This is the first of a series of posts called “Running: What’s a Chakra got to do with it?”. I hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoyed writing them. It’s truly my passion- blending my Reiki, meditation, and running all together.
You run & feel really good, but why? I didn’t understand for years what was really going on until I learned about the energetic body through my Reiki training and practice. While running, we are “exercising” our energetic body as well as our physical one, which in turn makes us feel emotionally and physically well.
So, what exactly is the energetic body?
Your energetic body is made up of your aura, this is an energy field that surrounds your body and chakras, which are like little funnels or energy vortexes coming out of your physical body. For now, we are going to focus on the chakras. They extend out from both front and back of the physical body. There are 7 major chakras: Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Third Eye, and Crown Chakra. These are an everyday term in Eastern Medicine, but virtually unspoken of in Western Medicine. Although, I have noticed that more and more are starting to look at holistic ways to treat ailments, thus looking at the energetic body. Energy must be able to flow freely throughout all the chakras to maintain balance in the body.
What does a chakra have to do with running?
When a chakra becomes “blocked” or “de-energized” it can cause emotional or physical symptoms in the body. If 1 chakra is blocked, then the entire flow or circuit is effected as well. Think of it like a kink in a garden hose. Of course, it depends on which chakra as to what symptoms. When you run, you are sort of shaking out the chakras and clearing, energizing and balancing them, which is why you feel so good after. Running is like an unkinking of the garden hose and allowing the energy to flow freely. This is also reported as the “runner’s high”. Running has a profound effect on the Root Chakra, which is an common area for blockages and low energy. Next time you go for a run, tune into how you feel before and then how you feel after. Can you sense a difference in your subtle energy flowing? Do you feel more “grounded’ or not so “scattered”? Or maybe closer to God and clear headed? This may be because you have cleared out blockages and energized your chakras which allow God’s love (divine/universal energy-whatever you chose to call it) to flow freely through you. Which also explains why you may have some of your “best ideas while running”. Over the next series of posts I’ll break down each chakra and explain it’s function and signs of blockages/low energy. In the meantime, I would love to hear your experiences running now that your know about your energy body. Have you noticed any subtle changes before and after?
Happy Running!
Categories: Blog
Tags: allowing, chakra balance, chakras, how to balance the chakras, how to clear your chakras, inspiration, meditation, mindful living, mindfulness, motivation, root chakra, runner's high, running impact on chakras, running meditation, running motivation, self care, zenrunning