Running As Self-Care
Running is one form of self-care, which is critical when caring for a loved one meeting a challenge.
My Mom's last year, I was running 11+ miles daily (6 at lunchtime; I was much faster back then), and the balance after work. It kept me calm and centered....in fact, my colleagues thought good things were happening in my life because I seemed content and serene. I hadn't shared my Mom's final illness except with a couple of close friends, so running kept me going and helped me function, instead of collapsing from fear, and worry and sadness.
Sometimes, during periods of stress, anxiety overtakes me and I can’t run....when I need it most. As running has always been meditative for me, this inability to calm myself was very bad, but in these instances I couldn’t make myself “go”. An acupuncturist suggested I meditate, sit quietly if I couldn’t run, for whatever reason. How had I not thought of this? Such a simple solution.
Has running been a form of meditation for you? When you were unable to run, because of illness, injury, other demands upon your time and energy, etc., what have you done instead to manage your stress?
