Nikitha
Running, Jogging, Walking – A combination of these three is what begins my day. This new habit is a by-product of my key-stone habit of waking up early. If this habit is only for exercise, I have been doing yoga for 6 years. Why do I need to run?
Every exercise has its own advantages. I am not prophesying that running is better than yoga. But there are many other benefits to running other than usual benefits of the exercise.
Running for Mental Health
Running improves mental health and keeps us away depression. It reduces the levels of stress and anxiety. It also improves memory and brain power by producing new neurons and retaining the newly produced neurons.
Running increases Pain endurance:
When I was doing yoga, I hardly experienced any pain. But when I started running, first few days were really bad. I had severe cramps. I was neither able to sit nor stand. And it was for the good. I had millions of micro tears in my muscles which help in formation of new muscles. I developed the strength to endure pain.
Life Lessons from Running:
Running was very difficult to start for me. I gave up in the first ten days when I initially started it. I could not bear the fatigue. I had to take a day off from my work as I needed some rest. But it taught me a few life lessons:
Push yourself:
In life, there is no growth if you are stuck in the comfort zone. You need to keep pushing yourself to grow as a person. Running taught me how to do this. Whenever I feel I can’t run anymore, I tell myself just a hundred more meters.
Keep moving no matter what:
There is a saying “If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. But keep moving.” Every day I set myself a target of 3 Km. I walk, jog and run to cover this distance. I start with brisk walking, then run and slowly make it as jog and then walk till my breath comes to normal.
Never give it up:
It is easy to give up. Anyone can say I tried but gave up. How many of them say I did it till the last? Initially, even I gave up within first 10 days. But the second time I started, I did not want to give up. I went for a walk if I could not run. I woke up extra early on the days I had to leave early for work. But I did not give up. This attitude helped me in my work also. I used to give up easily previously. But now I go the extra mile to get things done.
Don’t do it under convenience:
Previously, I used to do things only if I were in the mood to do it. But now I do it because I have decided to do it. No excuses. No postponing. Running has trained me to develop this attitude.
What are you waiting for? Start running. Even if you want to run just for 5 minutes, even that is a good start.
Happy Running!