Thursday, June 10, 2010
Peeling & Shoulder swing.
Hi,
I don't know why I keep forgetting this but when I focus on lifting my relaxed ankle after a midfoot tstrike I get the 'peel' better. I can feel it when it is being gentley snapped. It is so gentle that snapped isn't the right word but the closest I can come and the word we have used in class. I don't have any sensation when I don't "get it". When I go into a run with the focus on "peeling" I end up pushing off with my toes...when I go in with the ankle focus I think I am more closely aligned with the chi positioning. Just one of my observations.
Now if I can get these shoulders to stay put...I think it must be getting somewhat better because my pony tail isn't swinging as much as it used to. I finally think I get the weights on the elbows (shoulders relaxed down and weight on elbows and relaxed forearms) and that helps some. I do feel like I am holding my torso unnaturally stiff though. Just throwing it out there for others to comment and maybe add some insight.
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For the relaxed ankle, I like to imagine a relaxed achilles tendon and also a relaxed top of foot. I also think about running through the sand pit and not "digging in", just a light, even print on the sand. the foot lift (or hip lift) comes from the abs, not the calves. knees stay more or less together and pointed down. so i think about not so much that you're lifting the foot as it is that you are lifting and rotating each hip using abs. For the torso stillness, I like to think about the needle in cotton concept. if you accept that as an image, it doesn't seem so unnatural to keep the torso (needle) still. the "stiff" torso then seems more like a "strong" torso to me. For the lean, I often think about doing a plank like in an exercise class. i think it helps the lean come from the ankles and not so much from just the waist area so things line up. i like to think about abs helping to keep the lean in place but also they are lifting and rotating the hips with each midfoot placement. that's what i like to think about and feel.
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