Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi — kinder, gentler exercises have made a splash with the Baby Boomer set. But what about the Boomers who aren't ready to hang up their running shoes just yet?

Well, there's ChiRunning. Chi what? ChiRunning, a technique that combines the smooth, flowing moves of Tai Chi with running. Like other mind/body workouts, ChiRunning engages your brain and goes easier on aging bodies, holding out the promise that Baby Boomers won't have to swear off running because of bad backs and worn-out knees.

By focusing on posture, form, breathing, and the body's core for strength, runners can transform their sport into an essentially injury-free, effortless, and truly enjoyable activity, according to Danny Dreyer, 54, the coach and nationally ranked ultra-marathon runner who came up with the method.

During his study of Tai Chi, an ancient Chinese martial art that teaches you to use your mind to harness the body's energy — otherwise known as chi — Dreyer was struck with the idea that he could apply the same concepts to running. He tried it, and it changed his whole running experience, not to mention his performance.

"I would get up to 20 miles, and my knees would be killing me," says Dreyer. Now I don't have any pain when running."

Excited by his discovery, Dreyer began teaching his technique to other runners. Jerry Fletcher decided to try it to see if it would help the pain that running caused in his knees and back. It did.

"I'm running much longer and can run up and down hills without hurting my knees," says Fletcher, 62, who had orthoscopic surgery for his knee problems. "And there's effectively no pain when I finish or while I run."

Fletcher says it took about a month to get comfortable with his new running style. "You have to unlearn what everyone has taught you to do," he explained. "The key to it all is that your foot never hits the ground in front of your body, which puts maximum strain on your knees."

Like Fletcher and Dreyer, many Baby Boomers have endured pain and even surgery from running and running-related injuries. But it doesn't have to be that way, insists Dreyer. ChiRunning eliminates the most common cause of running injury — poor form.

"Running doesn't hurt your body. It's the way you run that is doing the damage and causing pain," explained Dreyer, who says that more than 65 percent of all runners — 15.5 million people — hurt themselves running each year.

How it Works

People practice Tai Chi for mental and physical health, spiritual growth, and self defense. As a discipline, Tai Chi can improve concentration, coordination, balance, flexibility, and strength.

According to Dreyer, you don't have to take Tai Chi to master ChiRunning, and you can apply the ChiRunning method to other activities, including walking, hiking, and dancing. Here are some simple principles:

• Draw strength from your body's center, or core, to run. ChiRunning picks up on a very popular fitness trend — making better use of your spine and body's core muscles, primarily those in your stomach and back, in physical activity. Rather than build and use leg strength to force the body forward, ChiRunners pull strength and energy — chi — from their core, which drives the entire body. Dreyer calls it "whole-body" running. The legs follow, rather than lead.
• Let gravity pull you forward. Using your legs to push yourself forward takes too much energy. ChiRunning requires that you relax, bend your knees, and lean forward at the ankles, rather than the waist, which can stress the knees and hurt your back. As you lean, gravity pulls you forward. This is how you want to run. As your heels come up, your legs will go back and your feet will come down underneath you, rather than in front of you.
• Maintain excellent posture at all times. Keep your hips, shoulders, and ankles in a straight line. Perfect posture is critical to building strong core muscles and helping the body's energy move freely.
• Relax your body and focus your mind. Tension restricts the flow of energy your body needs to run, and live. Relaxing your leg muscles, in particular, lessens their resistance to forward momentum as you run. Focusing your mind will keep it from wandering and help it relax. Concentrating especially on your posture and breathing will help you maintain ChiRunning form.
• Breathe. Inefficient breathing will make any exercise harder. That's because your muscles need plenty of oxygen to work properly and well. Relaxing your mind and body will help you breathe more deeply and efficiently, powering your running.

Feel the Chi

"[ChiRunning] helps you think of running as a discipline for body, mind, and spirit rather than as a competitive sport only," says Roger Jahnke, doctor of acupuncture and oriental medicine and author of "The Healing Promise of Qi."

Whenever you purposefully focus your mind, regulate your body's posture and movement, and carefully manage your breathing when running, you're ChiRunning, according to Jahnke. "Successful runners are almost always doing these three things when they run."

But the competitive aspect of running makes runners more prone to injury, according to Cedric Bryant, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise (ACE).

"People haven't been unaware that running places a lot of stress on the lower body," says Bryant. "But it's a sport that has a competitive aspect to it. The goal isn't to minimize stress, but to minimize running time."

The Mind-Body Connection

If ChiRunning lets you run with more ease and less energy, you should be able to go farther and faster, right?

That has been the case for Jim Dunn. "Speed comes after form," says Dunn. By focusing a lot more on form and less on speed, he has actually improved his 10K running times.

Not only that, but ChiRunning has transformed his running workout into a "kind of meditation" rather than an exhausting undertaking, explained Dunn. "When I come back from a ChiRunning workout, I feel energized rather than worn out," which is one of the main ideas behind ChiRunning.

With Baby Boomers continuing to look for ways to minimize the damage exercise does to their bodies, the climate is ripe for ChiRunning, as it has been for yoga, Pilates, and Tai Chi, according to Bryant.

"ChiRunning connects the mind with the body to enhance overall running form," says Bryant. "It helps a person have a positive focus on what they're experiencing and focus on breathing, posture, how they're landing, and what their body lean is like."

There are other coaching methods to help runners reduce injuries by improving their form, advises Bryant. They just don't have a specific name attached to them. And they might not give you the same "Zen experience" of ChiRunning.

Source: "ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Injury-Free Running"

AARP Resources

Martial Arts Made Friendly
Tai Chi and other martial arts can improve balance, posture, flexibility, concentration, coordination, and strength.

Pilates: A Core Conditioning Program
Pilates focus on strengthening the muscles of the body's "powerhouse," those in the stomach and back.

Yoga Yields Mind and Body Fitness
Yoga builds strength and flexibility while it helps you relax and focus your mind.

Additional Resources

ChiRunning.com
Articles, plus other information on this running technique and its founder.

Tai Chi
Information on the principles of Tai Chi and research on health benefits for older adults.

Books

Find these books online at Barnes & Noble.com.

ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running
Danny Dreyer, Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, April 2004

The Healing Promise of Qi: Creating Extraordinary Wellness with Qigong and Tai Chi
Roger Jahnke, The McGraw-Hill Companies, March 2002

Tai Chi: Enhance Your Health and Vitality Through Dynamic Flowing Tai Chi Movement
James Drewe, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., March 2002