Practing How to Walk

PRACTICING HOW TO WALK

An inflection point occurs in our lives when walking starts to become difficult. If we do nothing about it, our health spirals downhill because when it is hard to walk we become more and more sedentary. Inactive behavior ultimately causes rapid mental and physical decline.

If we take a different path at that inflection point and instead improve our physical abilities, the proceeding years will be far happier and healthier for us. Critical in changing our walking abilities is to simply practice walking.

Taking a walk is not what I mean by practicing walking. It is wonderful to walk whenever you can. Getting outdoors is fantastic for us and simply walking around the hallways is great exercise, but it is not what I am suggesting. To practice walking safely, you should do so in a controlled manner in a controlled environment. For instance, is it essential that something always be available which you can hold onto while practicing.

What do we need to do to improve how we walk? A number of things go into preparation for practicing walking:

Most of the following can be practiced standing or sitting down. It doesn't matter if you can presently walk. All of these elements have great benefit for everyone, the first being the most important.

Increase the flexibility of your ankles, feet and knees: One of the main reasons we start having problems walking is because our leg and foot joints stiffen when we are older, primarily because we sit so much.
Improve your posture. Learn to keep your chest lifted: Walking with your body upright instead of leaning forward is so much safer, easier and more enjoyable.
Increase your core strength, especially abdominals: Engaged core musculature takes stress off the joints of the lower body, making us more stable as we walk.
Improve how your eyes function using eye exercise: Eye focus is so powerful in balance. Looking where you are going instead of down at the ground is ultimately much safer. If we improve how our eyes operate, we reap benefits in better balance as we walk.
Improve your proprioception sense: This is another way to improve balance along with heightening our ability to be able to move deftly when needed.
Become more aware of your surroundings: Awareness of our environment becomes more and more essential the older we get. Lack of it causes many falls.

Preparation for practice:

Find a safe place to practice in: Hallways which have bannisters are excellent. But kitchen counters work well too. Even a simple blank wall will do. Select a place with an even floor (no cracks or hazards).
Give yourself enough room to take at least 8 steps.
Have both hands free while you practice.
While practicing always have one hand on the bannister, wall or the counter. Do not test yourself by practicing without having something stable and sturdy to hold onto.
Wear good shoes which are flexible: That means you should be able to bend the shoe so that you can stand in releve (up on the ball of your foot). Some athletic shoes are too stiff. It is essential that your shoes support rolling through your feet. Do not wear backless shoes.
Warm your feet and knees up before you start: Ankle and knee circles are easy, fast and effective. A link to a video demonstrating knee circles is included at the end of this article.

Of prime importance is learning how to walk properly.

The most important thing of all, in my opinion, is to learn to walk correctly. That means having the heel touch first, followed by the back foot pushing off. The result is that you automatically pick your feet up. Shuffling the feet contributes significantly to many falls. Walking correctly reduces fall risk substantially. But it takes practice.

When you walk correctly you will notice several things:

It takes much less effort to walk: Your legs no longer feel heavy. Your step is bouncy, smooth and easy-breezy.
Much less stress is placed on your joints: They move more smoothly and are "oiled" by the action.
Your walk no longer makes noise: You stop sounding like an elephant. Your step is more facile, gentle and soundless.
And most important of all, you no longer shuffle your feet.

What should we practice?

These are the main objectives:

Practice walking correctly.
Practice looking straight ahead as you walk.
Practice turning.
Practice taking longer strides instead of small steps.
Practice walking with your belly pulled in.

Practice walking correctly:

Practice rolling through your feet: You can start out practicing this from a seated position, then standing in one place, then walking.

Practice where to look when you walk:

Practice looking straight ahead, in the direction you are going, instead of down at the ground.
Practice shifting your eyes down at the ground without moving your head. Ideally you will look straight ahead as you walk and from time to time, quickly shift your eyes downward to check for hazards. Do not move your head. Only move your eyes.
Practice using your peripheral vision: Practice being able to see hazards in your midst without looking at them directly by using your peripheral vision. Use eye exercise to prepare.

Practice turning:

Many falls happen when we have to turn, especially if we have to do it in a hurry. It is really helpful to practice ahead of time so your body doesn't get confused in the moment.
Practice using quarter turns. Walk several paces. Stop turn. Walk back in the opposite direction.
Practice turning your head first before you turn your body.

Practice taking longer steps:

We tend to take shorter steps when we are nervous about walking. We think the smaller step will make us safer. It actually is the opposite. It makes us much more likely to fall. It is excellent to practice lengthening your stride, especially if you are fearful of falling.

Practice holding your belly in as you walk.

More advanced ideas, for when you feel confident:

Practice a gait combination: Before starting your walk, look at the hazards around you. Walk. Stop. Again survey the territory. Walk, etc. Practice turning, resurveying and walking in a different direction.
Practice combining elements: When you practice walking, roll through your feet while looking straight ahead and pulling your abdomen in.
When you have become really advanced and secure in your walking, practice walking backwards: Your shoes will need to be bendably flexible. Make certain to look out in front of you and hold your abdomen in. Practicing walking backwards has a peculiar and amazing effect on something else: your self confidence. It's an excellent karma booster. But make certain you practice in a totally safe environment.

Difficulty Walking

Where to Look When You Walk

Walk Much More Easily

Knee Circling Video