Running tip # 3 Running efficiently

Running tip #3 of course follows on tip one and two. Be sure to read the other two tips on this page.
What is efficient running ? One definition of efficient is
ef·fi·cient
iˈfiSHənt/Submit
adjective
1.
(esp. of a system or machine) achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense.
So efficient running is moving forward with as the very minimum of effort possible. Efficient running is getting as close to effortless running as you can. This kind of running is more productive and less destructive to the body. It is also more beautiful to watch and more fun to do. It takes advantage of the superb human design.
Remember that the foundation of our running lies in the unique human upright vertical posture. The foundation of our running is thus in good running alignment and posture or posture in action, acture, which is a different concept than static posture.

How do we run efficiently? 1. Good alignment and good skeletal transmission of forces from the ground through the core and the spine so that the skeleton does the job of holding us up and the muscles are free for movement. 2. An easy elegant spiral through the core and spine. 3. Keep learning.
But here is a point that you may not have considered. Let us start with a comparison of the ideas contained in two words. First the word correct. The word correct implies perfect, and right. Correct implies that no further learning is necessary or possible. The word better implies improvement and allows for even further improvement and learning.

To improve, leave behind the idea of doing a correct movement or having correct posture. Leave behind technique and externally imposed instructions and corrections. Embrace the idea that you and your structure are unique. While not forgetting the foundation, ask not am I doing this correctly, but is this really easier for me, with my current knowlegde and my current body.
If we decide to adopt a "correct" posture and sit up, or stand straight, we are likely adding to the effort of an action rather than finding the easiest way to do something. We are entering into the realm of "overdoing it". We are bypassing the way of continual learning in favor of the technique, the external, the quick fix. To improve we must appreciate our unique selves. To run more easily use less force. Use less force in the learning process too. Trying is different than learning.

Enjoy yourself - Scott

Confidence: It's your secret, and it's your relationship to your now

Confidence, ultimately is about doing. What's your secret? How do you do what you do? Isn't that a favorite question of interviewers?

We want to know how successful people do what they do. We all want to shape our future. Yet all we have is the present. Our connection to the present is the shaping of our future. The famed Los Angeles Rams football coach used the say "The future is now". And how right he was. And the measure of our confidence is something essential that we bring to the present moment.

Confidence is the belief that we have the resources to do something. We have our personal gifts. They are our secret. We have what is necessary to achieve what is most important to us. Confidence is not imaginary. It is a deep seated belief in life itself. It is also personal, and universal . It is best mixed with humility, and hard work and it results in experiences. A low level of confidence produces a low level of experience, and a high level of confidence a higher level of experience. But confidence always produces experience. Steve Prefontaine used to say "someone may beat me, but they will have to bleed to do it" That is a form of confidence that showed a high level of commitment.

We can know confidence by looking at it's opposite. A lack of confidence is evidenced by a fear of acting, not being quite sure, never feeling enough resources are available, even by not doing the work. It is not honoring the space that we should take up, not knowing who we are, not shining forth. Fear and uncertainty are things that keep confidence from manifesting. So a confident person does not allow as much of these hindrances to work.

Over the last few months, even years, a definition of personal confidence has been forming for me. I must manifest who I am, and not think, that I don't matter, for I know I do, I must. This is my responsibility. It is what I intend to do now.

“Some people see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say, why not?” (Robert Shaw)
Faith is the substantiating of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
May you have successful running and living- Scott

Practices To Promote Progress

The Mind/Body headed in one direction is the path of progress. It is the way to step outside the ordinary and come closer being who we are. So what are some practices can help us achieve our potential?

Four components of life are thinking, sensing, feeling, and action (or motion) - M. Feldenkrais. All these components are inextricably linked, so to improve one may improve all.

Action is the first practical idea toward improvement and transcendence of the ordinary.

