The Headspace Guide to: Mindfulness & Meditation

by Andy Puddicombe

Exercise 9: running meditation This exercise is also available as a guided meditation at www.getsomeheadspace.com/headspace-book/get-some-headspace Before you get ready to go out running, try to get a sense of how you’re feeling. What’s going on in the mind? Are you feeling anxious, confident, or perhaps completely indifferent? If you have the time and inclination, you can even take a couple of minutes to sit down and allow the mind to rest before you begin. If you do this each time you may start to notice a pattern that will help you to respond more skilfully. As you get changed into your running clothes, begin to notice the physical sensations in the body. Perhaps the legs feel heavy from a previous run, or the shoulders tight from sitting at the computer. Or perhaps there’s a general feeling of lightness in the body. As with the sitting technique, this process isn’t done with any sense of judgment or analysis, you are simply building up an awareness of how you feel. Before you leave, take a good few deep breaths. This will help you to focus and give you a greater sense of being grounded. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. Once you’re running you can return to whatever pattern of breathing feels most natural for you. Try to do this at least four or five times before you head out. As you begin to run, at the same time as keeping a strong awareness of everything that’s going on around you, bring your attention back to the body. How does it feel now that...