“I'm walking home, and I want you to give me some body awareness exercises as I'm walking. Take into consideration that my right hand is going to be static with the phone stuck to my ear in order to speak to you. Do you understand what I'm asking? It's body awareness exercises for walking.”
Absolutely, I understand! Here are a few simple exercises you can do: Posture Check: Gently roll your shoulders back and down to release any tension. Keep your spine nice and elongated...
“Hold on. I don't want simple exercises. I want the advanced version of these exercises.”
Got it! Let's level it up a bit. While you're walking, you can try focusing on your core stability. Engage your deep core muscles, like your transverse abdominis, by gently drawing your belly button in towards your spine. You can also pay attention to the alignment of your pelvis and make sure your hips are level as you walk. Another good one is to focus on your foot strike, making sure you're pushing off evenly with each step and that your ankles and knees are aligned. You can also experiment with subtle shifts in your weight distribution to engage different muscle groups. All of these will help boost your body awareness as you walk. Let me know how it goes!
“Great. I think I'm already there, and I can feel it. You mentioned something about the foot strike. How you're supposed to step? what is a good technique for walking?”
For walking, a good technique is to land on your heel first and then roll through to the ball of your foot and push off with your toes. This helps with a smooth gait and efficient stride. Just make sure that your foot strike is soft and not too heavy, and keep your knees slightly bent to absorb the impact.
Ah, I can feel it. Okay. Well, that's a good one. I've been walking for so long. I hadn't realized that you strike with the heel and then you push off with your toes. I guess it just happens without any awareness.”
I'm glad you're feeling the difference!
“What is the best thing to do with the shoulders while walking? I mean, because I can twist them, I can throw my weight around with my shoulders. Uh, what other things can I do with them?”
Keeping your shoulders relaxed and down is generally the best approach. You can let them move naturally with your stride, so a gentle rotation is good. Just avoid tensing them up or hunching them. You can also do some gentle shoulder rolls every now and then to release any tension.