Thoughts Well Chosen

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Run the Mile You Are In…I do not know who quipped these wise words, but they have been especially helpful to me in regards to my run training of late. In fact, when I consider how useful this mantra has been for my running, I realize that this idea easily transfers into my non-running life too.

Whether putting in the miles for long road races or technical trail races, I often find I need to avail myself of this wisdom. Run training cycles can wear on a runner’s mind as much as the miles wear on the body, and I find I am most tempted to quit a run when facing those tired, anxious thoughts during long solo runs. However, now that I have added this mantra to my runner’s tool box, I have discovered a powerful implement to beat off negative run-thinking.

As many runners will attest, the power of a well chosen mantra can allay and repurpose unproductive thinking during a hard run. This mantra has become my new best-friend and a powerful antidote for run-weary thoughts. When I focus my mind on these words, I  am firmly re-connected to my body as it moves in the present moment. From this present perspective I settle my breathing and my pace and I find it possible to relax my grip on the unknown, which is measured in miles to go until I finish.

Savor the quest, not the finish. The Cool Impossible ~ Eric Orton

Thoughts of the unknown are always projected onto the movie screen of the future. The minutes, hours, and days which we cannot physically inhabit, become the playground for bullies who taunt our imagination with fearful images of ourselves as incompetent, inadequate school yard failures.

This driving need of ours, to know what we cannot know, has the potential to strip us not only of physical energy but also of happiness and joy for the journey we are currently running; whether it’s the next 100 feet of uphill trail or the next blank page of a manuscript which needs to be filled with narrative, story and conviction.

Every race is a question, and I never know until the last yards what the answer will be. Long Run Solution ~ Joe Henderson

It’s funny how this one little mantra has taught me something about thoughts well chosen; about how thoughts have no power over me except to distract me into believing them as true. And I have become keenly aware of the importance of choosing quality thoughts, because quality thoughts produce quality running and quality living.

When I direct my thoughts to inhabit the moments of now, they clearly have their effect on me. When I run in the present mile, I have focus and strength and breath for each step I take in the present mile. I do not, I can not, and I will not worry about whether I’ll have breath or strength for the miles ahead. I am training myself to just keep moving…for now.

From this perspective I am able to focus my mind and body on the powerful physical movements I am making towards my finish line, rather than wasting precious energy entertaining ideas of what I may not be able to accomplish.

My run training has taught me that as my body responds to the training effects of physical repetition and practice, my mind likewise improves its ability to inhabit and reflect on the current moment rather projecting itself into the future.

I feel silly admitting that at 50+ years of age, I am still learning how to live positively in the reality of the present, fully inhabiting all the moments which make this time now.  But here’s the beauty of learning how to live in the land of now: with every step and stride I take, I grow in confidence that my breath and legs will be adequate for the journey…to carry me through the mile I am already in.

Why Do I Run?

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Why do I run? I run because it makes me feel so fully alive…in my body and in my mind. It is a spiritual, mystical experience; it is not something I fully understand, this feeling, this need to move my legs and feet. Nor can I easily explain or define why running is so meaningful to me. But run I do, because it magically makes time slow down and with every breath I deeply breathe I exist and am firmly rooted in the presence of now.

And running gives me so many choices…I may propel myself forward in any given direction at any given speed or effort. I may run lightly as a leaf blown about on the morning’s gentle breeze. Flitting here and there…gliding, tumbling, or plodding…it doesn’t matter which way I go, up or down, my feet follow one after the other, traversing the hilly streets all around my little town…until they wish to run no more and then they walk me safely home again.

While running, we can use the body as another language in which to express our longing for God. Running artfully, our bodies become a beautiful liturgy of the physical. Running the Spiritual Path ~ Roger Joslin

I run to remember, to remind myself that I am alive; older with each passing day it’s true, but alive and awake enough to breathe deep so as to expel the staleness of the moments just past; I move toward each new moment with purpose; I chase it down with great anticipation for what will appear; for what will arrive and for what will depart. To run is to strive for all that I am and all that I may be.

Why do I run? Because I can; because I must; because I love to feel so fully, so painfully alive…in my body and in my mind. It is a spiritual, mystical experience.

Run Shared = Fun Shared

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One year ago today I posted on my blog about my second running of the Cinco de Mayo 10K/5K event in Tucson. I’m not sure why I looked at my post from last year, but after reading it I knew I wanted to write about today’s experience, my third entry of this race venue on this first day of May, 2016.

