The last time I ran was 28th
March when I hit 8.1 km. After a hiatus of almost 5 months I got back on road
today. Thanks to minor injuries – shin / knee / elbow and a deflated spirit I
stopped running which was (let’s say still is) one of my key goal of 2015. I
got onto yoga and was sincerely doing it for an hr every day for last 3 months,
I also got into meditation in a big way – as there was a need to calm my chattering
mind (still is).
It was a nice feeling, as I ran, I
could feel the fresh n cool air on my face n body. I could feel the tightness
in my body after the run. Also I could feel a kind of stretch-wear-tear of
muscles in specific areas. One of the thing YOGA/Meditation does is it unites
your mind & body & today my running was different – unlike in the
previous stint i.e. Jan/Feb, when Yanni or my run playsit egged me to run.
Today I could literally feel myself deep inside various parts of body,
literally speaking to them. It was a nice integrated kind of feeling which I
never felt before.
As I walked back few thoughts
rambled in my mind which I will try n articulate. Focus or not to focus is
something which I always wanted to write about. I always believed that we
should experience new things in any form - music, book, exercise, people,
places etc. I strongly believe that you
will connect the dots – you have to keep looking for it though. But in
recent days our attention is getting split in numerous things – facebook, twitter,
TED talks, QUORA- the variety & depth of news available to us on the internet
& now on the go i.e mobile is making us loss our focus & you keep
re-creating the question – What I am looking for? What do I need? Now the flow
has become opposite – many times you receive the information and you then start
asking the question - Was I looking for this? Do I need this?
My running in some sense went
thru that – Yes, it’s fair to mention the injuries but I was not sincere to the
promise I made to myself. I think sincerity
to our purpose is critical especially things like hobby where there is no
result or performance orientation like a job. How to draw a line or create a
balance is for me & I guess for all of us is the toughest act. We have moved
from a situation of scarcity to a situation of abundance & it’s easier to
flow with the current than against it & most of us choose that as a default
mode.
I know so many people around me who
are obsessed about running, they talk about it, read about it, participate in
events, part of clubs etc. I used to always wonder – are they overdoing this? Maybe
for these people being obsessed helps them to keep focus.
At 45 – injuries are given, other
options like YOGA are always welcome which are more unifying and gives
centeredness vs running which gives you a high and a sense of achievement.
Choose! Wisely!!
Written on 15th Aug
No comments:
Post a Comment