Notice that thinking and acting are tied together with sensing the environment. So learn about running form. Learn about your own running form. Learn how to cooperate with gravity, use momentum, and alignment and balance. Learn to use ground forces. Learn from others. Use video. Find a running form coach. Strip away the unnecessary. Leave what is the best use of your unique self and structure.

We have an inner sense of balance, and alignment too.

Notice that our thinking shapes our action. It interprets our sensing and creates and links with our feeling. This is key. Years ago I thought that affirmations were non sense. I did not think they could evoke change, they seemed like more of a trick , something that my mind would not buy into. But I had it backwards. The commitment exists first, and then the action takes place. We decide and then we "make it so". If we look at the four elements again, we see that the greatest affirmation is acting, which is actually expressed in motion. The united will starts with the intention in the mind and follows a path that creates a different acting, one where we act and move consistently with our intent.
Let your physical movements express your intention!

I recently decided to make an instructional video. But when I viewed my first attempt, I discovered that my facial expressions were saying the opposite of what I intended. In the second attempt, I dialed up the energy level, and connected in a much better way with the message I intended. It was a beginning. It was progress. It was not only much better but the sensing of what I needed to do spilled over into other areas of my life. Changing my physical actions changed the process.

Keep sensing !
Next - How to explore outside your comfort zone.

Tools of Transcendence And The Difference Between Will Power And Single Mindedness Part Three: A new term

Is it becoming clearer what reaching our potential is about?

By now I hope it is clear that there is a difference between will power which could be called stubbornness, persistence, bull headedness etc, and single mindedness. The illustration of two people rowing in opposite directions has served us well. Perhaps it is also clear that our potential is reached when we are engaged in what we really want to do, in who we really are and what we are made for. Many times we do only what we think we should do or what we think others expect of us. To do our duty with grace is good, but to live only for others expectations is empty. We cannot achieve our potential this way. But what if we introduce a new term. What if instead of talking about differences between will power and single mindedness, we introduce a concept that unites to two. What if we talk about the unified will? Now we have an idea that leads to the unlocking of our potential. A unified will, one that is less and less hindered by the drag of uncertainty and cross motivation is unstoppable.

When the entire Mind/Body moves in one direction, things outside our habitual ordinary experience happen. Michael Jordan was exceptional because of his focus. Mark Allen, six time winner of the Hawaii Ironman was a very smart and focused athlete. His spiritual and inner preparation was even more important than and in fact shaped his training. These are great illustrations, but I am not talking about being a famous athlete, but about the individual path of progress, the process that we all know.

Next practices to promote progress

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Good Running - Scott

Tools of Transcendence And The Difference Between Will Power And Single Mindedness Part Two: The Deeper Aspects

In the last post we illustrated the idea of forces that oppose our finding and expressing our full potential. But we did not give examples. Physical examples are easy enough to give. We have all seen it. We have seen the runner who goes down the road or trail with one arm flailing and the other barely moving, the runner who when we watch from the back has one leg kicking out to the side due to extraneous internal or external hip rotation, or the shoulders rounded and head down, or the front leg reaching out in an over striding motion. There are more subtle things of course, like just running with too much muscular tension.

But what difference does it make really? Well, the principles of physics say that energy that does not get used to produce motion goes somewhere. Actually, it produces heat. Unnecessary compression of joints due to too much unnecessary muscular tension produces unnecessary wear and tear on joints. Poor skeletal alignment produces what are known in engineering as point loads. The joints are loaded in one point only, thus magnifying the wear in the joint by a large factor instead of spreading force out over the entire surface of the joint. This is what causes running injuries. And if you happen to be competitive, who can imagine winning a race with some of your energy going the wrong way?

