Here’s why practising the Alexander technique can make you a better runner

Everyone knows how to run – or at least they think they do. Surely, it’s just a case of putting one foot in front of the other and turning occasionally, right?

Yet, you need only glance at the joggers slogging round our streets to realise that many runners don’t, in fact, know how to run properly. There they are, fists clenched, arms locked by their sides, eyes staring at the ground, shuffling along at six or seven kilometres an hour. The look on their faces is not one of pleasure, but of penance – as if to say through gritted teeth, ‘I wish I was somewhere else, doing something more exciting, but I (gasp!) need (pant!) the exercise.’

Like any physical activity, you’ll only keep it up if you enjoy what you’re doing – not just the endorphin high that envelops you at, the end of a good session, but also the actual process. With running, this means a greater focus on technique, which encompasses how your body moves and – most importantly – how it feels to move with the least amount of tension. One of the very best ways of achieving this is through practising the Alexander Technique.

The founder of this method, F.M. Alexander (1869-1955), was an Australian actor who cured himself of chronic laryngitis. While battling his inability to speak, Alexander recognised that, when he even began thinking about speaking, let alone when he actually tried to speak, he became very tense throughout his upper body. He especially noticed tension in his head, neck and back, which in turn, put a significant strain on his vocal cords. His difficulty was not merely physical, but what he termed ‘psycho-physical’ – in striving for an end result, he had been ignoring the correct means of getting there. He discovered that if you adopt a typical speaker’s stance, shoulders pushed back, head and chest thrust forward, and chin pointing upwards, your upper body becomes very tense. Alexander was able to eliminate this destructive tension, and thus re-learned a natural, relaxed posture in which he could speak freely.

The technique Alexander developed is now taught in small group workshops and individual classes, all over the world. The sessions concentrate on activities like sitting, standing, lying down, bending and carrying. It sounds simple, but this method actually re-teaches you how to perform everyday activities, with the least amount of strain on your muscles. The Alexander principles apply equally to different kinds of exercise, such as swimming and running. One recently published book, The Art of Running, explores this idea with the view that, running should be considered an art, because the skills it requires can be constantly practiced and improved upon.

According to co-author, Malcolm Balk, ‘When running becomes a means to an end, and not your primary focus, it loses the features which elevate it from just another mundane activity.’

According to co-author, Malcolm Balk, ‘When running becomes a means to an end, and not your primary focus, it loses the features which elevate it from just another mundane activity.’

How then can you make your running routine really count? Steer clear of the following habits:

• Working to the principle that, ‘more is more’. More speed, more distance, more vitamins, more shoes, more anything means a better life.
• Believing that, ‘no pain, no gain’ is an ideal philosophy for both training and life in general.
• Always running hard and competing, whenever possible, especially in training, and never letting anyone finish ahead of you.
• Becoming obsessed with having to run so many kilometres, so many minutes, each day, and insisting on telling everyone about it.

By looking at the technique of running from a fresh perspective (the process rather than the end result), you can start to overcome these bad habits and improve your speed and form. The Alexander Technique encourages natural use of the body, with as little tension as possible. The following tips will help you get started:

• Learn to run lightly and quietly. Pounding the ground suggests your technique needs attention, if only because such a heavy footfall greatly increases your chances of injury. Running lightly has nothing to do with how much you weigh, but more with paying attention and literally listening to yourself as you run.
• Ditch your Walkman. How can you hear your feet on the ground or focus on the way your arms and legs are moving, when you’re deliberately using music as a distraction? In practical terms, too, wearing a Walkman makes it harder to hear traffic and potential assailants.
• Look ahead. Casting your gaze 30-50 metres in front of you helps to create an elongated spine and a relaxed head, and reduces both ‘heavy’ running and strain on your neck and shoulders. Your head weighs 4.5 kilograms, so looking slightly out and ahead of you prevents the weight from pulling your neck and shoulders down and out of balance.
• Keep your torso still. Recognise that your arms should move independently of your torso. Aim to keep the upper body ‘quiet’, while you run, to prevent hunching your shoulders and shortening your neck.
• Lead with the knees. Allow your knees, rather than your feet, to lead you forward. If you try to increase your stride length by reaching forward with your foot, it causes a breaking action, which both slows you down and sends shock waves up through your legs with every stride. It also causes you to lean back and sit on your hips rather than running vertical and ‘tall’.
• Get into a rhythm. Allow your legs to move in a semi-circular pattern, with your heel nearly touching your bum at the end of each stride. This rhythmic pattern is easier to maintain and modify, such as when increasing speed or going uphill, than a loping or choppy running style, which requires greater adjustments on a slope or during a sprint.
• Keep your wrists firm. Some runners believe that floppy wrists are a sign of relaxation. In fact, they create unnecessary tension elsewhere in the body – usually across the shoulders, which have to tighten up to accommodate this position. The idea is to create a feeling of poise and balance, rather than deliberately trying to relax those parts not directly involved in running.
• Use your arms. Allow your arms to move forward and back, or slightly across your body, with your elbows bent at 90 degrees. This is a very efficient way to propel yourself forward instead of hindering you.
• Avoid clenching your teeth. Facial grimacing is a sign that your energy is being misdirected, rather than going where it will do most good – to your arms and legs.

An excellent way to introduce these changes to your running technique is to practice them on a treadmill in front of a mirror. They might not transform you into an Olympic champion, but watching yourself make these changes in your form, will certainly make your running more purposeful and reduce your risk of injury.

Further information

• To order The Art of Running by Malcolm Balk and Andrew Shields (Ashgrove Press, £9.99) or for more information about ‘Art of Running’ workshops in May 2001, email andrewshields@ukgateway.net or call 020 8530 2200. The website based on the book, www.theartofrunning.com, will be available soon.
• Click on www.stat.org.uk for information about Alexander Technique and a directory of teachers in the UK.
• Log onto www.artofswimming.com to find books, videos and lessons in the Shaw Method of Swimming, which uses Alexander Technique in the pool.