Barefoot in the Park

My ‘process of personal change and development’ to mindful running

I often get asked why I chose to study and teach Chi Running rather than other techniques. It is often considered a soft option or a little bit ‘hippy’ but I can assure you this is not the case. Chi Running can take your running to a level you never imagined. If you are prepared to put in the work, be patient, persistent and approach your running as a skill that needs to be nurtured, you will reap great physical and mental benefits.

When I first read Danny Dreyer’s book it made complete sense and as I started adopting the principles into my running I found it actually worked. I like Chi Running for it’s simplicity as well as complexity. A straightforward drill to ensure your arms swing correctly can quickly improvement your whole body movement, whilst working on relaxation and meditation can become a life-long process. Also, as a minimalist runner, I like the fact that Chi Running was promoting mid-foot strike and quick cadence well before any running magazine dare mention barefoot and five fingers were attached to your hand. The fact that I transitioned from a supportive Brooks Adrenaline shoe to Vibram FiveFingers and barefoot without any issues (allbeit gradually) suggested to me that my technique supported barefoot running.

In a previous life (not literally) I was a graphic designer and web developer. I loved the groundwork of creating a structure for a project (web coding) then allowing creativity to take over (the design process). At school German was one of my favourite subjects – learning the complex structure then allowing the mind to take over to become as fluent as possible in the written and spoken word. Chi Running works in a similar way for me. Focussing on technique (doing the groundwork) and then building on this by allowing yourself to relax – to go with the flow!

At mile 10 of the 2010 Bath Half Marathon just as I was expecting things to start getting tough quite the opposite happened. All of a sudden everything fell into place. I felt calm and relaxed, my breathing was deep and steady. My body was working harmoniously as a whole with flowing, no-interrupted movement from one step to the next. I felt a surprising amount of power from very little effort. Movement was happening with no pushing, my legs seemed to be floating underneath me, momentarily supporting my body weight with each landing. It was an amazing feeling. I saw then how Chi Running had improved not only my physical fitness but also general health, well-being and mental focus so, after over 20 years designing, I made the decision to change career. I wanted to incorporate my love of running with a business that helped others attain their goals and realise their potential. In 2011 I took a course in personal training then certified as a Chi Running Instructor.

So what does Chi Running have to offer which other programmes may not?

Chi Running is based on various T’ai Chi principles – think slow down (not necessarily speed), simplicity, balance, appreciate opposites, whole body movement, a connection between mind and body. Chi Running creates internal, mindful, smooth movement. You gain strength, calm, inner focus, energy, balance, better proprioception (awareness of where your body is in space), a controlled body.

Exercises and drills are your building blocks to create good running form. They are easy to learn and practice, not just when you’re running. The main components of Chi Running are practical and teach biomechancially correct movement patterns: how to develop good static posture and translate this into movement; how to allow gravity to help with the intention of forward movement; upper body stability and arm swing; optimal cadence; how to relax muscles that don’t need to be used – check your neck and shoulders now, are they holding tension? Muscles that don’t need to be worked should be relaxed. Unnecessarily tense muscles waste energy. Neck tension suggests that the chin is pushing forward forcing muscles to overwork and carry most of the weight of the head (around 5kg). When your posture is correctly aligned your head will be sitting on top of your shoulders, distributing the weight throughout the whole structure of the body. Imagine your head is suspended above your body, lifted by a piece of string from the crown. The neck gets longer and muscles release.

Once confident that you are progressing with the main components, Chi Running allows you to take your training to another level and to me this is one of the big differences from other techniques and where creativity can really begin. All to often we’ve got one eye on tomorrow and the other on Facebook and don’t spend time in the moment. Focus on the moment and a whole new dimension to your running can open up. Chi Running becomes a life-long practice such as T’ai Chi or yoga. Progress happens gradually with each stage of training forming a stable foundation for the next: learn good basic technique and get a real understanding of how this feels in your body; good technique is a stable foundation for increasing your distance; with good technique and increased distance your body becomes conditioned to allow speed to happen naturally rather than pushing or forcing – my 10k PB was two weeks after running the 2010 London Marathon.

When you take your running to this level, training programmes become multifaceted, much more interesting and lots of fun. The development process is emphasised rather than focusing purely on performance goals. Here’s a few examples of some of the more advanced focuses you can try:

• run a hilly route at the same effort level (or heart rate), total nasal breathing and shift the focus to the upper body on the uphill
• increase speed by relaxing and creating more of an intention to move forward and see how much easier this feels
• create a pyramid with your ‘minds eye’ (point at centre of forehead) and ‘eyes’ at each of your shoulders and direct your energy towards an object ahead, feeling yourself being drawn by this point (perhaps a runner in front of you in a race); focus on a point on the bottom of each foot at the front part of the instep (beware not to run on your toes) and feel energy from the ground feed up from this point to your dantien (a point three finger widths below belly button and about 2” in towards the spine) and a point in the middle of your lower back – a great focus for barefoot and minimalist runners.

On my long slow 10 miler last Sunday – in preparation for a 10k race this coming Sunday – I practiced the following breathing focus:

• looking at your body side on visualise a circular flow of energy (chi). Your breath pumps this chi continuously through two of the largest energy channels – one up the front and one down the back of the upper body
• breath into the belly (dantien) keeping the chest relaxed
• as the in breath hits the dantien it pumps chi from the base of the spine, up the spine, up the back of the neck to the crown of the head
• as you exhale the chi runs down from the crown of the head, through the forehead and down the chest, through the dantien to the perineum
• be sure to keep breathing and chi flowing continuity in this way with each breath
• as you run keep the pace slow so your breathing is controlled but keep a high cadence of 170-180 strides per minute
• hold the focus for 1 minute on, 1 minute off (breathing interval training)

I did total nasal breathing but to start with your normal breathing but make sure it’s deep into the belly and not shallow. This ensures maximum oxygen intake which in turn leads to more energy efficiency. You can progress to total nasal breathing as long as you have no restrictions in your nasal passage.

These focusses, and many more, can be combined with the standard intervals, fartlek and long slow runs and resistance training to spice up your training programmes keeping your body alert, responsive and constantly challenged and your mind active and engaged. At a recent workshop when I asked the group what motivated them to book the session one replied “I want to look forward to and enjoy a run. Not just think I want to get it over with”. Chi Running can change your approach to running.

I cannot emphasis enough how important it is to get a solid grounding in technique but sometimes we can spend too much time focusing on detail and not letting ourselves relax and go with the flow – focusing on a particular part of the body rather that the body as a whole – why do my calfs hurt? Am I landing correctly? If you are prepared to put in the work, be consistence, patient and precise you can then relax and let things happen. You’ll develop your inner power of intuition, be able to listen to and trust your body and be amazed at what you can actually achieve, not just in fitness and running but in your health and life as a whole.

PS if you are wondering about the subtitle, blame The Xfactor – I can’t bear to use the word journey!

Book a Chirunning workshop with Gray here. He is now doing half day introductions and refreshers to Chirunning which are a great idea.

© Gray Caws N8pt.com