We can look deeper into the ideas of conflicted intention, cross motivation and what it means to be single minded. Imagine the picture of two people rowing a boat in opposite directions represents your mind. There is not a single mind, a single intention, but a multitude of thoughts pulling in many directions. I have been fairly persistent, stubborn, determined at times. I can give an example. I remember in school having been required to read some of the classics such as Moby Dick and A Tale of Two Cities. I set myself out a goal to read so many pages a day and by golly, I got the books read. But I did not enjoy the process at the time, and found my mind wandering often. I probably got something out of the experience, but nothing like I would have had I been interested and focused. Will power can get a job done, but it cannot unlock all of our potential. Only single mindedness can do that. The implications for our training are enormous.

more in the next post

Tools of Transcendence And The Difference Between Will Power And Single Mindedness

Look at the illustration below of two people in a boat, rowing in opposite directions. What will happen if the stronger of the two rows harder. The boat will speed up, right? But what is obvious is that with more effort comes more speed, but the situation remains inefficient. No matter how hard one person tries to speed up, they are still encountering resistance, drag, and extraneous effort toward the intention to move forward in one direction. Obviously, the admonition to just try harder here, misses the point.

If we take this as a picture of our physical existence, then we realize that our movement, our running can be improved, ultimately not by trying harder but by discovering and eliminating unnecessary effort.

While will power and persistence can be admirable qualities. They cannot by themselves allow us to achieve our full potential. "Trying" could be defined as using extra effort to make up for lack of skill. What results is less than our full potential. We reach plateaus and cannot make further progress. If we apply this idea to the mechanics of our running, we realize that most of us could benefit from becoming more efficient in some way. We can always improve. Most of us do not have action that is fully consistent with our intention of moving forward smoothly.

Most of us have a divided mind, a divided action in one way or another as a result of habit and previous learning. The solution is more learning.

Running Form: How Do We Describe the Ideal Movement Flow?

Here is a word that I would like you to consider; flow!

In previous articles we explored what effortless, well aligned posture might feel like and we introduced the idea of the learning cycle as applied to running form. The learning cycle involves the idea of a growing knowledge of good alignment in running combined with efficient movement where no extra effort is expended. These first two steps lead to more awareness, particularly awareness of how we are doing what we are doing, in other words the details. Awareness continually provides us with more information which in turn leads us back into the cycle of learning. 

Some have simply described running as standing tall and falling forward, letting gravity do the work. This is a wonderful idea and it may help a lot of people let go of effort, helping them to realize what an effortless activity it can be. It is, however, an incomplete description of the running motion. And what about standing tall?  What does posture have to do with running since we aren’t standing still? It is important to be able to apply the idea of posture to action, since our posture is continually being altered as we move through the phases of running.

Let’s consider the idea of walking upright, which is unique to man. When we look at the unique stance and walking motion that humans have we should consider not a static position called posture, but the general vertical axis of the human body. Mankind has the ability to turn around this vertical axis very quickly. The ape has a forward flexed posture and cannot turn near as efficiently as a man. 

1. Try bending forward and dragging your knuckles on the ground. 
2.  Turn quickly to face 180 degrees to the rear.  
3. Now stand up, taking full advantage of your central vertical axis and see how quickly you can turn 180 degrees. 
4. Now stand and place one foot a good distance in front of the other. Can you tell that your foot was not the only thing to move?  Your knee, hip, pelvis and back also moved to allow a large forward step by one leg. 
5. Now try standing with all your weight on one leg, let's say the right leg. The other leg is still on the ground but is used only for balance. 
6. Now with all the weight on your right leg, turn your torso to the left but keep your head and eyes looking straight forward. Make sure there is no tension in the head and neck as you do this. Can you feel that there is a spiraling action taking place in your body, and you are getting taller? Your weight is arranged over the standing leg.

 Your knee on the right side straightens your ribs twist a bit to the left and you get taller. You engage every part of yourself in sequence, from to standing foot, to the knee, to the power center of the hip and the glutes, the low, mid, and upper back. It is a spiral, flowing through the core. And yet it is so smooth and so fluid, that it is really all one movement. 

