Why on earth would one need to LEARN how to run? Running is something that humans have been doing since the Stone Age.

Actually, though, many runners could benefit from a few tips on running form. That, and learning how to focus inner energy, is at the heart of ”ChiRunning.”

In Chinese philosophy, chi is a circulating life energy or a vital life force. Running is simply the act of putting one foot in front of the other at a pace faster than walking.

”The two seemed like opposites to me,” Bend’s Jason Adams says of the concept of chi and running.

Adams, 28, stands in the shade beneath a ponderosa pine tree at Juniper Park in Bend, watching other members of a ChiRunning class demonstrate their new running skills.

Six runners participate in the five-hour class led by Keith McConnell of Eugene. The ChiRunning class that McConnell has instructed for three years throughout the Northwest and parts of California is designed to teach runners proper form and focus, which is meant to increase running distance and speed in the most efficient manner.

The course operates under the parent company of ChiLiving Inc., which was founded in 1999 by Katherine and Danny Dreyer of Asheville, N.C. Although ChiRunning is still a relatively new concept, thousands of runners around the world are experimenting with ChiRunning techniques, according to McConnell.

This form of running, as described on the ChiRunning Web site (www.chirunning.com), combines the inner focus and physical flow of t’ai chi – a series of postures and exercises developed in China as a system of self-defense and as an aid to meditation – with the power and energy of running, to create a running form and philosophy that takes the pounding, pain and potential damage out of the sport.

”You take lessons to learn how to golf or play tennis or ski – any sport, for the most part, you take lessons,” says Ellie Musgrove of Bend, a member of the class. ”It just sounded like the thing to do.”

About a year ago, Musgrove, now 53, was in treatment for breast cancer. After undergoing chemotherapy, she spent six months recovering and building up strength. She began with walking.

”When I first finished treatment, it (using her body) seemed like driving someone else’s car. Now, it is starting to feel like my body again.”

On one occasion a few months ago, Musgrove ran after her fleeing dog.

”That was the day: It was pouring rain and I went running after my dog into the woods. It had been 18 years since I had run. … It was a wonderful, wonderful feeling.”

It was then that Musgrove decided that she definitely needed to start running again. But she wanted to do so with out reviving pain from previous knee and back injuries.

Like all who were participating in the Bend ChiRunning course, Musgrove wanted to experience more ease and less impact while running. Triathlete Ellyn Lindquist of Bend, 39, was looking for ways to reduce injury. Last year, she experienced a stress fracture of the pubic bone that kept her away from running for eight months. Since October she has been running about 15 to 18 miles per week, but she is constantly having to evaluate her injury and take anti-inflammatories, she says.

”It’s going to make it a lot easier to run on asphalt,” says Lindquist of ChiRunning. ”That impact is intense.”

Lindquist shares some experiences from past triathlons and the pains and tight muscles she would encounter after the transition from the bike leg to the run. She says she believes that techniques of ChiRunning will change her triathlon experience for the better.

”The added lean, which propels your body, will allow you to move more efficiently when you are tired,” she says.

How does ChiRunning work?

To reap the benefits of ChiRunning, McConnell explains, old habits must be broken and new ones established. Three key elements of ChiRunning are: ideal posture, leaning, and running with relaxed legs, according to the certified instructor, who holds a doctorate in psychology. He points out another major component: gravity. He stresses the importance of using gravity as an advantage rather than a hindrance – like paddling downstream on a river, as opposed to upstream.

”If a runner is totally erect, gravity is going to be going straight down,” McConnell notes. ”While, if you lean your body, gravity will be pulling you forward. … kind of like a controlled fall.”

Before runners can use gravity most efficiently and with minimal impact on their joints and muscles, they must first attain the proper posture. The four steps to good posture, as McConnell explains, are: 1) checking your collarbone and making sure your chest is open by placing the thumb and middle finger of one hand on your collarbone, while pushing upward on your chin with your pointer finger; 2) pushing your belly down toward your feet with the other hand to lengthen your torso; 3) locating your pelvis and pushing it forward; and 4) leaning your upper body slightly forward.

At first this stance feels rather unnatural, as all the ChiRunning class participants admit. But if practiced repeatedly, it becomes second nature, according to McConnell.

In the most basic ChiRunning practice, runners begin by assuming an aligned posture. Then they gently lean forward and allow gravity to move them into a run. From there, they gradually build up speed by leaning in the direction they wish to go. Relaxed, rotating hips allow the core to play a key role in moving the entire body. Once in running rhythm, they maintain their focus, ensuring that all body parts are aimed in forward motion.

McConnnell explains that chi can be carried out into many other parts of a person’s life. The posture can be practiced virtually anywhere, and the focus can be channeled at almost any time.

”It (chi) allows you to integrate and respond to life from a more centered place,” says McConnell. ”Going with the flow of life, rather than against it … in the way you walk, run, sit, or handle an unexpected problem – it’s not exactly what happens, but how you react to it. I find that this (ChiRunning) allows you to come from a more balanced place.”

More about ChiRunning

Three key concepts to ChiRunning are: * Ideal posture * Leaning forward * Relaxed legs How to get involved: The next class in Bend will be held in early October; a class will take place in Eugene on Aug. 4 Contact: Keith McConnell at drkeithcoach@msn.com or 541-870-2328 Web site: chirunning.com