When Running Becomes Meditation: The Science of Two Ancient Practices

Have you ever finished a long run and noticed that your mind felt quieter, grounded, or settled than when you started?

Like something had been gently rinsed away.

That experience is not random, and it is not just endorphins. Science is beginning to understand what many runners have felt for years: running and meditation share something much deeper. They work through the same psychological pathways.

A landmark randomized controlled trial published in Journal of Health Psychology (N=413) compared mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, and a control group over eight weeks. The researchers found that both practices improved global mental health through remarkably similar mechanisms, in particular how participants adapted to stress. The key mediating factor was something called mindfulness self-efficacy: the belief in one’s own ability to stay present and regulate the mind under pressure. Regular runners, the study suggested, develop this quality even without ever sitting on a meditation cushion. The body can be a path to teaching the mind.

This is what the Conscious & Effortless Running framework calls Awareness (that second “A” among the four principles) When you run with open attention, noticing your breath, your foot strike, your body moving in space, you are not just exercising. You are training the same non-grasping, present-moment attention that sits at the heart of any meditation practice. The rhythmic, repetitive nature of running naturally quiets the default mode network, which is responsible for rumination and mind-wandering, a neurological effect also well-documented in formal meditation practice (Brewer et al., PNAS 2011). It’s not unusual to hear runners describe long distance running as “moving meditation.” It is not just a metaphor, and neuroscience can help us understand this.

In recent years, mental and physical wellbeing have been coming closer, particularly among runners who run to manage stress and prevent chronic illness. Strava’s 2024 Year in Sport report echoed this, noting that runners are adding more rest, recovery, and intentional downtime to their training. These behaviors are also present in mindfulness culture. For some, running could be becoming more about presence.

The next time you are preparing to train, consider this: you are not just going for a run. You might be learning how to meditate.

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