Openness to Experience—Rather than dreading and shutting out your own feelings and experiences because you think you can't handle them, you welcome with curiosity any thoughts and feelings that naturally arise, knowing they are merely sensations in the moment and the next moment can be different. You create mental spaciousness to contain these thoughts and fellings. Become aware of your experience as a flow of sensations, thoughts, and feelings and watch how these change and transform naturally over time.
Adopt the persona of " a curious scientist" and in this persona you intensely explore an unpleasant sensation instead of trying to get rid of it or avoid it ie. stopping your training session or becoming negative when a run become "challenging".
Step 1. Notice you have a feeling or sensation you have the urge to avoid ie. fatigue or discomfort
Step 2. Acknowledge the urge and choose to explore the sensation instead of avoiding it.
Step 3. Observe the sensation as if you the " curious scientist" has never experienced this sensation before. Use questions such as "Where is the sensation?" "Is it inside your body or outside your body?" " Where does it start and stop?" If it had a shape what shape would it be? " If it had colour what colour would it be?"" Is it heavy or light?"
Don't think too hard about the your answers, go with your first answers or gut instinct.
Step 4. Breathe into the sensation or breath into it and around it, whatever makes sense to you.
Step 5. Make room for the sensation and allow the sensation to be there. You don't have to like it or want it, just allow it.
Step 6. Notice you can have this sensation and continue your training.
This may seem all a bit strange or difficult at first, but if you want to become the runner you believe you can be, perhaps you need to train the "mental" side of your running also. You can use this technique to explore unpleasant sensations that you wish to address, a way to overcome your "fears" or thoughts that hold you back in your running performance or thoughts you use to classify your run as "bad".
Let go of bad habits, negative thoughts, self doubt, laziness and become all that you can be.........
