During a recent Chi Running workshop, one of the participants mentioned that she hated running. She ran because of peer pressure, even though she was often the one applying the pressure by signing up for races. Ironic?
She used the words “dragging” and “painful” – painting a bleak picture of her running life.
This isn’t the first time that I’ve heard that story – be it running, a job, a relationship, trying to lose weight…the list could go on.
What strikes me in these stories is the amount of resistance and tension.
The amount of energy it takes to “hate” or dislike.
If you hate running, how can you expect it to be pain free? or even fun?
If you hate your job, how can you expect to be good at it? To be engaged?
If you hate the effort it takes to eat healthy, how can you expect to do it?
In hating something, you resist it – and your body takes on that resistance. It tenses, as if you’re waiting for a punch. Tight muscles, scrunched shoulders, knotted stomach.
Wasted energy, all of it.
AND, if the tension persists, injuries/side effects occur.
You gain weight. Get shin splints. Throw out your back.
Often we move through this pain, assuming we have no choice.
We push forward. Try harder. Make it happen.Running is painful. Eating healthy doesn’t taste good. The job just sucks. Pushing through pain is never the answer. Usually, it leads to more pain.
Instead of moving through this pain, let it go. Release and relax the tension.
Make an adjustment. Be open.
I know, I know – easier said than done.
But work with me here – if you hate running, focus on what you do like about it.
The outdoors. Fresh air. Flashy running gear. New shoes. The feeling afterward.
If you have aches or pain, figure out the cause. See what you can do to make it go away.
If you hate vegetables, find one that you can tolerate. Or fix in a way that tastes good (without totally diminishing it’s benefits).
Less hate, more love. Hell, less hate, more like.
Be open, and let go of the resistance, or seek out it’s cause.
You never know what you might learn, and how easy it is to fix.
