Lately, I’ve been thinking about my shoulder tension.
And honestly,
sometimes I feel like many of the physical problems modern people carry around
could improve simply by running.
Maybe the problem is that things are no longer flowing.
Blood flow.
The nervous system.
Even eating, digesting, and releasing.
The body is constantly meant to move and circulate.
Running feels like a bulldozer sometimes—
forcing all the stiff, stagnant things inside us
to finally begin moving again.
Like—
grrrrraaaahhh.
Aerobic exercise is kind of amazing.
But at the same time,
when I see people running in the city “for their health,”
I often notice something.
Surprisingly few of them actually look… healthy.
Sometimes I think,
“That running style looks hard on the knees.”
Or it feels like they’re pushing themselves to run
even though something already hurts.
Maybe running itself isn’t the problem.
Maybe the body needs to be prepared first.
…Though I know that sounds a little arrogant to say.
I happen to notice misalignments in the body easily.
I know what neutral feels like.
When I run,
I naturally pay attention to my core,
to how my body moves without strain.
So maybe I’m able to receive
the real benefits of running more fully.
And maybe there are many people
who haven’t quite experienced that feeling yet.
For me, the “right” kind of aerobic exercise
is when I feel refreshed afterward.
When my body feels lighter after running than before.
When I feel like I could keep running forever.
When my face naturally softens and brightens.
When I can breathe deeply through my nose,
filling my whole body with air.
And then gently let it go again through my mouth.
When that happens,
a soft little sigh escapes me.
Like—
“haaah…”
A sigh that feels a little like happiness.