{"id":38917,"date":"2025-09-11T15:49:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T07:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.runsociety.com\/?p=38917"},"modified":"2025-09-11T15:49:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T07:49:32","slug":"running-tai-chi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.runsociety.com\/inspiration\/running-tai-chi\/","title":{"rendered":"How Tai Chi Fixed My Broken Running Form (And My Mindset)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I remember the exact moment I knew something had to change. It was a steamy Saturday morning in Singapore, the air already thick with humidity. I was three weeks into training for a half marathon<\/a>. Instead of feeling that familiar runner\u2019s high<\/a>, I was limping home, a sharp, biting pain searing through my knee with every step. It was my old foe, IT Band Syndrome<\/a>, back for another unwelcome visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I felt utterly defeated. My runs through my favourite parks\u2014from the lush trails of MacRitchie to the waterfront at Marina Bay\u2014were my stress relief, my thinking time, my identity. But my body was starting to refuse. I was stuck in an exhausting, kiasu cycle: push too hard, get injured, rest, lose fitness, then start all over again, feeling more fragile each time. I was so focused on going further<\/em> and faster<\/em> that I\u2019d forgotten how to simply move better<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One afternoon, feeling particularly knackered and disheartened, I cut through a neighbourhood park. And that\u2019s where I saw them. A group of people of all ages, moving in slow, graceful unison under the rain trees. They weren\u2019t running, yet they possessed a strength and a serenity I craved. They were practising Tai Chi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intrigued, I signed up for a beginner\u2019s class at my local community centre the following week. Little did I know, I wasn\u2019t just adding a new exercise to my routine; I was about to learn the missing piece that would completely transform my running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Table of Contents<\/h2>