Why jogging, of all things, I wanted to write about?
Firstly, jogging comes as one of the only activities I enjoy most doing in my otherwise boring life. Secondly, in the world of “who build the faster processor”, only activities like running, eating, JOGGING, and writing makes sense, if at all any, to my well being.
So, here are the 9 things I perceive as the outcomes of my daily jogging habit.
1) This long, luxurious, and self-gratifying life is going to make you depressed.
What I mean as depression is not what you feel when your favorite cricket team loses a T20 match. It’s rather, you’re turned into an emotional pressure cooker with its cap on, and the lid feels like blowing up anytime, as your mind, like a hung computer, plays repeatedly every irrational fear, worry, and confusion that you have been fed from mother’s womb to your tomb. And you would wonder whether killing yourself is the easiest way to shut the mind down, and sometimes afraid that you may even commit one.
But, every day, a dosage of 30 minutes run can help with you this neurosis. As every time the running releases the dopamine neurotransmitter in the blood stream, the delusional, impatient, craving, and instinctual self comes back to the absolute reality of calmness. As soon as you freed from this emotional rut, you would feel instantly all light. And you tell yourself, laughing, “Man, you’re a fool to hang yourself up”. “Just relax, that’s why politicians, extremists, and corporate are there for”.
And jogging make you feel light every time, exceptionally cleaner & efficient, than what a pack of cigarettes or sleeping pills, or whiskeys can do. Plus, you don’t smell bad or suffer nausea and stomach cancer.
2) All essential things in the world are free.
You don’t require a warmed-up swimming pool or a gym with noisy music. All you need is a pair of sweat-absorbing clothes and running shoes (although I increasingly read that bare foot running is the natural way). And from park to city sidewalks there are plenty of places for runners to explore — at no cost. Even if you travel a lot, it’s still easy to pack your running shoes and run while you’re on the road (but preferably on early morning, because there is more chance that you will not be run over by the “career people” who are always in rush as if they need to put the earth back in its orbit, while feeding it some more carbons).
An optimum amount of jogging/walking activity coupled with a bit of bending and stretching, after or before the run, is all it takes. And, add a few pull-ups & push-ups to it, you have got yourself a mini yoga or something like that. And hey, if you are the guy who worries about your appearance, for giving and receiving of love (or sex?), jogging does not do a bad job to your butt, hip, thigh, and tummy. Also, the sweat and fresh air won’t hurt, either. But, on a more relevant note, the aerobic activity, will open-up your heart & lungs and ensure the efficient flow of blood and oxygen throughout your body.
3) Eating right is your medicine.
I come from a place where we eat rice, more rice and then some. For generations, we do this, for breakfast, for lunch, and for dinner, without ever losing the appetite for it. But the problem with that is though, along the way, our plate of food become almost entirely whitish, lacking a colorful of variety. And, crucially, not only just we lost our forefather’s all-round diet plan but also never understood the hoax of modern vitamin and protein pills.
Moreover, in this maddening city life, the rice-sambar diet is barely enough even to carry out your daily personal & professional drama, let alone it cheers you up at 5 am in the winter cold. And jogging will backfire on you big-time, if you don’t consume enough calories to help your body recover after every workout. The longer you run, the more you worry about your intakes of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fats, etc, especially if you're a vegan. And this injury fear and fatigue would push your plate to become more colorful, with fruits, vegetables, sprouts, nuts, etc. Not only just that, you may also now cook your own dinner. And living in cooler place like Bangalore, jogging is an ideal workout for sufficient water intake (and for occasional beer too, as hydration!) necessary for your body.
4) Sleeping enough is your energy.
Exercise and sleep are inherently linked with each other. How you sleep influences how you exercise, and how you exercise influences how you sleep. Anything less than 7-8 hours night sleep is not going to be enough to self-repair your bodily system that you always use up insensitively.
If you are 5 am jogger, it may set your body clock so that you are wide awake during the day and sleepy at night. Plus it may help you to relax and go to sleep more easily, even in this device age, where we load & process tons of data, that when we go to bed, our brain refuses to stop processing balance sheets. And exercising outdoors, which lifts mood and relieves stress, can be highly beneficial if you are suffering from disease like insomnia.
5) Your morning can make or break your day
The 5-8 am, with the unruffled mind and silent neighborhood, is claimed to be the most productive hours of a day. And the 40 minutes of the physical activity could just act central in these hours for the nourishment of physical, emotional and mental system of your body.
While the workout, follows from the good night sleep, primarily helps me out to have proper detoxification and planned food diet, the brimming energy that follows from it, lightens up the mood so much that I can cheerfully go and spend the rest of the morning with some of the most demanding activities like meditation, reading and writing, which is to help myself emotionally and mentally.
