Week 2: Engage Your Lean
The next phase of learning ChiRunning is learning to engage your lean. Read pages 81 to 86 of the book and practice the lean in your living room along with the DVD.Start with Week One's Lesson, moving along in your one-legged posture stance down the road. Then add in the lean with this simple three-step process:
- Step 1: While moving down the road, check in with your posture line (making sure your pelvis is level).
- Step 2: Drop your focus to the bottoms of your feet.
- Step 3: Keep your feet hitting where they are while you let your entire posture line tilt in front of where your feet are hitting.
If your posture stance is solid, you will feel your speed pick up with just a slight lean. Feel the effect of the lean by running for 15 seconds or so. Then bring yourself back to your original upright position, but keep moving forward. Then stop running and walk for a bit. Then do it again.
Over time, you will find your comfort zone with your lean, so play with it. If you begin to feel any tension in your calves or shins, you're leaning to far forward. Back off a bit.
Week 3: Continue Practicing Lessons One and Two
For week three, you can continue to practice lessons one and two. We suggest going back and picking out individual parts of posture and lean and having them as your focus. So spend this week getting really solid with your posture and lean by having specific focuses, like leveling your pelvis or feeling your feet touch the ground or tucking your chin.
ChiRunning is based on the principle of gradual progress. When you learn to run slowly and carefully, you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of healthy running. Take it step by step.
*It is always advised to check in with your health practitioner about starting any kind of exercise program.
