Alignment and Relaxation in ChiRunning® is where the rubber meets the road. Or should I say shoe meets the road? In order for the relaxation during running to happen you have to be properly aligned or your body will be holding tension somewhere. I prefer to think of it kind of like a car alignment. If you have alignment issues, your vehicle's tires will develop wear patterns and will not be fuel efficient. Down the road if the alignment is not adjusted you’ll experience your tires wearing out prematurely and if it is significantly out of alignment your front suspension could have some issues. Does this sound familiar to you as a runner? Look at your running shoes and observe them to see the wear patterns. How about the aches you experience during and after a run? Is your front suspension having issues? Could your alignment need some adjustments?
When you are properly aligned while running your legs are landing underneath your body providing a brief support during the stance phase of your stride. The difference is your muscles do not have to be engaged because your tendons, ligaments, and bones are supporting your structure. As a ChiRunner you get to relax every time your foot makes contact with the ground unlike an upright runner who is actively engaging their muscles for propulsion. Regardless of the speed we are always falling forward maintaining balance to keep us in alignment. As a matter of fact, the faster we go the more relaxed our legs must be. The only muscles that tighten are the lower core muscles. These muscles are responsible for holding us in our lean from the ankles. While moving, you sense for relaxed feet, ankles, and legs and make slight adjustments until there is no tension being held when landing midfoot. With the relaxed lower part of the body, the runner allows the force of the oncoming road to move their legs. With true relaxation the pelvis will also rotate adding in more ground being covered per stride. This gain in inches equals speed without added effort. In order for this relaxed movement to happen you have to keep your alignment. If you start to experience tension or fatigue, chances are you are out of alignment. The first thing we tell our clients is to let off on the lean, check back into their posture and rebalance. Once adjusted, gradually add on the lean.
To have relaxation while running is dependent on alignment and alignment allows for true relaxation while moving. They are always used together in ChiRunning® to obtain an efficient and injury-free running style. They are like Yin-Yang or a two-sided coin always used together. If you’re looking for an easier way to run and relax, start with your posture and work with it all day, not just when you are running.
