Running Is My Spiritual Practice
The benefits of the lifestyle go well beyond aerobic fitness
I roll out of bed on a frigid January morning. It’s still dark. I throw on my running gear with extra layers, gloves, and a beanie. There’s frost on the ground. I can see my warm breath as I step outside and get hit by the wall of cold.
This is not an environment I enjoy. My body screams its desire to go back inside and hibernate through winter. But I press on into the dark air, steady my pace and breath, and am soon serene.
Like most runners, I run because it’s good for my physical health. But what gets me out into the cold on mornings like these is not my desire for visible abs or a healthy heart. I run because it’s my spiritual practice, and I’d be lost without it.
From recovery tool to spiritual conduit
When I got sober after 15 years of alcohol and drug abuse, I struggled to start a new life. I felt like I didn’t fit right in my body. To be on the other side of active addiction was a relief, but I was full of nervous energy, anxiety, and a feeling of incompleteness. It became apparent that if I didn’t find purpose and meaning in sobriety, I was sure to go back to my old ways.
