Running and Zen, or The Art of Doing Nothing

I'm a very active distance runner since i started in cross country my senior year of high school and I've kept it up in college as well; i recently finished my first marathon. A fair number of people think me a little crazy for running as much as i do, but I can't help it. I'm addicted.

There are obvious physical health benefits to distance running, but I'm addicted to the psychological benefits. Too often in my life, and I'm sure many others feel the same, I'm weighed down by my current fears and woes. Recently it's been my internal pressure to choose classes for next semester, thus choosing a major, thus choosing a path in life for myself after college. The ramifications of my choices now are huge, and have thus created a huge burden for me. I'm too often weighed down by fears of the future, regrets of the past, worries about relationships, etc. etc. etc. All that stress does some serious physiological harm to the body.

When I run, all that shit flies out the window. It's just me, the wind, the road, and nothing else. That moment of zen is what I'm addicted to. That moment when all of my mental faculties are focused on the next hill and not whether my major will get me into a well-paying career field, what my exam grade will be, whether this relationship will turn out a particular way, etc. It's deeply psychologically therapeutic and relaxing, and a great way for me to relieve stress.

On a related note, I recently went to a guided meditation session held by the buddhist student organization here on Grounds. I went because i was curious as to what meditation actually is and how one does it. It's a word i hear a lot from all over, but i never knew exactly what it was. So i went to go try it out for myself.

Meditation, it turns out, gives me the exact same kind of zen moment that running does. All it is is sitting in a comfortable position and concentrating only on the sensations of your body. Granted this was only an hour long session and i'm sure there are other techniques, but this was all I was exposed to. By concentrating different aspects of your body, you accomplish two things. First, you can consciously relax the tension in the individual muscles. Trust me, this feels great. Secondly, you are also not thinking about the past/future/etc. In my head i called this the "Art of Doing Nothing", and it feels great.

You dont have to be buddhist or some new age weirdo in order to meditate and enjoy it's benefits. It's a very good way to reduce stress, which is essential for physical and mental health in the uber-stressful modern era.

On a final note I'll include a warning. Although it does feel great to not think about the past and future for a while, it is unhealthy to not think about them to some degree. I think it's certainly possible to seek too many "zen moments" and have it become an unhealthy aspect of your life. Stress can be a good thing, it tells you what's important in life and drives you to focus your energies upon it. Finding a balance between stress and stress-relief is imperative for achieving well being. So many college students are already attempting to do this by balancing school work with partying.