our lives seem to about attaining things, wealth or stuff.  Have you ever thought about attaining nothing. Run with no desire to attain.  If you find this difficult run at least once a week with no Garmin, no landmarks, just you and your breath and observe the effects.

Of course I could go on and I will not attempt to replace thousands years of philosophy but I would like to leave you with a sentence or two from Erich Schiffman about effort and practice.  

'The hall mark of practice is wholeness, wholeheartedness, not being in conflict.......it is not about pushing through the pain or overcoming pain, no pain no gain.  If you are having to be brave and courageous in order to stoically withstand excessive intensity you are pushing too hard, you are fighting.  Never fight yourself, yoga/running is not about fighting.  Intensify when appropriate. Practice skilfully.  The optimum degree of intensity is the amount that elicits your fullest attention.’  

I hope this article makes you reflect on what running and practising running can be about.  It may challenge a few of you but  I believe that is a good thing.  Below is a brief bibliography of books that I have read and placed in order of 'flow'.  Enjoy!

RUNNING BOOKS

Chi running 2009. Danny Dreyer

RUN: The mind-body method of running by feel. Matt Fitzgerald

The runners body. Ross Tucker and Jonathan Ducas

YOGA AND MINDFULNESS

Yoga the spirit and practice of moving into stillness. Erich Schiffman

Light on Yoga.  B K S Iyengar

Coming to our senses. Jon Kabat-Zinn

Buddhism without Beliefs.  Stephen Batchelor

The art of Happiness. HH Dalai Lama

Healing Anger:The power of patience form a Buddhist perspective HH Dalai Lama

Zen Mind, beginners mind. Shunryu Suzuki