Five exercises for mindful running

This month's guest blog comes from Living Proof Ambassador and amateur triathlete, Dan Hindsley - and is aimed at people adopting a neuroplastic approach to recovery from chronic pain and illness and wanting to return to sports.  You can read more of Dan's articles on his Medium page.

As you begin to recognise the link between thoughts, emotions and physical reactions, and your symptoms are subsiding - the time may come where you want to re-introduce activities that have long been avoided, such as running!

If you have been cleared to undertake general exercise by a medical professional, perhaps you could try these 5 mindfulness exercises that I introduced when returning to running following a 15-year break due to chronic lower back pain.

The thought of running used to fill me with fear and anxiety, however, practices such as these really helped to develop a mind-body awareness that I believe was an essential part of my recovery.

Dan completing his first triathlon in 2019, post-recovery from 15 years of debilitating back pain.

In my experience, these mindfulness exercises are ideally suited to gentle runs, where the objective is to keep your heart rate low and to run with as little effort as possible.

Noticing the quality of your breath

As you run, bring the attention to the breath and notice its quality.  Are you breathing through the nose or the mouth?  Is the breath short and sharp or long and smooth?  Can you gradually slow the outbreath as you run?  Notice any thoughts or feelings that arise without judgement and then bring your attention back to the breath.

Noticing your body alignment

As you run, experiment with your body alignment.  See how it feels to lean your upper body forwards for a few steps, and then backwards for a few steps.  See how it feels to raise your right shoulder and then the left.  Hold your arms higher and then lower. 

After each little experiment return to a neutral position. Try to feel how these changes impact your overall running posture.  Notice any thoughts or feelings that arise without judgement and then bring your attention back to the breath.

Noticing your connection with the ground

As you run, notice how your feet connect to the ground.  Notice if you land on your front foot, midfoot or heel.  Notice how far apart your footsteps are and then experiment with making your stride shorter and longer, wider and narrower. Do you push away from the ground with equal force on both sides?  Can you run with more efficiency and less effort?  Notice any thoughts or feelings that arise without judgement and then bring your attention back to the breath.

Body scan

As you run, slowly use your awareness to scan from head to toe and notice if there is any tension in the body. If there is tension in the body, try and outline it and notice its shape. What colour would you give this area of tension?  Can you change its colour?  Can you change its size and shape? Allow the tension to be there and smile. Then practice shifting your awareness to parts of the body that are free from tension, such as your hands, face, scalp or feet.  Notice any thoughts or feelings that arise without judgement and then bring your attention back to the breath.

Noticing your environment

As you run, notice what you can see, hear and smell.  Notice the space between sounds. Can you take your awareness to the horizon? Can you feel the air on your skin? Can you become aware of the air surrounding your body? Can you zoom out and picture yourself running on this tiny rock spinning in space? Notice any thoughts or feelings that arise without judgement and then bring your attention back to the breath.

Finally, as you cool down from your run and return to a walk, be grateful for whatever movement your body has allowed and smile!