Friday 17 June 2011

Armswing?

A person asked me the other day what do they do with their arms? Firstly I said use them to your benefit.

Ok, walkers I have to say I'm concerned at the variety of armswings out there and in particular the people who swing their arms with gusto in front of them from side to side - STOP doing that its bad for your back!

Remember when you're running or walking you are wanting to go forward i.e. straight in front of you so you want your armswing to help do exactly that, help you go forward.

So for those of you swinging sideways you're slowing yourself down by stopping yourself going forward and pulling on your back which is obviously not a good thing.

The arm swing goes to the rear so swing it to the rear (short swing) and your arm naturally swings forward, propelling you forward. Do not let your arms cross your centreline.

For walkers your arms are at about trouser pocket level and for runners you bring the arms up to a 90 degree angle on the flat. Relax the body, especially the shoulders where we tend to hold a lot of tension and focus ahead with your y'chi.

So for those of you who have an armswing to the sides, please stop and for those of you who don't use your arms at all or barely, please use your arms, don't be afraid to use your armswing as it will help you go forward.

Remember, the chi way is 50/50 upper/lower body making it so much more energy efficient. Enjoy.

No comments:

Post a Comment