5 Meditations To Do While You’re Running To Help You Doubly De-Stress

Mind Body Green reports that the health benefits of running combined with meditation are profound; both practices can boost your mood and help bust up daily stress, and by repeating a mantra or affirmation as you run, you can amplify your mental clarity even more. Runner’s World reports that runner’s mantras are an excellent way to up endurance during challenging treks and marathons, and by focusing your mind in an intentional way as you run, you are engaging in a powerful total body meditation practice. You can check out some ideas for mantras and affirmations here.

Meditation practice pivots on being present with what is in each moment — no matter how uncomfortable a given moment may be. By breathing into any physical or emotional discomfort we might be feeling, we can help ourselves move through challenging experiences in a mindful way. According to Headspace, running provides an ideal opportunity to be with what is; if fatigue or discomfort hit during your run, just notice that they’re there, focus your attention on the sensations you’re feeling, and breathe with focused intent. If you need to adjust or take action — like the discomfort means you need to stop or rethink your pace — definitely do that. But by noticing what is, and breathing into that experience, you can either move past the discomfort, or make appropriate adjustments as needed.

Counting your footfalls as you go is one of the simplest and most effective ways to meditate while running. Yoga teacher Sarajean Rudman told Runner’s World that it’s helpful to “Head out with a number in mind … For example, count every step up to eight, and then count back down.” Rudman also suggested that “As thoughts start to creep in, notice them and return to your counting.” Rudman recommended using your footfall counts as a way to center and clear your mental stream — when your thoughts wander, notice that, and then return your attention to your counting. “Keep coming back to right now,” Rudman said.

Rudman further told Runner’s World that another simple way to create a meditative state while running is to note your surroundings, and name what you see — and you can also use sound for this exercise. “As you run,” Rudman said, “begin listing either everything you see or everything you hear as a way to calm what yogis call ‘monkey mind’ and enter into the moment you are actually experiencing.”

Meditation teacher Light Watkins told Mind Body Green that one of the simplest ways to meditate while running is to focus your attention on your breath. “One way to overcome an unfocused mind while running is to tune into the breath as an anchor,” Watkins said. “For instance, breathe in for two paces, and out for two.” Watkins further noted that by keeping your attention on your breath as you run, you can, over time and with practice, achieve a flow state. According to Zen Habits, a flow state occurs when our brain is quiet, and we are fully and completely immersed in what we are doing — and running provides an ideal platform for increasing this capacity over time. And whenever your thoughts start to wander, as they probably will, simply notice that in a relaxed way, and bring your attention back to your breath.

Whether you’re prepping for a marathon, or simply want to experiment with different forms of meditation, running is a powerful way to up your mindfulness training while taking care of your body, too. And with a little practice and consistent effort over time, you’ll find your meditative experiences deepening with every run you take.