writings: ARTICLES
"Fine Tune Your Running" By Ian Jackson (Runner's World, January 1981)
To fine-tune your running, you've got to "tune in." You must feel your running. By learning to fit your breathing into your footsteps, you can increase your awareness while on the run. In an unusual article, Ian Jackson explains how a certain feeling, achieved by "tuning in" can enable you to run with better balance, efficiency, and power. Read more...
Breathe Better to Ride Better by Davis Phinney - Cycling Magazine
When I asked one of my cycling friends if he thought much about his breathing, he replied, "No, but I'm a firm believer in it." Breathing is strongly emphasized and controlled in activities such as swimming, singing and yoga, but it's rarely given a second thought by cyclists. Read more...
Lessons from an Edge Player, by John Howard
"Who the hell is this guy Ian Jackson?" That was the way one of my fellow Ironman competitors expressed his intimidation before the start of the 1981 event. Jackson had announced his confidence of a win in the press, and given the infantile level of the sport back then, nearly everyone could be considered a threat. Read more...
Bicycular Frontier by John Howard
It was one of those exquisite moments of cycling pleasure--state-of-the-art racing bikes, sew-up tires, and asphalt so smooth it turned the ride silken. Ian Jackson and I were headed back into Little Rock after a long hard ride, and I felt totally alive physically. Throughout the ride, Jackson had been doing an occasional show-and-tell with his BreathPlay technique, and his ideas were so refreshing, I felt totally alive mentally too. Read more...
Upside-Down Breaths by Kathleen McCleary
Cyclist Alexi Grewal, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist, calls it "the most powerful tool that can be imagined," and cites it as a key factor in his medal-winning performance. It's BreathPlay, a new breathing technique that emphasizes the outbreath. Creator Ian Jackson believes BreathPlay makes breathing easier and more efficient. New research indicates Jackson may be right. In a study of 25 top cyclists, University of Toledo researcher Daniel Wojta found that those using BreathPlay significantly increased endurance and improved aerobic capacity by more than 17%. "BreathPlay basically turns the active and passive phases of breathing upside-down," Jackson explains. Instead of sucking air in and letting it out, with BreathPlay you push the air out, and then let it back in. Read more...
Alexi Grewal's Epic Ride - Ian Jackson
I felt very much at home with the bike racers at the Olympic Training Center. Theirs is a dangerous sport and all of them had generous portions of risk-taking relish in their personalities. I felt an affinity for them because I too like the adrenaline high that comes from playing the edges of danger. But for Alexi Grewal, I felt a very special affinity. He was a fellow edge-player, yes, but there was more than that to the extraordinary connection I felt. Read more...