Putting My Body in Charge Not My Ego ?

Recently Ive been thinking about how to keep enjoying running in the long term without succumbing to malaise, injury, boredom, etc and i came across a great site on something called Chi Running

It's a method developed by Danny Dreyer, Ultra-runner, based on tai-chi and Yoga principles.

I was particularly struck by the concept on Non-Identification, (see excerpt below).... it fits right in with alot of things i have been thinking about lately...

Non-identification – A Balanced Approach to Running
In ChiRunning we utilize the principle of non-identification to help you in achieving your running goals, whether to get started on a running program, improve your technique, or PR your 10K.

Bottom line, non-identification requires that you get a grip on your ego. Ego is such a loaded word. Really, it’s not a bad thing. It’s a good healthy part of your psyche. However, when the ego runs the show, things can go out of whack. Non-identification doesn’t ask you to drop your ego, just keep it in balance with other aspects of your self and especially with what your body has to say.

When the ego makes the choices without being balanced with the input of your body and being, your workouts and goals are probably out of balance as well. The ego is a two-sided coin…it can either inflate or deflate your sense of self. When inflated, it may demand that you run a 10K in 50 minutes when your body is really ready for a 56 minute run. This is a good recipe for injury. When deflated, your ego might give in to the nagging ache in your knee rather than trying just a little bit more to learn to lean and therefore not strike with your heels. When your ego is deflated, you give up too easily.

Non-identification is the art of making healthy decisions and of seeing yourself from a balanced place without judging yourself. If you are defining your self worth by how well a run goes, either negatively or with an inflated sense of pride, then you are identifying with how you run. When you are non-identified, you evaluate your run, but not your self worth. You notice what you did well, what you need to improve upon and enjoy the process of learning and improving your running technique.