Chi Running Techniques | Prevent Running Injuries of Impact and Overuse

Learn Better Technique From The Ground Up

The two causes of running injuries are impact and overuse. Impact affects your joints – from hitting the ground too hard as you run. Overuse injuries happen in your muscles when you demand more from them than they can deliver.

There is good news: Both of these types of injuries can be avoided by improving your running technique. Once your body mechanics are aligned and you put the Chi Principles to practice, overuse and impact injuries become a thing of the past.

ChiRunning is based on a centuries-old principle from T’ai Chi: shift your workload to the core muscles. This allows your leg muscles to do less, and the lower leg muscles to do almost nothing.

Run with Built-In Efficiency

In T’ai Chi all movement is based on having a strong core, relaxation in your muscles and mobility in your joints. These three themes go perfectly with running. In order to create easy, fluid, and faster movement, the entire body needs to be supple and relaxed. Any held tension restricts your ability to run easily and economically.

But, true relaxation can’t happen without a strong core supporting all your movement. We’ll show you how to use your core more, so you can rely on your legs less. Now, that’s efficiency!

Take the Workload off Your Legs

A T’ai Chi principle we love is shift your workload to your core and relax everything else. This allows your legs to relax and do less, and your lower legs and feet to do almost nothing. Most runners do just the opposite; pushing with their feet and toes, while neglecting the abundance of power in their core. That’s not only a formula for fatigue, it’s why over 85% of all running injuries occur in the lower legs!

We’ll show you how to run without ever over-working your legs, so you can reduce your injury rate to zero.

Relax Your Movement for Efficiency

It might sound counter-intuitive, but running with your legs relaxed is the secret to efficiency, endurance and speed. When you learn how to use gravity to assist your running, your legs will feel like they took the day off.

This is only one of the secrets to making all your runs pain-free and easy… and fun!

Bring Chi into your life

ChiSchool ChiRunning Essentials Course

This NEW COURSE combines personalized Video Feedback with 15 hand-selected Step-by-Step Lessons. Only $95

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Get Your FREE Boston Run Show Tickets

Use code CHIRUNNING to get into the Boston Run Show and The Boston Outdoor Expo for free on March 1st and 2nd of 2025. Stop by our booth H64 and enter to win a $500 Gift Card.

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Don't train alone! Run the ChiRunning way!

Don’t train alone! Our 5k, 8-week training programs includes weekly 30-minute zoom sessions with a Master Instructor that will help you meet your goal of getting to the start and finish line with a smile on your face. Starts July 7th, 2025.

ChiSchool ChiRunning Essentials Course

This NEW COURSE combines personalized Video Feedback with 15 hand-selected Step-by-Step Lessons. Only $95

Learn More & Enroll

Get Your FREE Boston Run Show Tickets

Use code CHIRUNNING to get into the Boston Run Show and The Boston Outdoor Expo for free on March 1st and 2nd of 2025. Stop by our booth H64 and enter to win a $500 Gift Card.

Get Your FREE Ticket

Move the "Right" Way with ChiWalk-Run

Download your Free eBook - Recently updated, this 2-week guide is a great introduction to the ChiWalk-Run basics. You’ll receive daily exercises and focuses specifically designed to get you moving the right way!

Download your Free eBook

Enroll in the ChiRunning School

Over 100 weekly video lessons
Audio downloads included with each lesson to take on the run
The ChiRunning, ChiWalking, and Chi Walk-Run digital DVDs
Ebooks for deeper understanding
Private group Facebook page for support and inspiration
Monthly Live Webinars with a Master Instructor or Guest Speaker, on training, technique, mindset and more
Private video conferences with a Certified Instructor

See What Others are Saying

I am running in the NYC Marathon and could not have even contemplated it without learning to ChiRun. ChiRunning seems too good to be true when you hear or read about it, and I was skeptical at first, but it has changed my life for ever. My runs had never really been more than 3-5 miles at a time and I was in pain and exhausted after each run. Now I can physically breeze through 7-10 miles with less than a moderate effort. Half marathons are like 5ks were before learning to Chi Run.

I had a history of shin splints, knees hurting, plantar fasciitis, and tendonitis in one of my feet. Now I no longer experience any pain. You can feel the proper form in ChiRunning. Tthe run becomes so effortless. I am very passionate about the wonder of ChiRunning because what I experienced was actually this good.

I expected ChiRunning to make me fitter and faster, I didn't expect it'd make running more fun! Probably the biggest change, and the most unexpected change, has been the mental one. Running has become a form of meditation.

My first marathon took me 6 hours. My second took me 6 hours and 3 minutes. My third only lasted 19 miles. I read the book. I watched the DVD. I relaxed my legs, straightened my posture, leaned forward, let my arms and legs swing behind me, and finished my fourth marathon in under 5 hours! And nothing hurt! Just wait until I work with the metronome–maybe I’ll make it to Boston!

I’ve been ChiRunning for two months and have dramatically improved my running. I ran a 10k last week in 49:02 versus 56:08, a year ago!

I got the ChiRunning book, read it, watched the DVD, and have been running 3x/week for 3 weeks without feeling the normal aches I feel, and I'm even a bit faster! This is really neat! I also applied some of the theory to a recent hiking trip, and was able to hike 18 miles in 1 day without destroying my legs and feet. Just that little lean and picking up the feet make a huge difference.