Improving Your Quality of Walking through Body Awareness: Different Walking Patterns to Explore and Play with

Greetings again, friends!

The following routine is not meant to be a “training” or “conditioning” lesson.  It is not meant to be interpreted in the vein of “working out”, which usually infers for someone to apply or put forth substantial, sometimes even maximum, effort.  Neither is the following intended to be applied in the mindset of Cardiovascular Work, although that is also productive within its own right for its own intention or goal.

Having a background as a Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, rather, what I’ve provided below is a series of movement sequences intended for fostering greater bodily awareness. Functional Movement Education is a body-centered, self-discovery process, which utilizes movement. This form of Movement Reeducation operates under the principle that, in order for your Self (your body) to learn something, conditions have to be provided that are comfortable for it. Otherwise, once your “System” detects any form of discomfort, it just shuts itself off from any further learning.

Analogous to my preceding article, “How to Improve Your Jumping Ability through Body Awareness”, I again offer a short Body Awareness Movement Reeducation lesson to present to your Self (body) options for movement so that it can ultimately pick and choose the best relationship between various parts of your body for maximum efficiency.  This is movement repatterning work.

If none of the above makes any sense to you at this time, you’re fine.  :-)  Just do the routine below, always staying within your comfort level, and enjoy seeing where it takes you.

Please find below a series of movement sequences I have often used when working with anyone experiencing orthopedic or neurologic conditions, as well as with "healthy" individuals.  Again, if at any time doing one of the following steps, that is, walking in one of the described patterns, is uncomfortable, then walk more slowly or take much smaller steps.  Please always stay within your comfort range.  You may even elect to forego certain of these walking patterns described below.

The steps below should be done continuously. That is, one kind of walking pattern should blend into the next walking pattern, etc. You should not stop walking between steps, unless, of course, you’re tired.  Again, if you’re tired, then simply rest.  You certainly do not want to “force yourself to push through it”.  Then you defeat the purpose of Movement Reeducation.

If you are doing the following lesson within your own home, rather than in the spacious outdoors, choose a long hallway where you have the least amount of interruptions to have to repeatedly turn around.  Also remember to first clear a safe path for yourself for walking.

Here we go.  …

Walk forwards. [This is the initial “scan”, which we will use later in order to take a “Before and After Picture”.]  Notice how you're walking. Notice your arms, the hands, the way they are traveling through the air. Does one arm swing differently than the other? Does one arm swing further away from the body than the other? Does one leg step farther forward than the other?  Which shoulder is higher? Does your head move, e.g. turn, flex/extend, grow taller/grow shorter, side-bend?  Which foot seems to land harder on the ground?  There is no need “to correct” anything.  There are no right answers to the above.  These are just landmarks to help you queue in to your body … body awareness.  Simply observe.  Simply notice.

Notice how your right shoulder is moving. Notice how the right hip is moving. Are the hip and shoulder going in the same direction together? That is, when the hip moves forward, does the same side shoulder also move forward? In most individuals, they move in opposite directions together, i.e. a contralateral walk.  …  Now do just the opposite. That is, lock the hip to the shoulder, i.e. the homolateral walk.  This can be done more easily by placing your right palm on the outside of your right thigh and use the image that the palm is glued or somehow bonded to the thigh. Hence, when the right thigh moves forward and backward, so does the right arm at the same time, and, ultimately (usually), the right shoulder also.

While the right side of yourself continues to move non-differentiated, bond the left palm to your left thigh so now the left side is also walking non-differentiated. I call this the Wyatt Earp walk. Draw partner!

Now let that go and simply walk forward again as you would naturally, i.e. the (usual) contralateral walk. Scan again how your arms are moving now.  Walk backwards.

[All steps from here on in can be done, either, walking forwards only, backwards only, or both.  Again, only do what is comfortable for you.]

Walk while leaning backwards. [similar to the 1970’s "Keep on Truckin'" walk.  J ]

Walk while leaning forwards.

Walk while leaning forwards so that you're walking more on your toes.

Neither intentionally lean forward nor backward as you now begin to walk on the inside edges of your feet.

Walk on the outside edges of your feet.

Walk with the feet in.

Walk with the feet out. This is the Charlie Chaplan walk. Have fun with it.  Stick out your butt. Imagine you have a cane in your left hand.

Walk like jelly. That is, as you're walking, with each step you take, begin to allow yourself to collapse towards the floor. You'll maybe feel your head and upper body free-falling towards the ground. Catch yourself from falling completely at the very last instant that's still comfortable for you. After you've caught your equilibrium, again allow yourself to collapse towards the floor as you begin to take your next step, etc.

Do the "Indian walk". A Native American does not surrender his weight to the forward foot until he knows it's safe to do so. For example, let's imagine a Native American hunter is stalking a deer through the woods. As he begins to step forward onto his forward foot, he may feel a stick on the ground with that foot. So, rather than surrender his weight to that foot, this would regrettably break the stick and possibly ruin his cover, he is still in a position to retract his foot.

Bend over and place your hands on top of your feet - right hand on top of the right foot, left hand on top of the left foot. Grasp your feet so that your palms are resting on top of the feet, but your thumb and fingers are slightly underneath so that they're grasping the soles. Begin to walk in this position. Notice how your right arm and right leg come forward together, and your left arm and left leg come forward together. This is a homolateral walk while leaning forwards. Children love to do this.

Once more come upright and walk backwards.

Walk backwards on the outside edges of your feet.

Walk forwards again as you would naturally. Is your walking different now?  How so?

Does your walk maybe feel smoother, easier, or lighter?

Enjoy the feeling!

[End of Lesson]

If you're budgeted for time, two of the “most powerful walking moves in the world" are to:

Walk forwards. Walk backwards. Walk backwards on the outer edges of your feet. Walk forward again.

Voila!  You'll always notice a change.  Guaranteed!

Anecdote:I'll relay to you a case regarding "neurological walking (gait) problems” ... 

One client of mine, Joyce, late 30's, was diagnosed as having cerebral palsy.  Joyce was referred to me by her physician because her left knee "always ached".  I actually did very little hands-on work with her on my Movement Education bodywork table.  After briefly exploring with her in standing, by guiding her with my hands for turning, we then went into a large open space adjacent to my office.  I asked Joyce to walk on her crutches in several different walking patterns as described above.  In just one session, there was a visible difference in Joyce's walk on her crutches.  She reported to me how the pain had vanished and that she felt she was walking more “centered and balanced”.

Guan Yin Acupuncture & Movement-Education Center
Dr. Lin Cheng Speer, LAc, OMD, PhD
James Speer, Injury Rehab Therapist
Functional Movement-Education Therapist
Practitioner of the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais
1003 Wilshire Blvd. Suites #203, #208
Santa Monica, CA 90401
tel. 310-395-1952www.drlinspeer.com
"Health Is All that Matters!"

"If you’re in pain, or your body aches, I give you the sensory motor experience to be able to move freely, effortlessly, pleasantly, without strain or discomfort. Say 'Hello' to relaxing, and 'Goodbye' to stiffness and pain!"

To see my popular YouTube video of me demonstrating the wonderful "'2-Minute Movement-Education Miracle' to Free Up Your Stiff Neck", Click Here