There’s more to running that merely placing one foot in front of the other and taking off like the wind down to the finish line.
And while running in itself is a great physical activity that helps maintain one’s optimum weight, increase endurance, build muscle and improve the immune system, not everybody can report on such good outcomes despite running on a regular basis.
If you find yourself easily stressed by work and family commitments or physically worn out by the day’s end, chances are your approach to running needs an overhaul of sorts.
The 10-week Tao of Running programme created by Stéphane Thiltgen, a certified holistic health coach, long distance runner and wellness expert, may just be the anecdote you need to live a healthy, productive and more fulfilling life through the physical act of running.
“The Tao of Running is a holistic life-transforming approach combining and interrelating running, mindfulness and nutrition to become a healthier, fitter, more productive and happier you,” Stéphane explained to FMT.
Relating his own personal transformation, Stéphane said he used to be a perfectionist but that this very trait resulted in a lot of needless anxiety and worry.
“I was good academically, good in sports and in just about everything I did, but it generated a lot of pressure and inner turmoil. And as I progressed in life it became more and more difficult to manage.”
“I felt that I had to change the way I approached life,” he explained, a realisation that led to a 20-year journey of self-discovery and transformation.
“I have been running half marathons and full marathons for about 25 years. However, the way I move, the way I use my mind, the way I breathe and the way I eat has completely changed,” he said, adding that rather than being an ego-driven runner obsessed by results, he was now a “zen runner” who ran to improve his health and well-being.
To earn his credentials as coach and trainer, he became a Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioner in 2007 and began Vipassana meditation in 2013, participating in two retreats of 10 days each. He still practices daily. In 2017, he formalised his nutrition and wellness skills with a certification as a holistic health coach.
Summing up the essence of the 10-week Tao of Running programme, he says, “It is more about learning to incorporate into your life and reinforce positive habits and routines related to running, nutrition, mind training, and other supporting habits.”
Not limited to the activity of running per se, the knowledge derived from his programme can be applied to any form of exercise be it swimming, cycling, playing tennis or even walking and hiking.
“These programmes are particularly designed for people who lead stressful lives, with or without previous running experience.
“These people want to be physically fit, mentally sharp and focused, and more connected with themselves while experiencing the joy of the process,” he said, explaining that his clients were anywhere between 30-60 years old.
Each group is kept small – typically six to eight – with a maximum of 12 people. The programme content is personalised based on the goals of the individual and involves how to maintain a good state of mental and physical health while eating right.
He also teaches participants how to run correctly so they use their energy more efficiently and not injure themselves.
“You cannot imagine the number of runners who are destroying their health because they don’t understand the stress they are generating in their body-mind system through bad running techniques, pushing too much for their level of fitness and by consuming too much carbohydrates.”
“They might look fit on the outside but they are probably unhealthy in reality. There is too much mis-information out there that many people buy into simply because they do not have the right skills yet to separate myth from fact.”
In his quest to filter out the bad information from the good, Stéphane is holding a free talk on two separate dates on how to live a healthy, productive and fulfilling life through running.
FREE TALKS BY STÉPHANE THILTGEN
April 25 – 8pm to 9pm
REGISTER NOW! SEATS ARE LIMITED: http://bit.ly/Taoofrunningtalk