Relax when you run … and when you live
There is power in letting go. In relaxing. Tension and tightness rob us of so much in life.
Below is a some advice from Jean-Remi Campion, a Chi Running Instructor, from the latest Chi Running Newsletter I just received in my inbox. I think I’ll spend today, as I work, focused on how relaxed my toes are. Nice.
RELAX THOSE TOES
One mantra I repeat very frequently to my students is this: If your toes are not relaxed, then chances are your whole body is not relaxed.
So, in order to get used to relaxing your toes, I have put together an exercise to guide you:
- Take of your shoes and socks and, while standing, feel the soles of your feet relaxed on the ground. Feet are pointed forward, of course.
- Close your eyes and relax. Feel equal balance on the entire soles of your feet in contact with the ground.
- Now relax your toes.
- Next, complete the rest of the focuses of the Chi Running postural alignment. Once completed, come back to the toes. Are they tight? Then maybe your body is still tense. So close your eyes again and feel those toes relaxed, free, just as if they could run off on their own!
This is how they should feel with every step you take, throughout the whole run. Relaxed, loose, free … let those toes dangle! If you can manage this, then your whole body will follow in relaxation.
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