The Lost Art of Running: A Journey to Rediscover the Forgotten Essence of Human Movement

the ability to optimise this system was something that most of us had either lost or simply never found. How we lived our lives was having a defining impact on how we moved and, as we had become more and more sedentary, our elastic system had responded by adopting our bad habits.

Don’t think of yourself as mechanical. Think of yourself as elastic, fluid, connected and synergistic.

‘We must remember Schleip. Our fascial system is constantly rearchitecting itself and, in as little as seven months, our whole system could be completely renewed.’ The bulb brightened as I considered the consequences of this statement. Fascia is fluid. It moves and contracts. It also suffers if we let it be stagnant.

All the time, she focused on how she was moving, all the time she was honing her technique – treating it as a skill rather than a try hard slog to the finish.

The wheels are going to fall off, it’s often about whose fall off last!’

Our fascial system creates a sea of tension that holds our body together. As we have discovered, this amazing system is constantly rejuvenating and it will rearchitect itself based on how it was broken down.

We didn’t see an antelope 5km away and just start running after it. It was simply not worth the effort and would lead to a negative calorie outcome. We developed a perception of effort in order to avoid expending energy for no reason.

how we stand when we make a cup of tea is how we run.

If you’re worried about it being too hot, he warned me, the worry itself will drain your energy tanks and increase your perception of effort long before the heat actually gets to you.