Walking is a time honored form of meditation. One aspect of meditation and a large component of this course is the development of self-awareness. So, in this session, let's take a walk and simply observe our body, how we walk, what parts of us move or don't move, and how we interact with the ground, our environment and ourselves.
Read MoreA cool way to give yourself some feedback as to whether or not your lateral hips (the muscles that control the hip list) are engaging well in your walking gait is to listen for the sound of your footsteps. If your heel strike is audible with a big “thud”, that’s a pretty good indication you are falling forward onto the next step. If your heel strike is soft or barely audible, then you know you’re on the right track. The term Heelstrike can be a bit misleading because it seems to indicate striking the ground with a lot of force. I would prefer the term, Heel Touch or Heel Connect because your lateral hips can control the downward phase of the hip as the leg swings forward and the heel can come softly to the ground. This helps mitigate the force of impact your body has with the ground on each step, it can save your joints, and also keeps you from experiencing the micro-whiplashes caused by falling onto your foot with each step.
Take a listen to the audio and see if you can hear the difference. Then try it out while you walk!
You could also use this as a walking meditation to draw your awareness both into your body and your senses as you connect your feet to the earth.
Read MoreTry a slow motion walk while keeping the neutral knee-pit. Try it step by step: - Neutral stance - Externally rotate your thighs - Hip list to stand on one leg - Step forward - BUT before putting your weight down onto the next leg: externally rotate that thigh again. - Engage the front leg to pull your body forward while hip listing onto that leg. Keeping the external rotation. - Repeat the process again taking another step forward. Walking in slow motion is a great way to watch the tendency of the hips to collapse into internal rotation, and then to train your external hip rotators to remain engaged and keep your hips stable.
Read MoreThroughout this series, we've been focusing on one aspect of our walking gait at a time. This is because so much happens in quick succession and at the same time. Focusing on too many things at once is just not possible, unless, we slow it way down. So in this exercise, we'll practice walking in slow motion. The slower the better. Try to pay attention to your stance, your hip list, pulling back from the standing leg, letting your floating leg swing forward and lowering that heel with control to the ground, keeping your back heel on the ground as long as you can, then pulling back with that new front leg, rising onto the ball of the back foot extending the toes, listing onto the front leg, experience a moment of balance, and begin the whole process again. Being mindful of each phase of your step and walking in slow motion is both great practice and a fantastic meditation.
Read MoreThis episode is the culmination of all the exercises, games, and alignment points we’ve been working on to develop our posterior driven gait. Think of this as a meditation while walking. Take a walk with me and use this audio recording to direct your attention to one aspect of your walking gait at a time. Then, use this as a template to make it your own. If there are a few exercises, tips, or games you’d like to work on, make them into a sequence and simply direct your attention to them for a few minutes at a time while you walk.
There are more meditations, games, bonuses exercises, and discussions included in this series, but as of now you have all the tools you need to develop a new sense of freedom while walking.
Happy walking and I’ll see you on the path!
Patrick
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