Much like 2015, the New Year 2016 found me busily occupied with family caretaking duties until late March with little time to run except 1 or 2 days a week. During the month of April I was able to return to some regular training, but I knew it would be at least another month before I could be race ready for the summer season. However, it was during this time of refreshed training when I realized that several of my personal training clients desired to improve their aerobic conditioning. Wouldn’t this be a good opportunity to challenge them to enter the Cinco de Mayo 5K event and join me in walking the course?

Well, in short order we had a team of 7 individuals willing to put their best two feet forward for a race in which they would only have 3 weeks to train. While this is not how I usually prepare my clients to train for a race event, the urgency of the looming 5K certainly provided us all with an extra dose of focus and purpose for our aerobic training in the days leading up to today.

Now imagine my delight, and theirs too, when we discovered that two of our team members placed in their age groups this morning! Had I run today’s race, I would likely have placed too, but what I discovered was something even more valuable than another personal age group achievement: A joy shared, is a joy doubled.

What I cherish most about today’s event as it relates to all the days which have passed in this crazy busy Spring of 2016, is the tiny role I had in helping these fun-ready ladies reach and exceed their goals on race day today. Cheers and high-fives to all of Team Oracle!

 

One Thing

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Only one thing is needful for a happy, healthy, life…and that is Love. Love for the Divine One, Love for ourselves and Love for others. At first glance this seems like a list of 3 needful things, but in reality, love administered to any one of these three, is love administered to all. How can that be? Because when love is transmitted, from one entity to another, it flows where it goes; it cannot be controlled or directed or restrained. When love flows, it flows like water; like wisps of wind, its course cannot be shunted, dammed, directed or diverted, because Love Exists…unbidden…it simply Is.

Your beliefs and thoughts are wired into your biology. They become your cells, tissues, and organs. There’s no supplement, no diet, no medicine, and no exercise regimen that can compare with the power of your thoughts and beliefs. That’s the very first place you need to look when anything goes wrong with your body.

A physician can help you monitor symptoms of imbalances and pay attention to signs that you need to do more to enhance your health, but it’s the Creator working within you that heals. Real health comes from Divine Love and infuses your body with vitality.  Christiane Northrup, M.D.

Love is viral! When Love flows from one life to another, it cannot be contained or quarantined. Love is no respecter of person or station. Love is not dependent on our ability to understand or comprehend it. Love IS…whether we perceive it or not, Love Remains as our only true Reality. Our awareness or lack of awareness does not affect Love’s potency or its ability to heal our injuries. Love Endures all things (yes even war, hate, and fear) and is able to wash away our grief, suffering, and disappointment. Love wraps and draws all creation close to her breast; we feel the wind and are reminded that Love’s breath is our breath, our essence, our Love. We only need to awaken from our nightmare, and realize that Love Is With Us; Love Is In Us; Love Is For Us. Love never fails or disappoints. Love always wins…

 

Don’t Ever Stop

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It’s what I’m always saying…show up for your life every day; don’t ever stop striving towards your calling…

 If we don’t exercise our bodies, then our muscles begin to constrict. And if we don’t exercise our minds, then our attitudes begin to constrict. Nothing constricts our life experiences like the constriction of our thoughts. It limits our possibilities, and it limits our joy. Marianne Williamson

What is your calling? Perhaps you think you have no special talent or passion or drive to do anything extra-ordinary. Such thinking does not release you from showing up. If you have breath and are vertical, then you have purpose. If you aren’t sure what your purpose is, then you may want to consider keeping a journal of all the things you do in a day or want to do in a day.

Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional and mental states. Carol Welch

Living your life on purpose, with purpose, simply requires a willingness to embrace each day with our eyes, ears, arms and heart wide open to the unfurling adventure of TODAY!

If you don’t ever stop singing, your voice stays in shape. It’s like the marathon runner. You’ve got to run, run, run to stay in shape. Sammy Hagar

Collective Fitness

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There is a well-known African proverb which states, “It takes a village to raise a child”, but I believe this proverb can be extended to a community’s health and fitness too. The longer I lead exercise classes with the people in my community, the more I have come to  believe in village dynamics; because it truly takes a village to raise a community’s collective health and well-being.

I’ve thought much about the ‘active community’ within the small, rural town in which I work and live; of those whom I instruct in Zumba and personal training and balance and strength groups, they have become my family. They are indiviually and collectively my  tribe. They are my happy place; my cherished people. When our regular times to move together are disrupted, my happiness quotient is diminished until we re-engage. And it seems this sentiment is felt by most all those who identify themselves with any given  active tribe.

