Our “civilized” world dramatically removes us from our natural environment. This greatly affects our health and longevity in a number of ways. A significant example of this is probably where you are right now – in a C.H.A.I.R. It does not matter if it is a desk chair, a lounge chair, a couch, or a car, train, bus seat. Google images for chairs and you can see how much of a mine field exists out there …
In general, too much sitting reduces mobility – and just as in nature, our mobility is directly tied to our longevity. But the reality is our lives, homes, travel, jobs utilize chairs for most of our day. So how do we manage this public enemy?
This blog is mainly about creating efficiency in our movement so that we can improve our health and, if desired, increase our performance. But this blog is also about supporting efficiency in all aspects of life. Efficiency in movement is created by balancing effort across all parts of the body relative to their ability. But what if one part of the body is not able to efficiently contribute to this balance; or worse yet detract from it? An example might be upper body vs. lower body or maybe the leg vs. the big toe.
Yet another relationship exists between “levels”. For example, muscles are limited by their “parts” which are cells. And all of those cells are in turn limited by
Or more specifically, is it possible to be be fit but not healthy? This question relates back to “Why do I run?” When I started ChiRunning many years ago my running goal was efficiency while getting beyond the 2+ years of frustration due to nagging injuries. But my goal, the real goal, was health.
Fitness can certainly help you be healthy. But I am learning more and more that you can be fit and not be healthy. You can run a very fast 5K and not really be healthy. This is one of the reasons I don’t focus on short races or speed; they are not in the critical path of my health goals. Someday I will likely come back to them, but I have a feeling my performance will be mainly the result of my health more than the training.
A primary ChiRunning and ChiWalking concept is to move forward with momentum while minimizing resistance. In both running and in life, efficiency and longevity comes from gradual forward progress with your foot subtly on the gas pedal with limited use of the brake.
If you press on the gas too much, you will likely need to use the brakes more. If you don’t trust mentally, you will likely use the brake. Or some of us just ride the brake all the time not realizing that our actions are slowing us down. In my seminars I often ask the question “Who steps on the gas and
The term “Pre-hab” was first introduced to me in early 2006 when I first met the author of ChiRunning, Danny Dreyer. Interesting how other authors have now decided to use the term also, but I am not surprised since it so accurately describes an alternate path we can take in our fitness programs. An overall objective of most fitness programs is to get moving and stay moving consistently. This can be any kind of fitness training; strength training, range of motion, sport, walking/hiking, running, etc.
The most common path we find ourselves on is unfortunately the re-hab path. Re-hab is what happens when our actions create resistance towards
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
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
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
Recently there has been a lot of focus on the concept of running barefoot. Some purists suggest we should all be running barefoot, period. Personally, I don’t care for the word ‘should’. It implies someone else telling me what to do or be, when we all have to decide that for ourselves.
But can we just go run barefoot? To help answer this, consider how long it has been since you ran barefoot. 20 years, 40 years, 60 years?; most of us have not run barefoot since
As with most ancient teachings, a simple principle applies to all aspects of our lives. This one has been coming up a lot lately in a number of ways:
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. – Lao Tzu
And I am sure we have all heard that “it’s the journey, not the destination”. So we might consider that the quality of our journey has more to do with the quality of each step than on where we end up. A personal development mentor of mine, Jim Rohn, suggests that “wherever you are … be there.” Simple, yet powerful idea to be present and fully experience each
Many health benefits are possible from mind/body practices such as Yoga, T’ai Chi and Qigong. These benefits are the result of alignment, relaxation, flexibility, balance, breath, mindful movement and increased energy flow. These Eastern practices promote a healthy balance between stimulus and stillness, both physically and mentally. In the West, lifestyle choices often challenge this state of balance. We go from place to place and task to task continuously; often overextended and disconnected between our body and mind.
What if it is possible to practice eastern principles in balance within our western world of (over) stimulation; and at the same time create a
We are all creatures of motion, and the quality and quantity of our mobility directly affects the quality and quantity of our longevity. Quality mobility might be defined as safe, effective, consistent and … enjoyable.
In a previous post “Natural Running Technique?, the question of running technique was discussed via the following two options:
1. Run [or walk] the way you run ‘naturally’ [or subconsciously], and don’t mess with your technique.
2. Consider [posture and] technique; usually based on the body’s design, simple principles of nature and laws of physics for the purpose of energy efficiency and injury-prevention.
As noted in the previous post, we really need to define the term ‘naturally’ to fully
Bone Health is becoming a key health concern due to the statistics related to Osteoporosis and other bone health conditions. Based on a lot of on-going research on this issue for my work as a fitness coach and wellness consultant, below are a few points that I thought all might want to know about Bone Health.
Our bones are responsible for much more than just our physical structure. They are also a ‘bank’ of mineral reserves which the body uses for many metabolic processes; and are also a factory for our red and white blood cells.
Just like any other ‘bank’, there are deposits and withdrawals. Deposits are when we
A recent online webinar summarized a few key elements of nature we need to survive. The presented list was:
- Oxygen
- Water
- Food (Nutrition)
- Sleep
These elements of nature are certainly critical to survival … but many of us are actively working towards more than settling for mere survival; we are looking to have abundant energy and health to thrive. In support of this goal, we might want to clarify the above a bit more and perhaps add a few more
