In Still Running, Vanessa Zuisei Goddard vividly guides us on a journey of moving into stillness, escorting us on a path of transferring these roads and trail miles to our daily lives."
—Scott Jurek, Ultramarathon champion
& NYT bestselling author of North and Eat and Run
Still Running: the Art of Meditation in Motion
Drawing from her 30 years of running and leading running retreats and her two-decade practice of Zen Buddhism, Vanessa Zuisei Goddard offers insight, humor, and practical guidance for grounding our running, or any physical practice, in meditation. Using mantras and visualizations, as well as a range of other exercises, Goddard teaches us to experience movement utterly, its stillness, its freedom, ease and joy. Ultimately, Still Running is a book about the power of stillness and learning how to use that power to live wholeheartedly.
To order Still Running: The Art of Meditation in Motion visit Shambhala Publications or Bookshop.org.
"This is a lovely and unusual book… that speaks about the spiritual and meditative aspects of running…. [Its] practices will help the reader develop the most important aspect of spiritual practice, deep inner stillness, which becomes a reliable source of stability and ease in all aspects of life.”
—Jan Chozen Bays Roshi
Author of Mindful Eating
& Co-abbot of Great Vow Monastery
Still Running
When I decided to write a book about running and meditation, I knew it would have to be about more than these two disciplines. It would have to be a book about freedom, ease, and the joy of movement. It would be about mind, body, and…
An Excerpt: Running Blind
David, who’d been born blind, had arrived at the monastery with a foldable cane and a mild-mannered black lab—his seeing-eye dog. Despite David’s apparent limitations, he adjusted quickly to the routine with minimal help. He always seemed to know…
"Zen teacher Goddard combines Buddhist teachings with the sport of running in her brisk, appealing debut. A runner of 35 years and a Zen practitioner for over 20, Goddard uses meditation to remain present and “awake” throughout the day, whether at rest or on the move. She explores the relationship between Zen practice and running...focusing on right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration: “focus and consistency make it possible to push against the edges of what we think we know." See more
—Publisher's Weekly
Photo by Ryoji Iwata
Zen in Motion
Note: This article by Gabriel Lefferts appears in the August 31 issue of Tricycle Magazine’s Trike Daily.
Why, exactly, do runners run? “Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest,” the acclaimed novelist Haruki Murakami, who is also an elite marathon runner, wrote in his 2009 memoir…
Running Into Joy
Note: This article appears in the July 2021 issue of Lion’s Roar.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve battled a deep and insistent melancholy—an undercurrent of sorrow that seems almost intrinsic to who I am. Growing up I countered this sadness with a lot of effort, a lot of doing. I was always pushing—pushing to be…
Photo by Bruce Nascimento
Still Running • Interview With Jay Rinsen Weik Sensei
In this interview with Jay Rinsen Weik Sensei of the Zen Center of Toledo Zuisei shares a glimpse of her history, her years spent in the monastic life, and the work that led into the writing of her book Still Running: the Art of Meditation in Motion.
For more about Zuisei’s path, and her approach to practice and still running:
-An interview with blogger Smitha Murthy
-One Step Beyond Podcast interview with Tony Fletcher