Steve Haywood Health & Fitness

In the sixties there was a band called the Swinging Blue Jeans who sang a song called “The Hippy Hippy Shake” which was also sung by the Beatles. This was during the era of flower power and the advent of the Hippy movement, which was based on a return and respect for nature (there are many other things it was based on but this is a family article). What has come to my mind during recent runs is how about a Hippy run, let me explain further.

Firstly I am not a technophobe, I advocate heart rate monitors and use a Garmin 305 most runs. However, in that same 60′s Hippy era there were no such aids, you had to go on how you felt and were timed by an ordinairy watch or stop watch. I have friends who feel naked if they go for a run without enough technology to give them every statistic you can think of and they will tell you I have started working on them to try a Hippy run.

So what is a Hippy run? Think of one of your favourite runs, preferably through a park or in the countryside and run it without one gadget attached to your person, not even a watch. As already stated, you may feel vulnerable for a while but try it. Learn to go on how you feel, listen to your body, listen to the wind in the trees, slow down to take in a particularly nice view, say hello to people and relish the response (unless they couldn’t hear you cos they had earphones plugged in).

The serious message is this. Learn to interact with the environment, appreciate the world around you, learn to listen to your body and it really does tell you things. I am only suggesting say one Hippy run a week, try it, if you don’t like it go back to being plugged in. But you may just start to experience the wonderful freedom that running can give. If you keep going long enough there may be a chance that you reach a higher state of mind where all you can hear is “The Hippy Hippy Shake”

Forrest Gump on his Hippy Run - "I just started running one day..."