Good walking posture requires a body balanced across many planes. Muscles, bones, the left and right side—all of these factors add up to the possibility of good walking posture.
Good walking posture involves moving forward through space, which is easier said than done. It involves transferring weight successfully through bones that should be stacked on top of each other. It also involves the two sides of the body twisting and rotating with each step. There are many more factors that I can list about traits that lead to good walking posture that aren’t found in many people.
Very often I meet with clients who are skeptical of what I have to offer. In these instances I ask who taught them to walk. They rarely have an answer for this because very few people are actually taught to walk. Somewhere around one year old we stand up to take our first few steps, get a big cheer, and are left to our own devices.
There is a specific design to the way we walk. The steps are short, the legs equidistant under the pelvis, the shoulders on top of the hips and the head and gaze level with the ground. Spend some time today thinking about the way you walk. Don’t worry about good walking posture or bad but try to get to know the patterns you tend to employ.
Good walking posture is not created in a day but you have to start somewhere.
***