It’s strange to think that an activity that calls for as much exertion as distance running could be so deeply meditative. It’s hard to see how, with all that sweat and exhaustion, there could be anything still or calm about running long distances. But there’s nothing unusual about using repetitive motion as meditation. Sufis spin to bring on a trance-like state, while Japanese Zen Buddhist monks undertake kinhin — walking meditation — to access worlds beyond themselves. The Bushmen of Botswana’s Kalahari Desert, like many people who live close to nature, obtain spiritual awakening through extended, ecstatic dance.
There’s something about repeated, rhythmic movement that takes us beyond ourselves: something, perhaps, that allows us to access the pure essence of ourselves; a natural simplicity that takes us away from the humdrum of daily life. It’s this aspect of running — the psychological and even spiritual depth — that takes many athletes to the long-distance run of the 42.2km standard marathon and far, far beyond.
– Gabi Micotta, “The Zen of Running”
Yep, it (almost) always worked that way for me.
There is the image of earth as drum, feet as sticks…speed work sounds like a peyote water drum. Rythmic, steady beat carries energy from earth to body to earth to body. A circle moving in space. Listen.