This article was contributed by guest blogger and friend of The Guru Jake Lowe co-host of Running with Jake-The PLODcast, available on Podcast Guru or wherever you enjoy podcasts.
The physical benefits of running (and exercise in general) have been known for a long time, but in recent years the mental benefits of running have been receiving a lot of attention, and for good reason.
As well as lifting our energy, reducing the risk of illness, and prolonging our life, running also serves to enhance our mood.
It actually makes us feel better.
After a day that started with frantically searching for the kids’ school shoes, a battle through rush hour traffic, an overwhelming inbox, and work meetings that you thought we’re never going to end, your mental state can certainly take a beating. Force yourself to muster the energy and lace-up, however, and 30 minutes later you find that proverbial reset button has been well and truly pressed.
Running is a fantastic vehicle to keep our minds healthy, as well as our bodies.
And in a world with so much uncertainty right now, and with anxiety and depression on the rise, there has never been a better time to take up the sport.
This is one of the main reasons I started the Running with Jake: The PLODcast. With the help of Podcast Guru, it enables me to support and motivate people all across the globe. You can be anywhere at any time and you are always able to download “Your weekly dose of running motivation” to help get your mind out of ‘a funk’.
On a recent episode, we spoke to Mark West, a run leader for Run Talk Run. A few years ago Mark was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. On the show, he talks openly and candidly about his own struggles, and how that helped him become passionate about breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health.
It is ‘good to talk’ for sure… but it is also good to run.
So why not combine both! There will be a million and one events that will happen to us in our lifetime that we have zero control over. We can’t control them but we can choose how we think about them, which will directly affect how we feel about them.
Running gives you the space to think clearly. To think creatively, to free the mind and think more with a positive mindset than a negative one.
Are you sold yet..?
Throw into the mix that it helps to create meaningful relationships with like-minded people (both on and off-line) and that it enables us to feel proud of ourselves as we accomplish personal goals, and it is very easy to see why running may just be the ultimate feel-good medicine.
It may well seem at times that “due to budget cuts, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off’, but just remember you always have the option to lace-up, bank a few miles, and make sure that the light that is deep inside you burns bright.
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