A BETTER WAY TO RUN AND WALK!

Running (and even walking) correctly and efficiently, it turns out, involves more than just putting one foot in front of the other.  It requires technique, and "Natural" running and walking is a collection of decades-old technique practices that put yourbody back in synch with the way it was originally designed to move through this world.  It makes running less stressful and more enjoyable by taking advantage your body's natural bio-mechanical strengths.  

NATURAL RUNNING TECHNIQUE 

Plan to practice the techniques described below just a handful of minutes at first. Then gradually add more of it to your every-day workouts.  Practicing in bare feet or Natural Motion shoes like Vibrams or Newtons is ideal, but you can perfect your form in any pair of shoes.

1. Proper upper body posture is critical.  Maintain a straight, chest-open upper body.  Eyes should look toward the horizon, and you should lean slightly forward (from the ankles-not the hips). Imagine a straight line running from your ear, through your hips, ankle and foot as it is planted on the ground.
2. Be sure legs and arms swing only in the plane of direction you are trying to run.  Thumbs should pass just at the top of your hips.  In other words, don't swing side to side or cross in front of your chest.
3. Maintain a cadence of 80-90 RPM's per leg, no matter how fast or slow you are trying to run. (Count how many times one foot lands over a 20 second period of time.  Anything close to 30 is ideal.)  This will leave you with a shorter, lighter, quicker stride, with each footstep landing squarely under your center of gravity. This cadence will also make it almost impossible to over-stride and will make it likely that your foot lands in a more "full" foot or forefoot position.
4. As each foot makes contact with the ground, focus on geting that foot right back up and behind you, letting gravity pull you forward, rather than trying to "propel" yourself forward.  To speed up, lean slightly further forward from the ankles.  To speed up a lot, push off from the big toe and lengthen your stride from behind.  To ease up on your pace, lean a little less forward. Maintain your 80-90 RPM stride rate at all paces.