songs of experience

I am hoping to teach a running class at nearby Duke University. Here is my outline (below).
Would this make you want to take the class? I welcome any feedback. Be honest!

Running Qi
… for women only

In Chinese philosophy, qi (pronounced “chi”) means “vital energy or spirit; life force”; I believe that running is one of the purest ways for women, especially, to tap into this life energy. In western civilization, women are fractured into so many relational personas (sister, daughter, wife, mother, worker, neighbor, friend, etc.) that we can lose our essential, singular self. In Running Qi, I will guide 20 women through a challenging 13-week training course that begins with a 2-mile jog and ends with a half-marathon trail race.

Along the way, each runner will be expected to keep a journal, complete reading assignments, and contribute to “circle time” discussions before the work-outs. We will use Clarissa Pinkola Estes’, author of Women Who Run with the Wolves, “general wolf rules for life” as our outline:

Eat - nutrition for female athletes (feeding your mind, body, and soul)

Rest - hard/easy training philosophy (“too good is no good”)

Rove in Between - trail running (getting “lost” and finding your path in life)

Render Loyalty - running sisterhood (what makes a good training partner?)

Love the Children - learning to mother yourself; seeking wise women/mentors

Cavil in Moonlight – finding your voice and using it

Tune your Ears - running injuries and prevention (listening to your body)

Attend to the Bones - the history of women’s running

Make Love – falling in love with running (passion versus obsession)

Howl Often - racing!

Texts: Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, PhD; Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindberg; Nine Stories by JD Salinger, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach; and various hand-outs by authors such as Annie Dillard, William Saroyan, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Christian Northrup, Eavan Boland, Jane Addams, and The Kitchen Sink.