It occurs to me, that being a part of an active tribe is an especially essential component to the well-being of the ‘over the hill’ gang. Mature bodies require a great deal of extrinsic motivation to stay physically active and engaged. But the truth of the matter is people of every age and stage need, depend, and crave an active ‘village’ to stay on track with health and fitness goals. And when one participates within their active village, the collective energy and enthusiasm provides a collective power to keep its members happily moving together, physically and socially.

As a fitness instructor, I benefit from these group dynamics just as much as those who attend my exercise classes. I notice that we all depend on and look forward to our group movement with great expectations; our times together revitalize and energize all who participate…in body, mind, and spirit.

Ailing bodies don’t keep us sick. Our attitudes and perspectives do.  Karen Casey

I should not be surprised by this phenomenon, but I am, and I want to write about this so as to encourage my readers to never neglect the importance and value of their ‘village’ people. It makes no matter, the size of your tribe, when two or more gather for purposeful movement, lives are impacted and well-being is extended into the community. We all need an active tribe of which we may call our own. Happy, healthy lives are not created in solitary, isolated pursuit, but rather in ‘tribal’ collectives of like minded individuals.

If you belong to an active community of exercising people whom you consider your ‘tribe’ then you no doubt have reaped the benefits of your collective. If you want to raise the well-being of your village, seek out those community members who need a ‘tribe’ to join. Pass the baton of well-being on to those within your community; it’s no harder than inviting a neighbor or friend to take a walk-about your village. Every step together builds your village strong and healthy!

Always a Learner

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I have been away from my writing life this first quarter of 2016. I am slowly working towards re-engaging into this pleasure as the busyness of these past few months starts to settle into its own routine. Last night I was able to read the ‘Running with Wolves’ book from where I had left off at the end of 2015; I discovered (again) a delightful hour of reading the many tidbits of truth wonderfully woven from the myths and stories of Ms. Clarissa’s book. The following quote resonates strongly with me still this morning:

Those who are not delighted by learning, those who cannot be enticed into new ideas or experiences, cannot develop past the road post they rest at now. If there is but one force which feeds the root of pain, it is the refusal to learn beyond this moment. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D. Women Who Run With the Wolves

Note to self: Always embrace the lessons present in each new day…it is one of the best ways to grow in grace, wisdom, knowledge and stature.

Just Practice

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As  a personal trainer I often admonish my clients to put their mind into their muscles when they engage in strength training activities. It is my fervent belief that we train our muscles best when we practice putting our mind on feeling what our muscles are doing throughout each exercise repetition.

The energy of the mind is the essence of life. Aristotle

When it comes to strength, muscles or otherwise, I believe our mind is our most potent, powerful agent and ally for change in our physical body and in our life. What we think  (believe) has the potential to germinate the seeds of well-being or dis-ease. With every thought, with every belief, we grow ourselves stronger, larger. It’s just that simple.  If you want to get better at anything, then your betterment is determinant upon your practice of doing.

Your brain reflects the way that you think throughout your life. You kind of shape it by your thoughts and your behaviors. If you play violin for eight hours a day, then the parts of the brain responsible for helping you to play the violin will get larger. If you’re thinking stressful thoughts for the whole day then those parts of the brain are going to get larger and other parts of the brain will deteriorate. Jo Marchant

Your brain is like a muscle that responds (grows) by the thoughts you put into it from your mind. Your mind is superior to your brain. Your mind (your soul, your personality, your will) feeds and directs your physical brain. Conscious and subconscious thoughts  bathe your brain with input (thought for food…food for thought) 24/7. Check your thought diet! Are you consciously or unconsciously feeding your brain junk food? Junk thoughts?

If you think you are in danger, your brain sets into motion your fight or flight response. Your breathing respirations increase as does your blood pressure; all systems are on high alert, ready for action. Conversely, if you think you are in safety, your parasympathetic pathways are engaged, and your body is calmed, your breathing is slower and deeper and your blood pressure returns to normal. Your brain needs your mind to direct its resources in accordance to your body’s needs. Your mind drives your body. Have you checked whose in charge lately?

The mind is willing, but the body is weak.

Whatever virtue, trait or ability you want to improve or enlarge in your life, you must only do one thing: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. This is so simple. This is why I am often fond of saying, “less is more”. It only takes one thought, one act of your will, to put into motion a healthier, happier life. You decide. So please do not be careless about what you think because it will effect what you practice.

 

The Compost Pile

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Compost! Perhaps this is a strange topic for rumination in a health and fitness blog, but sometimes I just have to write about stuff as it inspires me. The topic of compost first cast upon my imagination a few days ago when I read the quote (below) on a friend’s Facebook page.

Compost is proof that there is life after death.

As the CEO of our local worm farm, my friend is a specialist in all things concerning the nature and composition of soil. The vitality of her worms depends largely upon the quality and nutritional value of their food source, which is of course, their soil.  And because I am a person who often reflects on life and death from time to time, the topic of compost seemed a likely candidate for my next writing compositon…no pun intended. And I could not help making a connection from the science of physics in regards to life and death and compost because one of the rules of physics asserts: the law of conservation of energy states that energy can never be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another. (The HeartMath Solution)

So then, I must conclude in fervent belief that all of nature, science and faith points to life after death. As a believer in the ‘afterlife’ of the soul and in the rules of the physics of the universe, this everlasting energy cycle, which had no beginning and which knows no end, means, I believe, we each will continue on for eternity, never to be quashed or destroyed.

Now, back to compost, which is indeed very alive even though it is de-composing. On this point we must never forget that compost is not fodder for the burn pile, but rather it is food and nourishment for the soil. The rearranging of its chemical and physical composition gives nutrients and life power to those things rooted for growth in the ground.

But first and foremost, it must be acknowledged that it takes a certain amount of time before compost may become a suitable growth medium for soil. A compost pile must be exposed and mixed with the elements of water, light and oxygen in proper proportions to become a vital soil supplement. Days and days of patient, mindful administration go into successful composting.

The ground’s generosity takes in our compost and grows beauty. Try to be more like the ground. ~Rumi

A similar process of composting is necessary for the growth of my life, my soul. It is in those things which annoy or vex; those things which I may dismiss or consider as dead or dying: relationships, attitudes, goals, or whatever…which may instead just need more mixing or exposure to grace, kindness or patience. My acceptance of this process rather than my contempt is what is needed for the material on my compost pile to eventually become a source of deep nourishment for growth and change in my life. And this one thing I know without a doubt: to live a full, vital life, one must grow.

Rumi gives me some insight into the beauty of composting when he says that we should be more like the ground…open, receptive, non-judgmental. There is a gentleness, a humility in this sort of thinking and believing. But it requires an element of faith in the unseen, microscopic reality which operates on the principle of life after death. Ahh, behold the lowly compost pile.

Clueless

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This life we live in the body is meant to be lived in full awareness; all sensory systems are on-line to keep us in optimal working order ~ poised and ready for service. The physical realm, which we seem to be most comfortable relating to, is indeed where our senses are first engaged when we notice that our internal peace and quiet have left our house (the mind). But thankfully, there is a fail safe system built into the architecture of our body which is designed to return us safely to our default (peace and quiet) setting. The fail safe works as a feedback loop; either positive or negative feedback will reinforce our current state of being.

We easily understand and accept the benefits of positive feedback in our lives. When we perceive events or activities which bring us happiness or joy, we feel healthy and fulfilled in our body and mind; peace and quiet reign easily in our house. However, we tend to perceive negative feedback as a form of attack and we prepare for warfare. Unfortunately, when warfare alerts our primal nature, peace and quiet quickly leaves our premises.

But what if our perception of attack is faulty or ill conceived? What if the attacks we  speculate as negative are merely distractive traveling companions whose only function is to push us homeward…to our Peace and Quiet? Maybe we should stop engaging in warfare and instead launch ourselves into a training regimen. Said course would require us to perceive distractions and discomforts as occasions to engage our inner sleuth (clue-seeker).

So, you may ask: “which negative feedback clues should we heed?” How about when discomfort arises; whether in body or mind? Doesn’t discomfort get our attention? Then discomfort is a HUGE clue. When we are ill at ease; agitated; restless; anxious and unsettled or out-of-sorts; when we experience bodily pains or disruptions. These things are CLUES…they are like a resounding gong which activates our early warning alarm system. Changing our perceptions may allow us to view our disruptions of ‘peace and quiet’ as our call to RETREAT and go HOME.

If the NEW YEAR has you yearning for a NEW YOU, then now is the time for your course correction, because it is never too late to heed the Call of the Homeland. Remember, none of us need be CLUELESS. We have everything we need in our body and mind to inform our well being. Now is the time to seek the counsel of the ONE whose presence reunites Peace and Quiet into our house.