Walk Your Way to a New You

Walk Your Way to a New You

Our posture and the way we walk reflect so much about our journey through life.

Sometimes it is from imitating those who you bonded with as a child.

Or it might be the compensatory scars of accidents and injuries both large and small.

It can also be the primal, sometimes crippling, effect that fear has on our muscles and bones.

It is an exploration that’s physical and emotional as we confront the why of our movement patterns and physical traits.

But there is danger on this path. One of my favorite quotes is from the German writer Goethe.
“Know thyself? If I knew myself I’d run away.”

The body is designed to walk in a specific fashion but it doesn’t take much for it to lose its way.

Even in utero events are conspiring against us.

Our positioning in the womb, birth trauma, and our first breaths can affect our movement and posture.

All long before we have control of our own destiny.

Add the day-to-day reality of a life lived amongst people and machines.

Our daily, and normal, aches, pains, and injuries all make finding ideal alignment difficult.

If your car gets a flat you are not going to go very far. The body doesn’t work in the same way.

For example, if the inside of the foot falls into disrepair the outside of the foot will begin to help so you can keep on walking.

The problem with this is that the outside of the foot is then compromised and has now taken on two roles instead of one.

This is going on all over the body, but it doesn’t need to be a bad thing.

Become a Body Detective

Think of yourself as a detective.

Start to explore the way you walk and try to think about why things are moving the way they do.

Does one arm seem to move more than the other while you are walking?

In your best posture is one shoulder lower or higher than the other? Can you think of why this might be?

It is very easy to go through life accepting your posture as is.

In fact, we are designed to go through life without thinking too much about walking and standing.

You can walk the way you walk and reach your dying day without much trouble. Many people do.

For whatever reason, a lot of people can smoke, drink, and otherwise abuse their bodies without consequence.

It might not be fair but it is true.

But you can also rebuild yourself in an image of your choice. You can build a body designed for aging successfully.

It starts with simple awareness.

Begin to take note of where you ache.

What moves where when you are walking?

What seems right and what seems wrong?

Most interestingly, begin to watch those close to you. You are your parents and siblings.

Take note of the similarities and differences. Begin to watch strangers as well.

Try to see how they walk and try to develop a sense of what seems right and wrong.

Get to know yourself and the deeper meanings of the body will be revealed.

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