"Get to know your mind." — Dr. Kasim Al-Mashat on The Extramilest Show #120​

Coach Floris here, hope you're well! In recent months I've come to realize that full awareness of your body and mind is a super power. This is the single highest-leverage action for any athlete. Most stress isn't coming from the run itself, it's from unaware thoughts, overthinking and automatic reactivity. Building awareness becomes the foundation for calmer training, deeper sleep, and better recovery.

Dr. Kasim Almashad is a psychologist who once had to step away from work due to stress, and later ran 12 half marathons in a single year (he is a member of our PB Coaching Program).

Dr Kasim also spent six months meditating in silence in Myanmar, waking at 3 a.m. every day. What he learned there changed how he thinks about stress entirely.

Today he explains the breathing technique that resets your nervous system in under two minutes, why relaxing is actually the key to better performance, and the one practice that changes your relationship with stress.

Click HERE to watch the full video with Dr Kasim Al-Mashat.

Topics covered:

• ​0:00 — Training the mind: Stress management for athletes
• ​2:22 — How you can reduce stress in everyday life
• ​5:50 — Simple stress-reduction habits
• ​11:03 — Awareness vs. living on autopilot
• ​14:40 — Running with awareness and listening to your body
• ​21:53 — How to start a meditation practice
• ​28:00 — Is there a “best” time of day to meditate?
• ​31:36 — How mindset affects training and progress
• ​35:04 — Key lessons and advice for runners looking to improve
• ​42:22 — Stress, cortisol, and why sleep gets disrupted
• ​44:41 — Practical breathing tools to calm the nervous system
• ​54:58 — Gaining perspective and appreciation for life
• ​1:00:46 — What long-form meditation teaches athletes
• ​1:07:24 — Managing race-day nerves
• ​1:11:18 — Simple mental resets to stay calm and positive
• ​1:18:55 — Where to find Dr. Kasim
• ​1:19:44 — How to become a happier, healthier, stronger athlete

​CLICK HERE to watch this new video.

Or listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

3 of many important lessons from my conversation with Dr Kasim Al-Mashat:

"Pay attention to what you're paying attention to."

Notice when your mind is replaying yesterday's bad workout, worrying about next week's long run, or judging your current pace, then gently redirect to right now. This one practice can transform a suffer-fest into a more enjoyable, efficient run.

"We're reacting to everything as a stressor when it doesn't need to be. We call this the paper tiger, something that feels dangerous but isn't."

Most of what drains runners isn't physical effort, it's unnecessary nervous system activation to perceived threats. Like the zebra that shakes it off and moves on, we need to stop replaying stressors in our mind long after they're over.

"If you overexert, it becomes rigid and unenjoyable. If it's too loose, you're not really there. The sweet spot is right effort, relaxed but engaged, like holding sand gently in your palm."

This is the "Relax to Win" principle in action. Next time you're forcing it at the later part of your run, remember: shoulders down, breath smooth, effort centered, relaxation helps with more natural running form, faster recovery, and surprisingly stronger performances.

Hope you enjoy this new video, CLICK HERE to watch it.

Cheers,
Floris Gierman
​www.florisgierman.com​

P.S. My new book Running Breakthroughs is available now worldwide as Audio Book, autographed book and eBook. It's a summary of 10 years podcasting lessons, takeaways from coaching thousands of athletes and my own breakthroughs in running and life.