just.listen

So, I recently had a post here about running--the purest form of exercise--and running barefoot--the most natural way to run--based on an NPR news story I recently heard: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128626037.

I accidentally deleted it...argh! For those of you who were unable to read it...the gist of it was this: Running is said to be the purest form of exercise and many believe that barefoot running, because it is so natural, is the best and most pain-free way to run. As a runner who overpronates and relies on stability shoes to correct that pronation, I speculated that perhaps the mere contstraints of shoes have created in us the exact problems we need to correct with our running (just a thought?). The post went on to discuss how workouts at the gym (the elliptical, the rowing machine, the treadmill) seem to me the most unnatural way to exercise (you don't go anywhere!). I wondered at what point working out became such a disciplined activity--less "pure" and just another thing we have to schedule in our lives. This is not me knocking gyms at all, as my gym is what helps keep me fit. It was mere thinking about what if we truly gave ourselves over to "pure" forms of exercise? What if we just ran, or lept, or jumped, or danced--without fear, without distractions (perhaps as a way to find balance with all of our daily distractions), and just let the world move us forward?

Perhaps that's a lot to mentally unpack in such a shortened summation, but alas, I didn't want that message to get lost :) It has really touched me this week on my runs...and even during the 2 rest days I allowed myself this week. This morning's 5 miler was the best run I have had in a while, and I believe it felt so good because I let myself get off my schedule for 2 days. I took an unintended rest day and listened to what my body needed--not what the schedule told me to do.

Today's post is a combination of the deleted one and the message that hit me this morning as a I ran:

Listen to your body. Listen to your heart. Let the world move you. When you need the discipline of the gym, use it. When you need a schedule, follow it. But when you just need to rest or you just need to play, do it! That's how you stay healthy :)

Happy trails!