What you'll learn
- This course brings together the practice of mindfulness with the sport of running.
- You will learn about mindfulness and how to apply it to running.
- You will develop a personal mindfulness practice.
- To overcome the thoughts, feelings or physical sensations that get in the way of performing at your best or enjoying a run.
- Together we will discover ways of managing thoughts & emotions so that you can overcome obstacles and reach your potential.
- You will gain access to meditations which will help you eat, drink, breathe and run with greater awareness of body & mind.
Requirements
- No requirements
Description
This course is an introduction to the idea of combining mindfulness with running. It is ideal for athletes, coaches and all of us who enjoy running. Whether you are looking to improve performance, overcome the obstacles of the mind or simply enjoy being out for a run. Mindfulness can support you.
This course is delivered over 4 sections containing a total of 16 lectures (3 hours of video instruction). The content of the course is as follows;
Section 1 - The adventure of mindful running. This will introduce you to mindfulness and mindful running. I will take you through exercises designed to help you think about how mindfulness and mindful running can support your goals. We will explore how mindfulness for sport performance & enhancement (MSPE) supports skills including concentration, focus, and ability to let go of negative thoughts. All of which can help us overcome thought, emotion or motivation based difficulties. In this section we will begin mindfulness with a mindful eating challenge.
Section 2 - Anchoring to the present. This will allow us to start practising mindfulness. You will have access to audio meditations which allow us to connect with the body, breath and sounds around us. We will begin using mindfulness while walking.
Section 3 - Noticing thoughts. As we become skilled at noticing our body we will also start to notice our thoughts, particularly those that get in the way of our performance or enjoyment. In this section you will be guided through techniques that allow us to diffuse from the power of our thoughts and meditations which allow you to practise putting space between you and the negative thoughts so that you can choose how to react. We will then put all these skills together and start mindful warm ups and preparation for running.
Section 4 - Daily practise. In this section we focus on bringing mindfulness into everyday life and making it a regular practise. We will learn ways of coming back to mindfulness when you need it most and we will begin a lifetime of mindful running. I will introduce you to visualisation meditations for running, and I will also give you my top tips on mindful running.
Who this course is for:
- This course is designed for anyone who runs and would like to build a mindful practice into their training. Whether you have a personal best on your mind or simply looking to enjoy your run a little more this is the course for you.
Instructor
I am a registered psychologist, a cognitive behavioural therapist, mindfulness teacher and a keen amateur runner. I completed my training in mindfulness with the Oxford Mindfulness Centre after graduating with a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology from the University of Wales. I am also a freelance writer and journalist, specialising in wellbeing, sports and psychology.
I teach mindfulness to people who have experienced depression, are living with long term health conditions, or simply to improve wellbeing. I am also trained to deliver a mindfulness programme for sports performance and enhancement (MSPE). This allows people to reach their potential in sport by understanding and working with their mind rather than against it.
On a personal level mindfulness has been a part of my life for many years. I began to combine it with running when I noticed myself being overwhelmed by negative thoughts. In fact I had a loop tape playing in my mind 'whats the point, give up, not fast enough'. Mindfulness has given me a chance to unhook myself from the power of these thoughts. With time and practice it has allowed me to confidently manage the difficult thoughts. As I have progressed mindfulness has played a role in developing an enjoyment of my sport, in enabling me to get out of bed on the cold wet mornings and it has given me a tool to free myself of panic and difficult emotions even when a run isn't going my way.