IS RUNNING SPIRITUAL ?
Running can be reflective, and with time, a spiritual practice. When running, the physical act of putting one foot in front of the other often transcends into spirituality. Most of us look at running as an exercise or a physical practice that we hesitantly or unwillingly endure for the sake of fitness. It’s also a metric we use to measure competitively to bolster our ego with our personal PRs, the number of marathons run and the speed. Running is much more than all the ego-boosting or ego deflating statistics. Running is the most ancestral and primitive activity that unites us all. It’s about survival, spiritual growth and transcendence.
As far as running is concerned, it has been a spiritual practice for me and a way of expressing my soul. I have found that running long distances tames my incessant mental chatter. The cacophony of thoughts creating a storm in my mind at the start of my run slowly lose their grip and begin to fade and evaporate as my run gains momentum, giving way to silence little by little, making my mind clearer and clearer till it dissolves into nothingness. When my entire being has faded away, the joy and peace flooding my mind start to fuel my run. And the run begins to run the run. Each step takes care of itself as my consciousness gathers into a moving meditation. Running can be a profoundly spiritual experience. It has been for a few runners I have known and for me.
You may ask why and how running can be a spiritual experience. Well, pounding our legs on the roads during long runs forces us to breathe deeply, connecting us to our souls. Breath is the bridge that connects life to consciousness, which joins your body with your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, you can run and gather your unruly thoughts and silence them to stillness. That is why running is a spiritual experience for many.
When some novice runners inquire how running can be a meditation? My answer is that -Whenever you run, you can pair your breath with your stride, which in turn will connect your body to the mind. With every inhale and exhale, you become mindful, enabling the unification of mind, body and spirit, which is what meditation does. So running, in a sense, is meditation and, therefore, a spiritual experience. The more you get in touch with your breath deeply, the more you become aware that you are not your mind. When you run, just for running, you tune into yourself and dissolve your whole being becoming the run in the process.
In 2018, I ran the Ooty Malaivasi Ultra in the Nilgiris in Tamilnadu. The route was undulating; it rose to the highest peak of Ooty, the Doddabetta peak, and descended abruptly only to ascend and repeatedly descend as it wound through the valleys. The air was foggier, but it allowed intermittent mild sunlight to filter through as it brushed against the gentle mountain wind laced with the smell of pine and wildflowers. I felt strong and suddenly enraptured after pushing through exhaustion for more than an hour. Around this time, not as anticipated, my endorphins kicked in far later than they usually did after forty minutes. As the runner’s high seized control over me, I stopped focusing on my ragged breathing; instead, I found myself intoxicated, taking in the breathtaking views of the distant blue peaks across deep, green ravines as the clouds flitted over them like giant white fluffy balloons. I knew at that moment that I was in the midst of a profoundly spiritual experience. At which time, I could recall feeling guided by something bigger than myself.
What that bigger something precisely is, I am not sure. But I know that I was at deep peace and ecstasy when I was out there–in the midst of the mountains, the woods, and the mountain streams. And that peace emanated soulfully and simultaneously from what was inside and outside. Slowly, I found my individuality dissolved and faded into a boundless being. It was one of the clearest, surest states. A state which cannot be described by words but only felt by my consciousness.
We, as humans, long for belonging, we yearn for a sense of connectedness, and we desire for whatever that world beyond might bring us. We may not know it now, but something inherently unique exists in human endeavours, like running. And, I have to say, few things make us feel more human than when we run. Running can be very effective as a spiritual practice when we intend it. The physical exertion that it demands helps us heal emotions and traumas as we release them from our bodies in this active state. We can make running a part of our spiritual practice and experience a more peaceful, healthy and injury-free life.
Focusing on our breathing will enable us to still the mind and become aware of everything, including the simple pleasure of running. When running becomes joyful, it frees you to be creative and think of the positive side of life. Appreciating nature, developing a connection with others, noticing how things in the universe connect, meditating, and stilling the mind facilitate introspection and help us become more whole as we run. When we explore the spiritual side of running, we can live a more balanced and peaceful day-to-day life. We can use running to build our intuition, balance our energetic system, note our body’s messages, and live according to our soul’s ultimate truth.
Dr.K. Jayanth Murali, IPS., is based at Chennai, India. One fine day, he decided to substitute smoking with running. Now an avid runner, he has never looked back since then. He has done a bunch of marathons and half marathons over the years. When he is not working, he is usually running or helping people discover the endorphins of endurance.
He is an IPS officer belonging to 1991 batch. He is borne on Tamil Nadu cadre. He lives with his family in Chennai, India. He is currently serving the Government of Tamil Nadu as Additional Director General of Police, Idol Wing CID.