Tao of Running - 10 week Transformation™

In week 2 and 3, you'll build the foundations to run in a more “natural way” and start collecting numerous underlying benefits (e.g. reduce injuries, improve running efficiency). You will also start to make running "stick" into your life

Module 2 is conducted on week 2. At the end of module 2 you will:

• Understand what to do for warm up, core run and cool down
• Know the typical root causes of running injuries and lack of enjoyment
• Know the foundations for a good posture/running form 
• Have tips to start creating routines and habits to make running “stick” to your life
• Apply learnt techniques during the “on the run” coaching session

After module 2, the participants are invited to practice the learning to condition body and mind to the techniques. There are regular interactions with the coach to share your challenges and progress and receive additional reading material, videos and apps for additional facts & details about the science behind the program. There is no formal module on week 3

While you continue the practices you learnt in week 2 and 3, you’ll learn in week 4 and 5 how to increase attention & be more aware of the present moment & body sensations while running. Underlying benefits are better concentration, reduced stress & anxiety, better sleep, more joy in the process.

At the end of module 3 you will:

• Be able to define and demystify “mindfulness”
• Understand how to train your mind to be more mindful – inside/outside of a running context
• Apply learnt techniques during the “on the run” coaching session

After module 3, the participants are invited to practice the learning to condition body and mind to these new techniques. There are regular interactions with the coach to share your challenges and progress and receive additional reading material, videos and apps for additional facts & details about the science behind the program. There is no formal module on week 5

In week 6 of the program, you’ll build on the knowledge of the 5 previous weeks and learn how to use heart rate monitoring strategies to practice running to rebalance your nervous system. This is a pre-requisite to enable different experiences for your body - mind system (e.g. the zone/ ”flow”, increase creativity, improve intuition)

At the end of module 4 you will:

• Understand the roles played by different nervous systems for your health & well-being
• Understand the links between the breathing function & heart function
• Understand how to practice running to lose weight in a healthy way and become a fat burning machine
• See the link between the “heart rate zones” and different types of running experiences
• Have calculated your personal “heart rate zones” and use a HR monitor to enable various running experiences
• Apply learnt techniques during the “on the run” coaching session

After module 4, the participants are invited to practice the learning to condition body and mind to these new techniques. There are regular interactions with the coach to share your challenges and progress and receive additional reading material, videos and apps for additional facts & details about the science behind the program.

In week 7, you'll create a bridge between how you exercise, as per the learning since the beginning of the program, and your eating’s behaviours. This learning is not so much focused on telling you what to eat /not to eat and giving you some meal plans. Everybody is different so the food choices as well. It is more about giving you nutrition principles to be able to choose your food appropriately and improve your ability to change bad eating habits. This will increase the positive impact already noticed since the beginning of the program on your weight, energy level, sleep, brain performance, mood, and overall well-being.

At the end of module 5 you will:

• Understand how to combine exercise and nutrition principles to lose weight in a healthy way and sustain it over time
• Understand more about the myths spread by the food, fitness and medical industries that keep you prisoners of your old bad habits
• Understand the differences between sugar burning metabolism and fat burning one
• Learn and apply a simple and powerful technique to break bad eating habits

After module 5, the participants are invited to practice the learning to condition body and mind to these new techniques. There are regular interactions with the coach to share your challenges and progress and receive additional reading material, videos and apps for additional facts & details about the science behind the program.

In week 8 and 9, you'll learn new running techniques, mind training techniques and strength/mobility exercises to bring your running efficiency and enjoyment to another level and increasingly experience the "flow" while running: The Art of "effortless running" Module 6 is conducted on week 8.

At the end of module 6 you will: 

• Know some new running techniques, mind training techniques and mobility/strength exercises to enable the energy to flow more smoothly in the body -mind system
• Understand how these principles can be applied in your running practice to become a "whole runner", when the body and mind are working as a single entity
• Have done a video for running form analysis
• Apply learnt techniques during the “on the run” coaching session

After module 6, the participants are invited to practice the learning to condition body and mind to the techniques. There are regular interactions with the coach to share your challenges and progress and receive additional reading material, videos and apps for additional facts & details about the science behind the program. There is no formal module on week 9.

