chi-bliss...

Amazing how pieces of a puzzle can sometimes fit SO nicely together….Zak and I were over-the-moon excited to continue our ChiRunning certification by assisting Danny Dreyer, founder of ChiRunning, one week after the Instructor Workshop Training :)

It was stunning to work with Danny at Front Running Sports in Lake Mary AND at a full-day workshop at JCC on Saturday. Danny is an amazing and inspiring teacher/coach!

At both events Danny spoke of the communication between mind/body and the importance of Body Sensing while you run. He compared it to the union of a marriage. It made us all laugh because – WOW – we could all relate to the NOT listening, the challenge of communication, the selective IGNORANCE, and the battle of the EGO.

It made me think about a marriage course that Matt and I attended at our church and lessons that corresponded perfectly with the mind body union within the SELF….

• Making time for each other by scheduling & prioritizing ‘DATE TIME’.  Just like we NEED the time ALONE in our relationship sans kids, phones, television….so TOO do we need to schedule some ONE-on-ONE time with our body and mind during runs.  Time when we can listen to and nurture the needs that arise by being open and responsive to questions or issues.  It is often in these quiet runs that we may FEEL a nagging discomfort… and if addressed in a timely manner with kindness and love – adjustments to our form can be made, instead of ignored. It is important to PROTECT this running time together….away from interruptions and distractions by being alone – without music or your cell phone – and especially sans your pace watch….initiating open channels of dialogue where conversation can freely flow.

• Just as in relationships the language of our dialogue has BARRIERS: we FEAR sounding WEAK to our partners, we fear that our issues are NOT IMPORTANT in the grand scheme of things or that we just do not know WHERE TO START.  RESPECT your body in all its magnitude – it has faults – has made mistakes – and is vulnerable.  Love your body.  Simple gratitude for the ACT of running – regardless of injuries, speed, or history.  Acceptance will nurture a greater sense of JOY and inadvertently a better runner will emerge.

• It is when the exciting courtship of the mind/body connection in early ChiRunning MATURES that we learn to listen to and respect one another – knowing that at times the communication will still be challenging, but that in moving forward, one step at a a time, progress will be made.  It reminds me of the time my grandfather bought my grandmother some car tires for her 60th birthday – so,  when their anniversary came around that same year – gran bought him a dish washer….lol. Marriage and the mind/body connection is not static, it is forever changing.  We were designed to be dynamic.

As we left the workshop the sweetness and bliss of the “make-up after-the-first-fight” brought smiles to most of the runners.  Many fought hard that day to listen to the nuances of the body as we stood in new correct postural alignment, most ran in an unfamiliar way and were forced to just ‘FEEL WHAT IT FEELS LIKE’.

And with great humor – Danny joked that there should be “no tight-asses.’ Laughter broke out as we relaxed the tension in our gluteus as he demonstrated the effects of tight bums decreasing stride length…

So listen to the body – but have fun! ‘Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you’.– quote by Langston Hughes.  Don’t be too serious on your ‘date’ runs – remember to smile – it relaxes more than just the muscles in your face :)

As we embark on our ChiRunning journey, many more intimate conversations will be experienced on the road to ChiRunning bliss.

Happy Trails,

Nikki