Rituals – Page 2 – BLISS RITUALS

MAIN PRACTICE:

FINE-TUNE:

COMMENTARY:

1. Rhythmic Breathing – I cannot emphasis more strongly the importance of proper breathing. This key practice should be your starting point. Forget everything else, just pay attention to breathing. Try breathing deeper with regularity. Adjust the depth and rate of your breathing until you hit the sweet spot. The spot where you feel that your breathing, your leg movement and the music between your ears are in sync. This is the place where you feel the run becomes effortless. The runner and the run have become one.

1. Rhythmic Movement – Forget how fast you are running. Forget how far you are running. This is not a competition. This is also not a fitness program. There is no ulterior motive to running, no external reward at the completion of the ritual. The goal is simply to run, to be present during the run, and to become one with the run.
  Move with the music, move at a rate synchnised with the music, move not because your head thinks your legs must move; move because your legs are excited to move. Move not only your legs; move your entire body, move your arms back and forth, loosen up your body, let the rhythm take over! Watch dogs running in the park. They don’t run and play because they think exercise is good for them. They run because it feels good. It is a natural state of being. It is bliss.

1. Musical Beats – You must run with music. Music clears the headspace for awareness to arise. Music provides the rhythm for breathing and leg movement. Choose music that you love. Choose music with strong beats that excites your body. Experiment with different styles of music, find those that resonate with you the most, those that get you running off the bat, those that make you feel you never want to stop! You will find your musical preference changes as you evolve with your practice.
  This is my 30-minute playlist for running:

1. No Talking – I highly recommend running with a friend or a group of people. Running with other people can greatly help with our practice, keeping us motivated and connected with our ritual. However, they can become a source of great distraction and bring us out of awareness.
  While running, our attention is mostly directed inward toward breathing, movement and music. We see trees, the sun rising, people exercising. We hear the birds chirping, cars swooshing by, dogs barking. We feel the morning chill brushing over our cheeks, the early sun’s soft kiss on our skin, the strong, rhythmic beating of our hearts in the chest cavity, a drop of fresh sweat rolling all the way down the backside.
  
  Observe, stay in the moment, be the run. If you see your friend smiling, just smile back. That is enough for now. There is no need for talking. Share your experience and socialise after the run.

1. Run Daily – Rituals are ongoing practices. Practice Bliss Running daily until it becomes automatic. Your body wakes up without the alarm clock. You drink water, put on running shoes, do a few stretches, grab the keys and phone, set the timer, plug in the earphones, and you are out the door running. When running in the morning become a muscle memory, then you can stop thinking about running daily. Your body does it all for you. The practice turns into a ritual. It becomes a part of your life. It is effortless.

1. 20 Minutes Minimum – While the distance you cover while running does not matter at all, the duration of your practice matters. It cannot be too short. You cannot give up too early. Do not push yourself too hard. It does not matter how slow you are running. It does not matter how awful you look. What matters is that you are relaxed and enjoying yourself. Happiness is like peeing in your pants. Everyone can see it, but only you can feel its warmth!
  Your breath needs time to regulate. Your mind needs time to settle down. Your body needs time to warm up and get in sync with the music. Your heart needs time to pump up its beating. Your awareness needs time to lose track of time. When you forget the time, forget the self, become one with the breath, the run, and the music, you do not want to stop. You are in bliss. You are bliss. Only the sound of the timer will bring you back. Yes, set your timer for at least 20 minutes.
  
  If you are new to running, there will be struggle at the beginning. Just remember, breath, and move with the music, everything will be taken care of.

1. Early Morning – You can run any time of the day. Experience has taught me some times are more conducive to running than others. I find early morning, just before sunrise to be optimal. I am rejuvenated from the night’s sleep. The sun is rising. The air is fresh. The streets are stirring. The Earth is waking up!
  Bliss Running in the morning is your expression of self-love. You value and prioritise your well-being over everyone and everything else. When yourself is cared for, you become unstoppable in caring for others and the planet! Running gives back plenty more energy than I put in. While running, I am often flooded with insights and inspirations. As a matter of fact, this article on Bliss Running came to me during my run this morning!
  
  Running in the morning gets the body and the mind going. You will notice you have more energy and mental clarity at work. And there seems to be more hours at your disposal within the day.

Soft Ground – Most of the time I run on lawns in a park near my home. Sometimes I run barefoot on sand along the beach. Running around the block on concrete paving is hard on the joints. It is very likely to cause damage to the knees over time. Make sure you spend the money to invest in a pair of quality running shoes.
Become aware of how you land your feet on the ground and the lift off. Avoid roughness; bring softness and lightness into your movement. Feel your feet, love them, express your gratitude to them for they have been carrying you around all day since you were a baby, and they will continue to do so right to your last breath.

Tag: Rituals