Recently there has been much discussion and debate about how to run with respect to foot strike. The advice ranges but it is in general focused to how to land the foot. Much of the advice is also purist in nature – meaning a position that there is only one ‘right’ way to land properly for all people and all running situations.

My only advice to you if you come across positions like this is to run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. The position is not intended to serve you, it is intended to serve the source. A true coach or advocate, in my opinion, would share options so you can make your own decision.

As mentioned above, most of the advice I see is on what part of the foot touches the ground (first or in total). There is probably more to it than that; for example the position of the leg/foot when it touches the ground and the direction the foot is moving when it touches the ground may also be important factors.

But Foot “Landing” is still only one component of foot strike. A second important component is

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Alignment is a key element for running form efficiency and injury prevention. When you are aligned a higher level of relaxation is possible. These are the two primary concepts in ChiRunning® – Alignment and Relaxation and the balance between them. The more you are aligned, the less you need your muscles. The less you use your muscles, the easier it is to stay aligned. But too much alignment without relaxation and you may be too stiff to move. Or too much relaxation without alignment and you may be too loose to maintain your position.

Here are 4 Components of Running Form

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At the beginning of the ChiRunning book one of my favorite concepts is introduced: “Your biography becomes your biology” [1]. We all have a biography that shapes our present moment, both physically and mentally. The good news is that “with a little patience and perseverance” we have the ability to add new choices and habits to our biography, providing far-reaching benefits to our health, fitness and well-being.

I was a very active kid and enjoyed a lot of different sports and activities. But as a teenager, running was one activity I did not enjoy. It was only a necessary means of

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If you have been practicing ChiRunning or ChiWalking for awhile, you may have started to notice the mental benefits of focus and using visualizations. I tend to find myself in a ‘zone’ more and more often. I tend to have answers and realizations pop into my head often when out running or walking.

Recently I was out on a run and the concept that ‘Everything is Energy’ popped into my head. This has been the subtitle to my blog since the beginning. When you get right down to it, everything is simply energy rearranged differently. For some reason on this day I was reminded of it. I started to think about this concept as I was running along a single track trail. I decided to consider everything around me, including the air, was

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Looking for a true gift, one to give or receive?  There may be no gift more valuable than a few simple ideas for lifelong health.

“The first wealth is health.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Most people are passionate about sharing ideas about healthy living. An important piece of the healthy living puzzle is fitness; also simply called ‘motion’. We are all designed for motion; our health depends on it. The challenge is getting moving and staying moving through repetitive motions that can sometimes result in

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The way we stand and move are habits formed over time from our life experiences. Making adjustments to your posture and motion will take time; but with consistent focus and practice, not nearly as much time in which those habits were formed.

In a previous post ‘A Journey of a Thousand Miles‘, the principle of Gradual Progress was introduced. This is a key principle for any change, not just your posture or your running/walking technique. It is a key principle of nature itself. Everything in nature transitions from state to state incrementally. When something in nature attempts to skip a step; and is inefficient or out of balance for too long, it is usually reminded of this principle with impact to its longevity.

Here is another way to look at it. If you had a choice, which set of steps below would you rather climb? Orange or Blue?

Perhaps most of us have never thought about it, but steps are designed specifically to allow humans to make Gradual Progress balancing effort with efficiency. Too little a step means too little effort and lower efficiency. Too big a step means too much effort and lower efficiency. Steps have a height (rise) and depth (run) based on their purpose.

If you have ever run or walked a hill and it felt much like a lot a additional effort, it could be that you were taking too big of a step. If you ever added too many upgrades (long, total miles, hills, intervals, etc) to your training program, you may have been asking your body to take too big a step forward.

When we take too big a ’step’, we can get out of balance. When we get out of balance, all kinds of compensations take over for the primary goal of survival (or the survival of the goal). We use more ‘muscle’, or other muscles not designed to handle the task; and maybe we sacrifice the long term to support the short term. Out of balance for too long, say in the repetitive stress motions of life, we can create resistance in the form of tension, fatigue, discomfort, aches/pains and eventually injury and/or dis-ease.

The question again comes back to “On average, what kind of steps are you taking as you move through the many aspects of your life?” … both physically and mentally. Are they steps balancing effort and efficiency, maximizing forward momentum and minimizing resistance or  are they steps which skip steps and/or pull you out of balance?

I experienced the negative effects of this concept a few years ago through my running. At one point, I struggled to run consistently due to nagging injuries for almost two years. That was almost four years ago and I have been running injury-free ever since. What changed? I did. I was introduced to ChiRunning and realized that both my running technique and my running program was out of balance. Both were asking my body to move in a state of in-balance and against simple principles of nature.

As I changed my approach to my running(*) through ChiRunning for effortless, injury-free running, I never expected its simple principles of nature to also teach me so much about the rest of life in nature. At first I thought this the bonus, but now realize it was clearly the prize.

[* and later my walking through ChiWalking so I can apply the principles all day long.]

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David Stretanski is a holistic health, fitness and wellness coach and Certified ChiRunning®/ChiWalking® Instructor. For more information on David, please see his About Me, Contact page or his website at http://www.eChiFitness.com.

ChiRunning® and ChiWalking® are registered trademarks of ChiLiving, Inc.

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This past Saturday 9/21/09 was the first of two 50M ultras on the fall schedule.  The event was the North Face Endurance Event/Gore-Tex 50 Mile Ultra just outside of Washington DC (Algonkian Park, Sterling VA).  It is one of five North Face regional events across the country.  This course description provided in the race info packet:

“The North Face® Endurance Challenge returns to Algonkian Regional Park, Great Falls Park and the Potomac Heritage Trail again in 2009. The course keeps runners on their toes with ever-changing terrain. Overall, it consists of 50% singletrack, 40% dirt or gravel doubletrack, and 10% gravel carriage. The Great Falls sections are highlighted by some intense elevation changes, with steep-but-run-able climbs up to

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An August ultra?  hmm. On little running lately, hmm.  I may not have been thinking straight but it turned out to great ChiRunning® lesson.  Lots of insight into how efficient (and in ways how inefficient) I am running.  Almost no recovery today except for a little overall fatigue. I feel like a could go for a run today (the day after), but I won’t … maybe tomorrow.

Here is a brief summary of the 2009 Turkey Swamp 50K Ultra on

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Do a lot of walking or have a walking fitness program, but feeling inefficient or discomfort, aches/pains or injuries? Want to be more consistent or experience true enjoyment in your fitness program?

What if small changes to your Position or Motion could provide far-reaching benefits to your walking and your life? Walking is a very specific repetitive motion that make posture and technique very important.  Much of the discomfort, aches, pains and injury that occurs in walking is due to subtle repetitive strain or impact that builds over time.  You may not feel these effects until

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Like to run or walk but feeling efficient or discomfort, aches/pains or injuries? Want to be more consistent or experience true enjoyment in your fitness program?

What if small changes to your Position or Motion could provide far-reaching benefits?

One of those small changes with big benefits is to level the pelvis. Access the presentation below for more information on why a level pelvis is so important to your posture; how to efficiently level the pelvis and how to develop your ability to

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