![\"Triathlon.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/96\/import\/assets_c\/2010\/08\/Triathlon-thumb-300x225-17269.jpg\")
<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nThe running, when it becomes an experience lived in the moment is a
\nsuccession of moments. And as intense as they may be, because attention is
\nfocused on now instead of moments from now, the crush of the future is
\nrelieved. Again, an important distinction is to attend to the experience of the
\nbody at the level of description versus the level of analysis. <\/p>\n
At the level of
\ndescription there are sensations, and these may be described as intense, warm,
\npulsing, constricting, sharp, dull, and so forth. Notice that I did not mention
\npain or fatigue. Pain and fatigue are labels applied by the thinking mind after
\nit has analyzed the sensations. <\/p>\n
By identifying with the label we are moved away
\nfrom the experience. I find that whenever I do this – think about how painful
\nthe running is or how much pressure I feel in my chest — I am apt to stop
\nrunning and walk the hill. However, I get a lot more out of myself by staying
\nin the moment of now and feeling the sensations rather than thinking about
\nthem. <\/p>\n
This is not the same as brute gutting through the experience of what
\nmight be called pain. We need to listen to our bodies and to extract any vital
\ninformation out of the sensations and perceptions we are having. We should know
\nthe difference between sensations that can be pushed through and those that
\nshould be respected. <\/p>\n
The experience of attending to sensations at the level of
\ndescription can become a useful analog for all of life with similar benefits
\nfrom staying with our experiences as experiences in the present moment. <\/p>\n
For
\nmany of us though, this mindfulness experience comes off with the running
\nshoes. No transition occurs and a split between our sport life and the rest of
\nour life can emerge. Daily meditation practice can help to eliminate that
\ntransition and to facilitate moving between the meditative experiences of sport
\nand the activities of your day, including all the activities we do such as
\neating, washing dishes, driving, loving, and working.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It’s Sport Saturday. This entry continues an essay on using sport to awaken. Click here to read part one and part two here. Mindfulness and sport-samadhi can also impact how we deal with exertion and the limits of our body. I have noticed, especially when I am running uphill, if my mind is engaged in a future-oriented…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mindful-living","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\n
Mindfulness in Sport: The Embodiment of Awakening (Part Three) - Mindfulness Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/09\/mindfulness-in-sport-the-embodiment-of-awakening-part-three.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mindfulness in Sport: The Embodiment of Awakening (Part Three) - Mindfulness Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s Sport Saturday. This entry continues an essay on using sport to awaken. Click here to read part one and part two here. Mindfulness and sport-samadhi can also impact how we deal with exertion and the limits of our body. I have noticed, especially when I am running uphill, if my mind is engaged in a future-oriented…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/09\/mindfulness-in-sport-the-embodiment-of-awakening-part-three.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mindfulness Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-09-11T17:04:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/files\/import\/assets_c\/2010\/08\/Triathlon-thumb-300x225-17269.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. Arnie Kozak\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mindfulness in Sport: The Embodiment of Awakening (Part Three) - Mindfulness Matters","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/09\/mindfulness-in-sport-the-embodiment-of-awakening-part-three.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mindfulness in Sport: The Embodiment of Awakening (Part Three) - Mindfulness Matters","og_description":"It’s Sport Saturday. 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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives. In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDoctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}