Still Running: The Art of Meditation in Motion

by Vanessa Zuisei Goddard

Overview

Learn how to bring the power of stillness into your running practice with meditations, guidance, and inspiration from a long-time runner and Zen practitioner.

Running is more than just exercise. Running is a practice, a moving meditation, that brings the power of stillness to all the activities in our lives. Vanessa Zuisei Goddard combines her experience leading running retreats with her two-decade practice of Zen to offer insight, humor, and practical guidance for grounding our running, or any physical practice, in meditation.

When we see running solely as exercise and focus on improving our times, covering a certain number of miles, or losing weight, we miss the deeper implications of this art. Whether you are a new or experienced runner, you will learn how to be more embodied through thirteen running practices to help improve your focus and running form. Using mantras and visualizations, as well as a range of other exercises, Goddard offers ways to practice running as a moving meditation with an eye toward bringing the power of stillness to all the activities in your life. Ultimately, Still Running is a book about freedom, ease, and the joy of movement; it's about the power of stillness and learning how to use that power to live wholeheartedly.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611808193
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	08/11/2020
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	420,508
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

VANESSA ZUISEI GODDARD is a writer and Zen teacher based in Playa del Cármen, México. For the last ten years, Zuisei has been leading retreats and workshops to teach both sitting and moving zazen as a tool to develop mindfulness, awareness, and presence. For more information, please visit vanessazuiseigoddard.org.

Editorial Reviews

06/22/2020

Zen teacher Goddard combines Buddhist teachings with the sport of running in her brisk, appealing debut. A runner of 35 years and a Zen practitioner for over 20, Goddard uses meditation to remain present and “awake” throughout the day, whether at rest or on the move. She explores the relationship between Zen practice and running using the Buddhist Eightfold Path, focusing on right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration: “focus and consistency make it possible to push against the edges of what we think we know.” Goddard asks readers to investigate their intent, commitment, and discipline in regard to running, and how those same principles relate to other aspects of their lives. At the end of each chapter, she provides meditation instructions for formal zazen sitting meditation as well as physical practices including running form, abdominal breathing, blind running, and visualization exercises. Though running is Goddard’s jumping-off point, her main focus is on teaching basic tenets of Buddhist ideas and applying them to the body and mind in motion. Buddhist runners will enjoy this accessible, conversational companion. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

During my peak ultrarunning years, I started to see the long hours on the trail as a practice of something deeper than solely logging miles. Running became my vehicle to explore the connection between body and mind, and ultimately a deeper sense of my being. In Still Running, Vanessa Zuisei Goddard vividly guides us on a journey of moving into stillness, escorting us on a path of transferring those road and trail miles to our daily lives.”—Scott Jurek, ultramarathon champion, New York Times bestselling author of North and Eat and Run
 
“This is a lovely and unusual book, a book that speaks about the spiritual and meditative aspects of running. I enjoyed reading this book, which contains engaging mindfulness practices that can be applied not just to running but to seated meditation and many other activities in life. These practices will help the reader develop the most important aspect of spiritual practice, deep inner stillness, which becomes a reliable source of stability and ease in all aspects of life. The writing is fresh, succinct, inspiring, and laced with insights from the author’s three decades of running and two decades of intensive Zen practice.”—Jan Chozen Bays, author of Mindful Eating and Mindfulness on the Go

“Zen teacher Goddard combines Buddhist teachings with the sport of running in her brisk, appealing debut. Goddard asks readers to investigate their intent, commitment, and discipline in regard to running, and how those same principles relate to other aspects of their lives. Buddhist runners will enjoy this accessible, conversational companion.”—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher