Balancing while running is one of the four components of Chi Running. After instilling good posture, finding your balance as you lift your heels is crucial to having effortless leg movement.

To find your balance you will need to “feel for” or in Chi terms, “Body Sense”, a mid-foot landing and not feel any muscle tightness or usage in your lower legs. Additionally, it is important that you feel your Dantien (life force) falling slightly ahead of where your feet are landing. This means you establish a balance between a gentle forward lean and an upright posture,

So what exactly will you feel when you are too far forward? Your lower legs will be working hard to hold your lean and this lacks efficiency. Remember we are trying to be energy efficient, allowing our core muscles to hold us in place while allowing the legs to relax.  So if you are upright and not leaning, you will feel your feet having to push yourself forward with every step. You want to find the sweet spot that is in between these two polar opposites.  As you run, try leaning forward and then slowly reduce your lean while feeling for the place where you’re running becomes easier on your legs. Then run without any lean and gradually add a slight lean from your ankles and notice how relaxed your legs become. When you find the correct amount of lean for your speed this is said to be the Window of Balance.  So, while running and regardless of your speed, you must always ensure you have the correct amount of lean by feeling for relaxed legs and no push off for each step.  The only muscles that you should feel engaged are your lower abdominal muscles.

Another way to think about it is when you were a kid did you ever try to balance a broom stick or baton vertically on the palm of your hand while walking?  Remember you had to adjust your speed and angle of your hand to keep it balanced while you walked. This is in essence what you are doing while running with your Column (shoulders, hips and ankles). It is this Balanced N Motion that helps Chi Running be an effortless and injury free activity.