Yesterday, I ran the second edition of the Bengaluru half
marathon. It was an incredible experience to feel the energy of the seventeen
thousand participants across the different categories. The atmosphere was
really electrifying & wonderful.
Since, I didn’t practice well for this event; I was bit
reluctant to participate. But, the sheer thinking on the kind of energy that
gets generated in such events forced me to go for the event. There are couple
of points that I would like to highlight in this blog.
Test Platforms:
After that I achieved my desired health & fitness level, I was looking for
some test platforms to monitor my fitness condition on consistent basis. So, as
my age ticks every year, I know exactly how healthy & fit am I. I have
integrated such test platforms in my personal life such as long distance running,
horse riding, hiking etc. Primarily, long distance running helps to check the
endurance level and a good test to check the cardiovascular as well as the
respiratory systems. I use horse riding mainly to check my postures and spine
stability & flexibility. Now also, I am on the lookout for many such test
platforms to keep me fit & healthy. I feel that all these activities are simply the
extensions of yoga & to see how the mental, physical and emotional skills
that one developed in yoga can be applied and tested.
Performance: When it comes to the performance of my
running skill, I am nowhere near to those who are on the top of this activity. I
feel that top 10% of the runners are the real and serious performers. This is
true in any other fields as well. Even in our career, if we are not in the top
10% then we will have to go through some scuffle & there will be a sense of
incompleteness in our career life. My policy in life is to be in the top 10% in
those areas where we seriously invest our energy or otherwise, take enough
effort to reach that bracket. Rest of the 90% of the people are part of the
crowd.
My performance is now in the top 25% to 30% bracket. I would
like to invest sufficient time & energy to push to less than 20% in the
coming months. I am banking on the yoga skills that I developed over years such
as my deep breathing, flexibility of the body, efficient cardiovascular system
etc.
Misconception: Some
of the clients as well as the yoga practitioners believe that it is harmful to run long distance especially after
the age of forty years. They think that the knees and ankles will get stressed
heavily. They also think that yoga and running are mutually exclusive activities
and can’t be done together. In my experience, yoga is not a practice to keep
your mind calm, keep you fit & flexible and keep your stress level at
minimum. It is much bigger than these. Yoga is something which really shakes
the core of your being and changes the way of living that provide an
opportunity to explore and expand the different dimensions of life (health, wealth,
relationship & spiritual development). So, if one experiences yoga in true
sense then he will not equate yoga to mere physical & mental workouts.
So, just go for all theses activities such as long distance running
which not only serve as test platforms but give tremendous opportunity to
explore the abundance of the life.
Upgrade: All the
skills that you have learned by practicing yoga are to upgrade to your higher self.
You feel and see yourself in your growth path on day today basis. The ultimate
purpose of yoga is to realise the inherent power within ( Shakti- Kundalini) ,
bring it your consciousness ( Shiva ) and use those powers for the benefit of
others. So activities such as running are simply a validation process to reach
your higher self. I know made it almost like a ritual to participate on annual basis those mega running events of the country such Mumbai Marathon, Bengaluru Marathon & TCS world 10K. That is my commitment for my health & fitness. Would you like to join me ?
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