This morning I went for a 50 minute run with my boyfriend in the rain. When the going got tough I wanted to stop.  I was getting bored and mentally I wasn’t in the game anymore.  Then I realized that this time last year I ran a half marathon without training (don’t EVER do that by the way) and I was able to push myself for the last 10 minutes.  Mind games can make us or break us.  Don’t let your mind chatter get the best of you.  Step out of your comfort zone and show that mind chatter who’s boss!

This is why I love yoga so much.  All I do for the entire class is focus on my breath. I breathe as deeply as possible for an hour and all my muscles have to do is follow the voice of my instructor.  Rarely do I ever start to question the work being done and rarely do I think about quitting.  I find if I just breathe the rest takes care of itself. However, if I start thinking too much and lose the breath I get into trouble.  I think about quitting.  I think about how difficult the pose is, and I think about laying on the floor in Savasana – corpse pose.  There is nothing better than Savasana!

So today when I ran and my mind chatter took over, I returned to my breath and kept on running. Deep breath in and slow breath out.  Over and over. It’s amazing what the mind can do when you push it.  If I had been un the middle of another half marathon I would have finished it, no problem.  But when you aren’t running with thousands of other people, it’s hard to stay motivated.  But each one of you has the ability to keep on strong.  Keep with your breath, keep calm, and carry on.