Your knee on the right side straightens your ribs twist a bit to the left and you get taller. You engage every part of yourself in sequence, from to standing foot, to the knee, to the power center of the hip and the glutes, the low, mid, and upper back. It is a spiral, flowing through the core. And yet it is so smooth and so fluid, that it is really all one movement.

Your knee on the right side straightens your ribs twist a bit to the left and you get taller. You engage every part of yourself in sequence, from to standing foot, to the knee, to the power center of the hip and the glutes, the low, mid, and upper back. It is a spiral, flowing through the core. And yet it is so smooth and so fluid, that it is really all one movement.

Efficient movement flows like a wave through the body. We don't run with the feet, the legs, or any other part alone, but as a system, as a whole person.

When our running is effortful, or injurious it is usually because of a breakdown somewhere in this flow. If our awareness of the overall flow of our running is increasing, we are on the right track.

Here is a definition of flow: flow (fl) v. flowed, flow·ing, flows. v.intr. 1. a. To move or run smoothly with unbroken continuity, as in the manner characteristic of a fluid.

So, running is a matter of coordination throughout the entire person. It is a sensing of how we are made and how we can move straight forward down a track or trail. What is not obvious at first is how much skill is involved in running. All of our bones must be arranged in precise fashion so as to transmit our ground forces well through the skeleton.

Watch David Rushida’s 2012 world record and gold medal performance in the Olympic 800 meter finals. See what great coordination he had between the upper and lower body, the unbroken continuity of movement. This is a quality that rewards runners at every level whether complete novice or world champion. Perfection is difficult or impossible but improvement is available to all. The specifics of what flow means are worth years of experimentation. But the concept of flow is one of the foundations of your running success. Take this word with you today and enjoy building on this foundation.

Scott Forrester is a Student Awareness Through Movement Instructor and a Physical Therapist Assistant and ACE Certified Personal Trainer at Mountain Valley Therapy in La Grande, OR.  Please leave questions or comments here at the blog or contact him at transcendentrunningease@gmail.com

Awareness in Transcendent Running

What is Transcendent Running and why do we talk about awareness?  What is awareness anyway, and how can it improve my running? Awareness is simply being cognizant of something. But wait, that is just using a synonym to define something. We might say that awareness is our ability to observe ourselves, to become an observer, a gatherer of information. Is awareness a general quality that we develop or is it used to develop specific skills in the Transcendent Running program?

The answer to both questions is yes. Awareness is a general quality that we can develop. Learning to observe ourselves is a skill that could be used to further our aims or find improvement in any area of life that is important to us. A favorite quote is "if you know what you are doing, you can do what you want” (M. Feldenkrais).   How do we know the details of what we are doing besides observing them? In other words paying attention to what we need to know, relying on the greatest computer and the greatest feedback system in the world, the mind/body brain. So we are aware of what we are doing and that is self awareness.

We also have another link in the learning cycle, the environment. What we know, think, and sense are all linked to it. That means many things.  One of them is that our relationship to gravity is a great teacher. We learn all movement in the field of gravity.

 

Transcendent Running can take you on an exploration of the value of generalizing the process of awareness, so that your explorations can include all areas of training, and form. Transcendent Running guides you through the process of expanding your running awareness and increasing concrete skills. It will introduce you to and guide you through lessons that will be based on the Transcendent Running learning cycle which looks like this.


Lessons will be helpful in improving breathing, posture/acture, pelvic rotation and coordination of the running movement through the spine and good alignment and transmission of forces from ground upwards through the whole kinetic chain of motion.

Form vs. Technique, Technique vs. Learning Part Two

The word form refers to either an ideal form or the actual current shape of our running movements, what it actually looks like right now. The word form could also refer to a current state that is malleable, and growing.
  

