3-D Run Meditation

Danny Dreyer guides you through a series of mental and visual focuses to help you see and feel the beauty of increasing the sense of movement.

Transcript

Hello,

This is Danny Dreyer.

I'm the founder of Qi Running.

And today I'm going to take you through a run where I guide you through a series of mental and visual focuses to help you see and feel a sense of moving through a three-dimensional world.

Instead of merely just looking at the road ahead as you run,

We all get too caught up in seeing our world in kind of a flat way.

So this is a way to really add some depth to your life and depth to your running.

So it's best to do this run in a place,

If possible,

In a natural setting where you're near a forest or a wooded park,

Maybe on a nice bike path somewhere.

It can be done in a city if that's all you have around you,

So don't feel like you need to always be in nature.

It has a better effect on you if you're out in nature,

But if you're in a city,

This can also have a really profound effect on you as well.

So find a trail or a bike path that is relatively clear without a lot of technical challenge.

And I want you to begin by just doing a nice,

Easy warm-up.

So as you start off,

I want to just have you feel your posture aligned.

Okay,

So really get yourself nice and tall.

Drop your shoulders,

Relax your arm swing.

And I want you to just run at a very relaxed pace.

It shouldn't feel like much effort at all.

And just start feeling like you're relaxing your body so that it's moving smoothly and easily.

So this is not a speed run.

This is a running meditation.

So you want to get into your running and kind of get your running on automatic.

Get your running as rhythmical and easy as you can.

So if you need to,

You can sync your breath rate with your steps.

So that your steps are at a nice cadence,

Your breath is synced with your cadence in some way.

Breathe in every two steps,

Out every two steps.

Something that really allows you to settle in to a nice rhythmical run.

So that your running can be going on in the background while your mind and your awareness is doing something else.

So relax your shoulders,

Let your arms swing nice and easily.

Don't hold anything tight in your body.

So just try to drop any tension that you feel.

Like I said,

Just try to run as easily as you can.

Let your running go on in the background.

Settle in to a nice,

Comfortable pace.

You just want to feel as effortless as you can in your running.

So you're not really thinking about your running while you're running.

Good.

Now I'd like you to relax your eyes.

Just soften your eyes.

Allow your vision to soften.

Don't focus on anything in a specific way.

Use kind of a general focus.

So when you're watching things go by you and you have a general focus going on,

You don't want to be describing what you're looking at.

Don't let your mind get busy in saying,

Oh,

That's a tree,

Oh,

That's a blue car,

Isn't that a cool house.

Don't let your mind get busy describing.

Anything you're seeing,

You're just in the middle watching things go by.

You really want to feel like you are almost motionless and the world is passing you.

Okay.

It's almost like you're riding in a car where you can be nice and quiet.

The road and the world is just going by you.

You're not moving through the world.

The road is moving past you.

Good.

Just spend some time softening your eyes.

Don't focus on anything in a specific way or describe it.

So now what I want you to do with your eyes is just allow your eyes to see things that are passing close to you.

Just the things that are near at hand in the foreground,

Whether it's trees that are close by or the road going by underneath you or grass or bushes,

Anything in the foreground.

Again,

Don't try to describe what you're seeing.

Just notice it and allow it to pass by.

Just watch.

And just keep this focus going for a little while.

Allow your eyes to rest on things that are nearby and passing you.

In the midst of it,

You're just feeling nice and centered.

Your body's relaxed,

Moving along,

And everything is passing you.

And you're watching the things that are close to you,

Things passing close by.

Just notice them.

You can look to the left.

You can look to the right.

Feel free to move your head around.

Look around you.

But only try to watch the things that are happening close by.

Just notice.

Good.

Just allow your eyes to rest on that which is nearby.

Next,

What I'd like you to do is while you're watching the foreground,

Notice that everything in the background is passing by more slowly.

And then allow your eyes to rest on what's beyond the near things.

So things are passing by a little more quickly that are close to you.

And then just allow your eyes to kind of rest on things that are in the distance.

Where I live,

There are mountains in the distance.

Or there can be even buildings in the distance or hills or trees that are much farther away.

And just allow your eyes to see what's far away while still seeing the things in the foreground passing by more quickly.

Sometimes I like to just allow my eyes to kind of rest on the things that are passing by more slowly,

Way in the background.

And then it's much easier to allow the near things just to feel like they're just passing by.

I'm not focusing on the near things.

I'm seeing that they're nearby and passing by,

But I'm not focusing on them.

So I'm allowing my eyes to go far and rest on the things that are farther away.

You can still be looking around.

Just notice the things that are far.

Again,

Try not to describe what you're seeing.

Just allow your eyes to rest and take in what's around you.

So remember,

You're keeping both near and far focuses going.

And just allow yourself to see the depth in the world around you,

Near and far,

Both blended together.

But you're really noticing that they are very different and they're moving at different speeds.

Really feel the depth in your world,

What's near and what's far.

Your world is not a flat movie screen that you're looking at.

So just allow yourself to see in 3D,

Both the near and far at the same time.

And then just allow your eyes to switch back and forth between near and far.

Look at close things for a little bit and feel the background moving but not as fast.

And then allow your eyes to rest on things that are farther away and feel the things near you passing by much more quickly.

And then just allow yourself to appreciate the depth of the world you're running through.

And really try to take in the fact that you're seeing the world in a whole new way with a much richer taste than before.

