Mindful running resources
The value of choosing to pay attention
By RUN:ZEN
In recent weeks, I’ve spent quite a lot of time reflecting on Jon Kabat Zinn’s definition of mindfulness. He describes mindfulness as paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. This first quality of paying attention ‘on purpose’ might appear quite a straightforward proposition, but it’s worthy of closer inspection. Paying attention on purpose means that we actively choose to pay attention – we exercise a choice. Adding
Becoming more familiar with our emotional furniture
By RUN:ZEN
A favourite phrase that we first heard from the Zen teacher Ken Jones, describes the awareness that arises through mindfulness meditation practice as a process of becoming more familiar with our emotional furniture. As we mark World Mental Health Day today, this analogy of our emotional furniture is a really helpful one that merits further investigation. What is our emotional furniture? We could say that we all have a unique
Learn to run with a new perspective
By RUN:ZEN
If you’re anything like me, you probably have a regular running route as part of your routine. After a while it becomes very familiar. You know the gradients where you may need to increase your effort. You know the flats and the descents and how you like to run those. There’s no problem with having a regular running route of course, but what can happen from a mindfulness-based perspective, is
Running with motivation, intention and attention
By RUN:ZEN
The beginning of the new year is a favourite time to set ourselves new goals for the months ahead. Often top of the list is some form of exercise regime. If running is on your list, it may be that you want to start for the first time, make it a more consistent habit or perhaps you’ve targeted a race or some other kind of challenge that will require you
Hill reps and how to run them mindfully
By RUN:ZEN
Hill reps are a great addition to your training to help build strength and endurance, as well as speed over shorter distances. Where can a mindful approach to our running help maximise the benefits of a hill rep session? It’s all about cultivating relaxation. What is a hill repeat? As the name suggests, a hill rep training session involves running up an incline over a specified distance and intensity. We