Welcome to this guided meditation for runners.
Let's begin this meditation in a standing posture,
Inviting you to stand in a tall,
Upright and intentional stance with both feet evenly planted on the ground,
Ensuring that the head is aligned directly above the pelvis.
And if it feels available to you,
Inviting you to close the eyes or perhaps to just lower the gaze and focus on a spot in front of you on the floor.
And let's begin by taking a few nice deep breaths in,
Perhaps holding for a moment before slowly releasing.
And as you take a couple more deep breaths in and release them,
Inviting you to connect to the sensations of the ground beneath your feet,
Allowing the breath to settle now into its own natural rhythm,
Just allowing the inhale and the exhale to come and go,
Allowing yourself to breathe you without effort.
And as the breath settles,
Having a sense of settling into our own skin,
Coming home to the body,
To the present moment,
Perhaps having a moment of appreciation and wonder for the sensations of the heart beating within the chest and the breath arising and falling away without effort.
And inviting you now to connect to your intention,
Your why.
What is the purpose?
And perhaps that's to challenge yourself,
To push the boundaries of your own body and mind,
To explore what you're capable of,
To achieve.
Perhaps it's to take care of yourself so that you can live fully and well,
To celebrate life,
Or perhaps to honor those who are unable to run.
Perhaps it's simply to find peace,
Calm,
Or clarity.
Whatever is true for you,
Really bringing that intention to mind and connecting with it.
And if it relates to certain people,
Perhaps bringing their faces and their voices to mind.
And as you bring that intention to life,
To really connect with it,
Inviting you to sense into how that feels emotionally and physically.
Really noticing all the sensations and emotions that arise as you connect with that intention.
And as you notice and sense those,
Really allowing them to imprint themselves in the mind,
In the body,
In the DNA.
Taking a moment now to acknowledge your gratitude for this body,
This incredible body of yours.
That enables you to run.
And you might at this point like to place a hand on your heart or over your abdomen,
To really physically offer yourself some appreciation.
Gratitude for this heart,
For this circulatory system that pumps life-giving blood around your body.
For these lungs that breathe life into your body,
Into your muscles.
These strong muscles that work so hard for us.
And with that work,
Strengthen.
For these bones that support us.
And all the other organs and complex systems that work together to enable us to celebrate life through the activity of running.
And as this practice draws towards a close,
Inviting you to reconnect with the sensations of breathing now.
Feeling the lungs and the chest inflate with every inhale.
And the body and shoulders relaxing with every exhale.
Feeling into the sensations of the soles of the feet connecting with the earth below you.
And when you feel ready,
Allowing the eyes to gently open if they've been closed.
And perhaps bringing some gentle movement into the hands,
The fingers.
And I wish you now a wonderful run.