And you don’t feel the improved mood & energy level not just for those three hours but for the entire day that you may go and earn your bread and butter without being too cynical.
6) The discipline of Jogging helps your immune system
Jogging is, of course, not an occasional event. Being a routine outdoor activity, Jogging will always help you to get, even if it’s a little, some cold winter mornings, some evening monsoon rains, and some scorching summer heats and even some muggy weathers in between. And as you are exposed to these extreme conditions, your natural immune system, because of your discipline, is prepared & improved to protect you from these conditions, as you become a little more of street boy.
Of course, it doesn’t mean that you won’t catch any infections at all. But, you would surely experience far fewer colds or flu since taking up running. And the relevant part here is that, with proper rest and diet, you can send now these germs packing on your own. The last time I needed any antibiotic is some 15 months back. Science says that light or moderate running boosts our body’s natural immune system by circulating protective cells through the body faster.
7) It teaches Mindfulness
Every day after waking up, the first thing I do is that I go through my regrets of yesterday and the anxieties of today & tomorrow, which would usually send my insecure self into a defensive shell every time. And as I start my run with this unconscious & grumpy mood, my jaws goes automatically tight, the shoulder gets hunched, the spine gets bent and the neck feels stiff. And I hurry through longer strides, with heals getting beaten up by the asphalt. And because of this body posture, the entire body now loads on knees, and the resulting drag would wear me down.
Moreover, the wandering mind, not aware of what’s going on around, would also make me frequently bump into the pockets of grandmas and uncles, who are all over the track and lost, in the gossips on politicians & actresses. And when this resulting small burst of irritation, comes from the lack of flow of run, reaches the physical discomfort being felt already, all hell will break loose.
Moreover, the wandering mind, not aware of what’s going on around, would also make me frequently bump into the pockets of grandmas and uncles, who are all over the track and lost, in the gossips on politicians & actresses. And when this resulting small burst of irritation, comes from the lack of flow of run, reaches the physical discomfort being felt already, all hell will break loose.
But this enormous physical & emotional discomfort during the unconscious running, would, sooner or later, alert you that something is wrong. And as you sense it, you mindfully straight your back up, and start landing on your toes, while listening to your breaths. You slowly take back your body load into hip, while allowing your jaw, shoulder, and neck to relax. As the body posture is being corrected, the half smile now slowly comes back on your face. And that's it, you are now experiencing the activity to its fullest.
Jogging always involves attention and awareness, and teaches you them until you completely learn to run mindfully.
Jogging always involves attention and awareness, and teaches you them until you completely learn to run mindfully.
8) It is a socialization tool
Some runners, like me, enjoy the quiet and solitude of running on their own, but others see running time as social opportunities. While I have no idea how good the activities like partying & travelling are, finding a running buddy or group, who share the same obsession, and working out with him/them is surely a great way to develop a sense of community. Running group is also a great way to stay motivated to run. Even a simple smile from a stranger girl around can out power the best energy drink in the world!
Also, regular runners report an increase in their confidence and self-esteem. In fact, one of my colleagues, after his first half-marathon, has gone and inspired his entire housing society now to run with him.
9) “Ah just felt like runnin.”
Running marathon is a world cup event for every hobby jogger. Not just because you have this abundant love for running, but also, as I secretly believe, every runner, by his nature, cares about social issues. He runs always for something bigger than himself.
But, Marathon is a serious endurance race, and, in fact, a voluntary suffering. During marathon, your legs, heart, and lung hurt up to a point, where all your senses would get confused of the sensitivity, and make the brain to shut down the body as an emergency procedure. And,while this, the temperament of the self would be reaching its humblest point, stripping down all its arrogance & prejudices in each step you take for the last 5 of the 42 kilometers. Your emotion get all too soft that you would feel like crying.
Thus, marathon=training. Beginners need to log at least 40 miles per week for 5-6 weeks to increase the chance that they will have a good race experience. And the regular jogging habit can help you to achieve this. Each week, you’ll add a little more distance in your run, and progress towards your half/full marathon goal. While I took 5 hours 15 minutes to finish my first full marathon last year, my routine jogging habit helped me this time to complete in 4 hours 40 minutes.
PS: The blog does not indent to mean that jogging is the one stop solution for all our issues in life. I think, in fact, there’s no such solution. And even if I sounded like that, it’s only because, my writing skill need further emotional workout.
Also, before starting your new jogging/walking routine, please check with physiotherapist and the concerned doctors on what your system can safely handle. I started my marathon training only after my full body medical check-up was cleared.
