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Why do people
run?
People usually run to lose weight, get
fit, compete,
feel part of something... Running does not require a venue, team mates or a lot of specialist equipment.
Is running easy?
A lot of websites and articles indicate that
running is easy to do.
This is an interesting assertion; suggesting that virtually anyone can just buy
a pair of running shoes and hit the streets.
Of course, this is true but it doesn't answer the question. Is running easy to do?
Quality of exercise
Most people who run have received no formal training in how
to run.
They just start running.
Little or no thought is given to technique,
alignment, good body use,
breathing, skeletal health, muscular tension,
coordination, accuracy,
biomechanics or suitability.
Running well?
The fact that you are running isn't proof that you are
running well.
By that logic, couldn't any individual with no tuition whatsoever
drive a car immediately or play the
piano?
Is your running healthy?
Some runners can run well.
Most do not.
If your aim is to get fit, then you want to avoid
medically unsound running practices.
Usually, people take bad habits of
body use from everyday life straight into their
running...
Bad posture
Most runners run with extremely bad posture:
• Elbows are stiff and locked (often raised)
• The body is leaning forwards or stooping;
either at the neck or collapsing at the bottom of the rib cage
• Shoulders are lifted; often one higher than the other
• Considerable tension in the upper body
• Frozen sacroiliac; immobile
• Knees twisted (the foot flicks out sideways)
• Weight is bearing heavily down into the knees
• The skeleton is not moving freely, naturally or
comfortably
This would be bad posture for any form of exercise. It causes serious
fatigue
and adverse wear and tear on the body.
The tension in the body uses energy and tires you out.
Stress
Many runners have careworn faces with deep lines caused by
emotional stress.
They don't look happy when running.
They look deeply upset.
Their approach to running is causing them to suffer.
Over-taxing, pushing the body and pursuing unnecessary goals is harmful and
leads to pain and
injury.
There are other ways to run and/or to get fit.
Tai chi & running
The principles of tai chi can improve your performance in a variety of
sports.
Tai chi teaches you to:
Relax the muscles
Loosen the joints
Rely on the centre
Use less energy
Focus on the means/method/technique rather than the result
Reduce the risk of injury
Accomplish more using less effort
Recover more quickly
The highly efficient
way in which tai chi uses the body can be applied specifically to running.
Tai chi lessons
Tai chi classes are concerned with awareness,
balance, whole-body strength, working with gravity
and applying tai chi in practical situations.
These skills teach you to feel your
body, to be immersed in your own physicality.
You learn to work within the natural range of
motion and use only the necessary degree of strength.
A runner can take these abilities and apply them to their
exercise.
Books
These books are an interesting read:
• Running with the Whole Body by Jack Heggie
• Fix Your Feet by Philip Maffetone
• Chi Running by Danny Dreyer
• Running Within by Jerry Lynch
Page created
1 June 1997
Last updated
16 June 2023
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