Running with the Mind of Meditation: Lessons for Training Body and Mind

If you run, meditate, practice yoga or just love fitness, you should absolutely read this book. I’ve always viewed my running practice as a moving meditation and wondered how the two disciplines converged. When I saw this book, I thought it could answer the many questions I’ve always had about the connection between running and meditation. Running with the Mind of Meditation is a wonderful read about two very synergistic practices. Sakyong Mipham is a Tibetan lama and leader of Shambhala, a community of over a hundred meditation retreat centers worldwide, and a serious runner, with nine marathons under his belt. He has run in the toughest of climates and the harshest of terrain (for example, running with little sleep in the Indian wilderness at 3:30 a.m. on one trip, and in knee-high snow in post-blizzard, frigid North American terrain, complete with moose and bald eagles, in another.) Saying Mipham is a devotee to both practices would be an understatement. His voice on the page is calm and meditative itself. His writing style is clear and clean, but also effervescent, brimming with energy and inquisitiveness. There is not a word wasted, or spared. The reader welcomes just another page before shutting the book. It's hard to put down. He instructs the reader on how to meditate and run properly. The body benefits from movement, the mind from stillness, so together the two practices make up an ideal mind-body practice. In meditation, he introduces us to the stages of strengthening and developing the mind. Long periods of overstimulation can affect our organs and blood flow. As for running, he says it is pivotal to be mindful, wholly present, to bring an attitude of respect, full-heartedness and appreciation to your practice. He applies tools from his meditation practice to running, but ultimately sees the two as separate activities. Still, he does discuss how the two converge. In what he calls a “dragon run,” for instance, you can run with a deep purpose and connect to an important theme that has come to the surface of your life. The run becomes a meditation as you focus on a chosen thought. For example, if you want to make a change in your life, running and contemplating that change may help you visualize and realize it. Moving the body, and bringing up an important though to contemplate, can be highly compatible activities. One thing that I did feel was lacking was any kind of explanation as to what happens to the brain during both practices, and if a similar reaction or experience is taking place (for instance, the appearance of theta waves in the brain that tend to appear during meditation or regions of the brain that are activated). This would have evidenced the link between the two practices. Personal experience is fulfilling, but since this is not a memoir but an informative book on the topic, some research or discussion of it would have been helpful. Still, for lovers of running, meditation, spirituality, sports, I'd add it to your shelf.

This book is pretty much what you'd think it is. It's a nice, light read to reframe your running practice in a more spiritual light. Of interest to me was that the author is apparently Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's son. They must have had some interesting family dinners. Dad shows up loaded with a young student on his arm, spouting awesome, but slurry, ideas about spiritual materialism and what not before he passes out. Son goes out for a run. But I digress... The author sounds like he's chosen a different path in his spiritual, and worldly, life. He produces a nice, digestible, beginner's approach to both running and meditation. If that sounds like a back-handed compliment, it's not. I enjoyed the book. It kept me fairly well engaged, and I'm not a beginner in either pursuit. If you're "in to" meditation, you'll know that you need the occasional reminder to get back on the path. The whack from the stick to wake you out of your drowsiness. Sometimes, I just need a new way to look at things... or a different way to practice. This book does both in a format that makes for a good read on a plane or in the hammock. It's not a masterwork and probably won't change your life significantly, but it might in a good, small way, and that's more than you can say for 99% of the things you read.

I've been running consistently (that is, more than three times per week and for at least twenty miles total) for over thirty years and have completed marathons, ultras, and Ironman triathlon distance races. Until I read this book, I wanted to have inspirational music plugged into my head and constantly searched for new play lists when the current one lost its magic to motivate. After reading this book, instead of seeking a mood created by music in order to have a good run, I now create my own mood or head out looking to see what I can find by being in the moment. There is enough on meditation in this book to quit looking for external stimulus in order to create internal motivation. You can create your own motivation and enjoy running (or any endurance event) without outside assistance beyond what you can perceive from your surroundings, whether in the woods or the city. This book is full of moments when I stopped reading to underline something and nod to myself. Very good read and excellent practical advice. For an amazing read of what is possible in the realm of human endurance, check out The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei .

This book flows in a breezy, light-hearted way. At the same time, if you contemplate what he's saying, it's pure gold. By pure gold I mean both extremely insightful, and very down to earth - helpful in the nitty gritty of your running and your life. So it's incredibly profound without sounding ponderous or abstractly metaphysical. That's probably because he's writing it as an athlete, and addressing it to other athletes. The four stages of athletic training that he lays out are also very helpful. As a musician who also runs, I find I can bring them over to my musical training as well, so I'm sure they would apply to other types of sports. One other fun thing about the book is just getting to know the author. He's very candid about his life, and comes off as a humble and delightful person, even though he's a heavy duty spiritual leader. His stories about some of the runs he's been on are highly entertaining. One of the best books I've read this year, definitely worth the time and money!

Mit dieses Buch habe ich mehr Lust und Motivation zu laufen. Habe ich auch viele gelernt über Meditation und the power of the mind during sports.

Un livre fluide qui met en lumière ce qui est commun - et ce qui est différent - entre la course et la méditation. Une belle manière d'apprendre à courir - ou de revoir sa manière de courir et de progresser, en douceur et en conscience.

As the name suggests, a book about running and meditation. Admittedly not an automatic association of topics. The author is a meditation teacher and spiritual leader, in a Buddhist tradition. He is also a seasoned runner, having completed many marathons. Here he weaves together the mindset of running and meditation drawing out the parallels. Both need training, discipline and development; you can't pick up your shoes and expect to run a marathon any more than you can expect to sit once and experience insight. Both offer a place where, in due course, you experience both greater stamina and health, and also a feeling of ease and fluidity. Oh, and both are helped by yoga (his words!). A useful short book on learning meditation through parallels with running. Likely to be of interest to runners, mediators, athletes and yogis - we can all learn with an open mind, even if, like me, running isn't your comfort zone (good news walking meditation is covered as well, although I still search for cycling meditation). Worth a read.

Gostoso de ler e inspirador para iniciantes na corrida e na meditação. Adorei o livro é a maneira que se desenvolveu os dois assuntos.

e su come questa sia correlata alla corsa, su come le due cose siano complementari e su come fare meditazione correndo. Attenzione però, non è da leggere se si pensa che correre con "mind of meditation" possa migliorare le tue prestazioni, non è questo lo scopo del libro. Lo scopo è aumentare innanzitutto la consapevolezza del gesto e poi si spinge oltre (molto interessante le parti finali del libro). Bello se si è interessati ai due mondi.