Sounds weird, right? I have no idea when or where I first heard this phrase but I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently. Over the last few weeks my runs have felt like an effortless effort. Like, I have to push myself to get out the door and I have to sometimes struggle through the first mile but after that first mile I get into a groove or a flow and by the middle of the run, I feel like I can just keep going for as long as I want to.
In doing some reading((https://www.learnreligions.com/wu-wei-the-action-of-non-action-3183209))((https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-effortless-effort_b_3036110))((https://www.himalayaninstitute.org/wisdom-library/effortless-effort-the-key-to-meditation/)) for this post I found it’s a concept of Taoism called “wu wei” which translates to “action of non-action”. It’s a bit difficult to relate it to running but very little hurts, my breathing is not labored, there’s very little wasted movement in my arms or body((I know there’s some because I haven’t had any “training” to run. I’ve read a lot about moving with intent so I try to keep things as tight as possible while running)) and I just feel at peace with my breathing and movement.