The Power of Positive Thinking

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow.”

-Helen Keller

It was a great run.  Although I stayed within my normal pace range, tonight I felt freer and faster than my last several workouts.  As my sneakers pounded the pavement in perfect rhythm, old injuries were suddenly relieved, my lungs pushed me forward and my legs kept up easily.  It was a great run.

Not ready to abandon the cool, late fall air, I laid down on my deck to cool down and stretch.   As I gazed up at the twilight sky above, I enjoyed a moment of svadhyaya, or self-reflection, and searched my mind for answers.  My question: What made my run so easy, so natural and so downright pleasant?

My distance was not cut short, I wore the same running shoes, and I travelled the same route as I have been all week.  Nothing there.

Perhaps it was that glass of water I drank shortly before I left motherhood behind and took to the streets.  Or maybe it was the few bites of spinach linguini with crisp steamed vegetables I enjoyed with my family, even though I was trying to hold off.  Lastly, the perfect temperature of the air and the quiet of my neighborhood must have played a role.

No….while those things certainly didn’t hurt, they were not unusual enough to warrant such a positive outcome.

What else was different?  I need to figure it out so I can repeat the performance!  After all, if running could actually be fun, I’d be out there every opportunity I get, and just imagine the health benefits I’d have coming to me!

As I jogged, I felt that positive energy flowing through my veins.  With every breath, excitement, enthusiasm and pride fed my inner critic, and the more positive my thoughts about how I was doing, the easier it became.  I ran faster and further than I had planned before I left the house.

Patanjali tells us that svadhyaya will help us along our journey to enlightenment and inner peace by allowing us to reflect and study ourselves for an enhanced livlihood.  Svadhyaya requires of us honesty, faith and a willingness to accept ourselves for who we are, but also to act on behalf of self-improvement.

After a few minutes of stretching, breathing and recalling specific details of my pre-workout activities, I had my answer.

All day I looked forward to my run.  I had planned to go as soon as my husband was home from work, and I would have dinner ready so that we could still sit together at the dinner table, but there would be enough sunlight left for me to escape with my iPod afterwards.

It had been a few days since a run, but it had been at least two weeks since I ran outside and on my own.  Pushing my two-year-old in the jogger is not a bad subsitute, but I long for the freedom and lovely state of being completely alone with my music and my thoughts.   I take in the scenery, listen to my embarrassing pop workout music and for about 30 minutes, I am just Amy.  Mom is gone, just Amy, the person, trying to reward my body and my mind for a job well done.

I had announced to my husband that I really needed an evening run, and I couldn’t help myself from posting a status update on Facebook to the same effect  (The Running Gods made me do it!).  It was all I could think about from lunchtime on.  My run would be my time, and I was as eager as a golden retriever being let off his leash at the beach.

I believe in the power of positive thinking.  Because I was looking forward to the run and all its wonderful benefits to my body and my mind, my body responded by giving me great results and the ability to go even further.  When I drag myself out or to the gym, or tell myself I “should” or “have to” work out, my muscles and bones can’t help being insulted, and they retaliate with sluggish speed and a racing heartbeat.

I am still feeling the “runner’s high” several hours later.   I wish I could bottle this feeling and open it up whenever I feel myself dragging through another average workout.  It’s so amazing, it makes me want more.  And so tonight, keeping the momentum going, I am already plotting and planning my next great solo run.  As long as I think positively, I’ll be rewarded both on and off the course.

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