 As Americans we are accustomed to a "quick fix" mentality, fast food, quick answers, and high productivity. Unfortunately this attitude has been applied even more to running than to sports activities and functions that are considered “skilled."  Actually the best runners are masters of human movement. We settle for a quick fix of running form tips. We may pick up a DVD or a book that teaches a certain technique. All these things are wonderful tools and will advance us to a certain degree. But who would think that you could ever become a concert pianist, a Michael Jordan, a Mo Farrah, a Peyton Manning with a quick checklist, book, or DVD. Could you imagine a runner at any level continuing to improve with only foundational instruction?
   

We could define skill as improvement or mastery of an activity. Why are so many runners in any given year injured?  Why do so many fail to achieve their potential in other ways? I believe the answer is a lack of personal skill. The kinesthetic sense, the ability to sense what we are doing, is the key to the learning process. Unlocking the ability of the human nervous system to learn is what brings us father along the path of skill development.

If you have read a lot of articles or books on running form or technique, you realize that not everyone agrees on what is the "right" way to run. Let’s look at something that most everyone agrees on, the ability to run with a long uncompressed spine. Some call this "running tall." Some refer to this as our posture.  But what does right posture feel like for us individually?

    Please take off your shoes and stand for a few moments. Notice how your standing is and what the general feeling of your weight is on your feet. Take your time! Now lie on your back on the floor. Notice your contact with the floor. Pretend you are lying in sand. Which parts of you would press more deeply into the sand? Also notice which parts of you do not make contact, but are held up from the floor or are not quite touching. Compare your right and left sides and notice any differences in their contact with the surface you are lying on. Notice anything you can without changing anything. Just notice. Is one leg turned out more? What are the curves behind your low back and your neck like? How is your head lying? Are your shoulders making a different shape or pattern of contact in your imaginary sand? 

     Now bend your knees and have the soles of your feet flat on the floor. Can you shift the weight of your pelvis a little towards the top of the pelvis? Can you feel the curve in your low back changing and flattening as you do this? Keep doing the movement until it becomes clear and easy. Pause for a few moments. Then begin to shift the weight of your pelvis toward your tailbone. What is happening to the shape of your low back now as you do this movement? Pause and begin to do a small smooth movement of shifting the weight of your pelvis toward your tailbone and then all the way back to the top of the pelvis. Rest fully on your back for a full minute or two with your legs straight.

Now bend your knees again and begin to shift the weight of your pelvis a little bit to the left toward the left hip and then back to center. Pause.  Please don't forget to pause for at least 15-30 seconds. These pauses and rests are for the brain to process sensory information and are necessary for a deeper experience of change. Now shift the weight of your pelvis a little to the right towards the right hip and back to center. Pause. Now shift the weight of your pelvis from the left hip to the right hip, back a forth a number of times. Put your legs down and rest.

Bend your legs again and begin to do circles around the four points of pressure you have already explored, low back, tailbone, right and left hip. Do the circles many times. Each time you do the circles, make them lighter, smaller, smoother, rounder. Take your time. Take several minutes to explore these pelvic circles. Again moving slowly and taking your time is important, how much you notice depends on taking your time.  See if you can have smooth coordinated, easy uninterrupted flow around each circle.

Rest for at least a full minute or more on your back and notice the contact you have with the surface you are lying on now. Do you notice perhaps, that you are lying flatter in places that were more held up from the floor? Do you notice any other changes? You can also experiment with making circles in the opposite direction, or feeling the different coordination it takes to make circles with one leg crossed over the other.

Roll to one side and come slowly up to sitting and then standing. Notice what might be different in your standing now. How has your whole organization been affected? Where is your horizon now?  At what level are your eyes looking out? What other differences do you feel? Stay within your experience and take a walk around the room. How is your sense of connection to the earth? Does your posture and stance feel easier in some way? You may wish to take a short walk or a short easy run.  Just to notice what that is like now. Enjoy!

This lesson was not about "fixing" your posture and so it was not a "technique."  But it may have been the first time that you took the time to be more aware of how you stand, what could change, what could be improved. If so it is a glimpse of what could be the start of a deeper process. The learning process may have a beginning but it never ends. Awareness can continue to develop.