Reddit reviews Running with the Mind of Meditation: Lessons for Training Body and Mind
We found 10 Reddit comments about Running with the Mind of Meditation: Lessons for Training Body and Mind. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Three Rivers Press CA
This is like...my favorite subject! Meditation and exercise are a fantastic combination, they feed off each other and you'll see improvements in both.
Running has been mentioned already, and it's a great practice especially for distance. Might I recommend this book, Running with the Mind of Meditation. The author goes over the practice of meditation on its own, and then delves into multiple ways you can carry it over into your running practice. It's a wonderful read -- if you'd like a more extensive guide than you can find online, this is the book for you.
Also, meditation has helped me tremendously with weight training, if you're interested in that (which I also recommend! Besides the obvious physical benefits, research has shown that resistance training benefits include increased self-efficacy, memory, cognitive abilities and muscle relaxation while reducing risks of anxiety and depression). I haven't stumbled across much literature on it, but it's a great opportunity to practice mindfulness since your body is undergoing tremendous stress and is reacting to it. One note, don't listen to music like so many people do at the gym; it hinders the meditative experience. Between sets, you can ask yourself, how do my muscles feel? Am I in pain? Or you can lay back and visualize or practice the form for the lift you just performed, focusing all your mental energy on mastering the form. While you lift, focus entirely on form and breath, nothing else. Make sure you are entirely under control, as many people swing weights to cheat out reps or try and lift too much and don't use the proper form. Feel your muscles, are you actually working the muscles you are intending to target? It also makes you appreciate and come to love the "pain" that resistance training puts you through. You'll note how exercise makes your body and spirit feel good, strong and full of life.
Whew, okay. My point is, YES! Try it out for yourself, though, and find a form of exercise that you truly enjoy.
This is my first post on /r/meditation...I just finished my very first book of any kind on meditation, Running with the Mind of Meditation, and it's likely to be life changing.
I got it at the public library. Go get a copy!
EDIT: Sorry I got excited and hit post. It helps already with my breathing, and of course with mindfulness. I haven't used my ipod in a couple of weeks, suddenly I have somewhere else to go when I'm bored while running!
Hi, nice to hear you are enjoying it so much :-). I consider integrating it as well but haven't yet.
Two things I'd like to share with you:
Enjoy!
There's actually a book about it:
http://www.amazon.com/Running-Mind-Meditation-Lessons-Training/dp/0307888177
I'm a little surprised they didn't mention it in the article.
https://www.amazon.com/Running-Mind-Meditation-Lessons-Training/dp/0307888177 Is this what you're thinking of?
My knee-jerk reaction was to suggest hardcore introspective journaling but then I read the next line where you said you'd tried it and it didn't help.
In my head, the best way to get thoughts out of your mind is to stick them somewhere else so that your brain doesn't think it's missing out on something. I used to keep a notepad handy (until I got a smart phone) and a pen clipped to my keyring so that I could jot down ruminating thoughts whenever I needed my mind clear.
So it was more of a brain basket than a journal. But then I would also go back later and decide whether or not to write more about it. More often than not, after the duration of the work day, I would decide it wasn't worth any additional thinking energy and would cross out the jot.
But ... that was my implementation of getting my mind clear. Too bad it hasn't worked for you yet though. Hopefully the therapist will work for you.
Oh and I agree with what some of the other replies have said in that physical exertion helps clear the mind. I found this process best described in a book about running. I'll edit this post to include the quote once I find it.
edit: here it is and this is from the awesome book Running With The Mind of Meditation
>With an untrained mind, the thought process is said to be like a wild and blind horse: erratic and out of control.
>[...]
>In order to access the mind, the wild horse has to be tamed. That comes through the constant application of the meditation technique. Even though there are some mental benefits in running, they are usually achieved not by taming the horse, but by exhausting the horse. by moving, we are physically exhausting the wind. Afterward, we feel calmer because the wind is more settled. Thus the mind is more present and at peace. So the clarity and peace of mind we feel after running is mostly because the wild horse is tired, not necessarily because it has been tamed. The mental clarity brought by physical exercise is temporary. When the horse has more energy, it resumes running around. Then we have to go for another run, exhausting the mind again. Using running as a way to train the mind is incidental whereas the peace and clarity that come from meditation are cumulative.
>[...]
>Ideally, our daily routine will include both exercise and meditation.
So I guess the advice is to start running, and train up your meditation skills too.
https://www.amazon.com/Running-Mind-Meditation-Lessons-Training/dp/0307888177
I'm sorry but this is a just really low quality article which only purpose it seems to be capturing users for your mailing list. For people who are genuinely interested in doing some form of meditation while exercising, I've been recommended the book Running with the Mind of Meditation. Haven't yet been able to read myself though.
You might enjoy Running With the Mind of Meditation by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307888177/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_Fv5mzb9E9G857