This last week of the program, you will review the resources you have to make sure you sustain the continuous improvement journey (“Kaizen” in Japanese) to ultimately reach mastery level with the additional underlying benefits. It becomes a lifestyle: The Tao Lifestyle™

- A fit body, a sharp mind, a happy soul!

At the end of this last module you will:

• Receive a video montage to provide you feedback on posture and running form and to summarize the remaining opportunities of improvement.
• Envision how your practice will evolve over time with your level of mastery
• Have reviewed the benefits of the program at this stage and the ones resulting from increasing your level of mastery of ToR practice

Yes, it is. The program is not focused on performance but on improving health/well-being through the practice of running first. Each participant will have a different level of fitness and experience related to running, meditation/mind training techniques, breathing techniques, nutrition and sleep sciences, and so on. The program focuses on providing tools and techniques to better listen to the body and connect body and mind to progress at the right pace based on the level of fitness of each participant.

By enjoying the practice, it motivates the practitioners to do more of it and the performance becomes a natural outcome of the regular practice.

Some participants have never run in their life and might start by mixing walking and running at the beginning. Other participants have already run [half-full] marathon(s) and want to enjoy more their runs, prevent injuries, be less tired, have more efficient running techniques. The challenge is more for me during the “on-the-run coaching” sessions as I have to manage the differences of fitness level between the participants to spend some time with everybody -:) 

The Tao of Running Transformation program is a 10-week journey towards elevating your fitness, health, mental performance and overall well-being. During 10 weeks (can be adjusted for a 1 on 1 program), you will experience a fulfilling sense of incremental progress towards your specific goals.

During that period, you will:

• Take part in 7 training and coaching sessions (1.5 to 2.5 hours per session mixing theory and “on the run coaching”). In between the sessions, you will receive guidance on how to practice on your own (usually 3 times a week) to build the knowledge into your mind-body and transform it into skills.
• Have the key slides of the training material for the 7 modules in a PDF format.
• Have regular interactions with the ToR Coach to share your challenges and progress and receive additional reading material, videos and apps for additional facts & details about the science behind the program.
• Have a set of coaching cards to support the personal practice and the 10 Week Transformation Program logbook to support the personal practice.
• Receive a video montage to provide feedback on posture and running form and summarize remaining opportunities of improvement at the end of the program.
• Be invited to the weekly group run in which all the old and new participants since the creation of the program in 2015 are invited to join (You will continue to be invited to this weekly run after the end of the program) .

By the end of the program, you will have initiated the transformation and will experience an increased fitness, health, sense of balance and well-being to motivate you continuing in this direction. It will become an entire new lifestyle!

Stephane has iteratively built this transformative approach over a more than 20 years’ personal quest to improve his own health and well-being (you can read his story for additional details). The strategies and tools are backed by science, and, Stephane has developed skills (most of them certified) in many areas of health, performance and wellbeing like running, NLP, mindfulness, nutrition science, science of endurance mastery, sleep science, science of breathing, science of happiness, neuroscience, change management... (you can see read about his credential in Stephane's profile).

Also, the numerous testimonials given during these last 4 years (you can read some in the praise section) can give you a good flavour of the effectiveness of this program. 

The introductory module (module 1) does not include running. Modules 2 to 7 include theory and the practical part of running (except for video conference programs) - in group for group programs and coaching in 1 on 1 for the private version. These sessions take place in Damansara Heights or Lake Gardens for the programs organized on Saturday morning. Weekly group run sessions are also organized on weekdays between modules (see question 3). 

Each module generally has a duration of 2 to 2.5 hours. Each participant receives a logbook at the start of the program with specific advice on how to practice and integrate learning during personal practice between modules (advised to practice 3 times a week). In addition, coaching cards - digital version for video conference programs- are given at the end of each module to support / reinforce personal practice and there are regular WhatsApp interactions between modules for participants to ask questions and help them meet their specific challenges.

There are several possible scenarios:

• Many people can't make that day, we simply reschedule to a date that fits all.
• We organize a 30 min Skype call (or other video conference tool) to go through the key slides of the theory with you and I spend more attention during the following group run of the following module or during the weekly run (if you can make it).
• If I happen to have another group having the same module at a close by date either in person or by skype, you can join that session.
• Last option, if the person wants it, we can organize a complete 1 on 1 session of the module at a convenient date (For this option an additional fee will be applied to the normal group program fee).

Note: In the future, I will have recorded videos, it's in the plan! :-)