It's a big world.

Don't look at it in a flat way.

Really allow in the depth of what you're seeing.

Good.

Now go back to your running.

Make sure that you're staying nice and relaxed.

There's no tension in your body.

Let your shoulders relax.

Let your arms swing in a really natural way.

You want to feel like your stride is not an effort.

Just really sense in your body the speed that you can run at that is very comfortable and no effort.

Nice and easy.

At some point when you get really good at this meditation you can run at a faster speed.

But on this first one,

Just take your time.

Allow yourself to run,

But very relaxed.

And keep watching for the depth in your world.

Again,

I'll go back to the things that are passing nearby.

And then let your eyes rest on what's passing in the distance beyond what's close.

Look at the difference in shading,

The difference in colors,

The brightness of the sky and the background.

So whatever you're looking at,

It's also a nice exercise to always kind of be looking at what's behind what you're looking at.

What's farther?

What's in the distance?

While everything in the foreground is passing by.

Let your eyes drift between the two,

Between what's in the distance and what's close.

If you focus on what's close by,

Let your eyes rest on what's close by,

Then you kind of can feel the background going by.

You don't have to be watching it,

But you can kind of sense that you're actually moving through a three-dimensional world.

It has depth.

Feel the depth of your world.

Now,

The more often you practice this during your runs,

The more you will look for depth in the rest of your world.

You can learn to do this meditation while you're at the office.

Be sitting in front of your desk.

Feel the depth of the world around you.

What's going on outside the window?

How far away is the world outside the window?

How close is the world near you?

Really feel yourself in the midst of a world,

Not just in front of a screen.

So what's happening in your immediate environment and what's going on in the background?

This meditation will eventually help you sense,

Sense that on many other levels instead of just the visual field or just the physical world.

When you're talking with a friend,

You'll be able to sense what's going on with them right now.

Always be asking yourself,

What's going on in the background?

What do I see in the background?

It'll add depth to your conversation,

Depth to your sight,

How you see your friend,

How you see people.

What do you see going on right in the foreground?

What do you see and feel going on in the background?

You want to feel people in a three-dimensional way as well.

So transfer this meditation into the rest of your day.

And always be asking yourself questions.

What's happening right now?

What's happening behind that?

What led them up to what's happening now?

What led me up to what's happening now?

And when you do this with other people,

You can be asking yourself the question,

Kind of setting yourself up for this three-dimensional view of the person you're interacting with.

And you can say,

What's happening right now with them?

What's behind that?

What's happened in their past that might be shaping what's going on right now?

And you might be able to get more of a depth of field with the person you're talking with if you know what are the dreams that drive their actions.

What are you seeing in that person?

What's the hole and the depth?

How are you looking at people in a three-dimensional way?

So one more time,

Let's go back to your running.

Remember you're watching things in the foreground,

Taking in what's going on in the background,

And seeing everything as a whole and a much deeper view of what's passing by you.

Just feel yourself in the midst of a world that's passing by and feel how deep that world,

How rich it is with color and shape and shadow and depth.

Now the more you look for depth in the world around you,

Guess what?

The more depth you will have.

So the person that people around you meet has more depth.

Because you see more depth in the world around you,

You'll be beginning to live in that way,

Feeling that depth around you in a much richer way.

And as you feel it in a much richer way,

You will become a richer person.

Your experiences of your life,

Of the world will be deeper,

And other people's experience of you will be deeper.

Especially if you express your impressions of this world you're moving through,

This life you're moving through.

So I would suggest that during all of your runs,

At some point during your run,

Always try to let yourself drop into a nice easy sense of running,

And then let yourself drop into this meditation,

Even if it's for a few minutes or for brief instances,

Where you really put yourself in the center of things and allow the world to pass by you.

Look for what's close,

Look for what's far,

Really feel yourself moving and mixing with this rich three-dimensional world.

Feel how big it is.

We all spend so much time,

A lot of us,

In front of a computer screen that's only 18 inches away.

That's a pretty myopic view of the world.

Look up,

Look around,

Take in the depth of the life you're going through.

So I hope you enjoy this meditation,

And I hope you bring it with you in all of your runs.

Namaste.

Namaste.

Reviews

This is my first running meditation. I thoroughly enjoyed, thank you so much! 😊

Smooth run. Thoroughly enjoyed the meditation. Thank you

I felt like I could run for ever doing this. A great insight to also then take on board when back in front of the computer screen. Thank you 🙏💕🙏

wow, the practice of resting the eyes at one distance and attention at another is mind opening! I'll never run the same again. namaste

This makes me want to run when previously it’d felt “too hard.”

I really like Danny. I have his Chi running cds and really like his reading and explanations of the book. Very useful in my running practice.

I love the part about seeing more depth in the world will make our lives deeper and richer

Amazing! Thank you

It’s Amazing To listen to during my run and I improved my time.

I usually give a rating but not a review - that however was amazing! It truly transformed my run - thank you 🙏🏼

J aime beaucoup cette méditation pour courir 🔆 merci 🙏🏽

Loved this one! Was running on the treadmill and it was still great!

Meditation l listen to all
And are well done

Wonderful meditation. Really gets you out of your head and into the world when running.

Wow. So practical. This guy is good

Great meditation

This helps me running into dimension , thank you!

Great jog. Thank you.

Thanks! I bookmarked this meditation.

Great reminder to see more depth in every interaction. What is alive in you?