Trail running (and running in general) used to seem incredibly Zen-like to me, too, Doug. After a half-mile or so, the mind would slide into a zone unlike anything else in my experience, that “runners high” I suppose, but also some serious introspection and ability to focus on thoughts. One close parallel to meditation for me, on a run, was an intense focus on breathing. I used to actually count my breaths for stretches of a run, or simply zero in on the in and the out breaths, and I could know my mile pace within a few seconds, could anticipate which foot would step over or around an obstacle several paces ahead—all sorts of interesting and surprising phenomena in the brain that just happened without me trying.

I’m not able to run anymore, but mountain biking offers a tidbit of those feelings, though it requires more active concentration and technique (with greater consequences to any screwup) and so allows for less of the mind-wandering and focusing tasks I enjoyed while running. But conventional mindfulness meditation feels different to me, in part because one pays attention to the mind and body at rest, versus when highly active.