Improve Your Walking6 Tips and an Exercise Based on the Alexander Technique

By

Leland VallCertified Alexander Technique Instructor

New York, NYwww.freeyourneck.com

Most people think they know how to walk without considering the possibility that they can improve this vital skill. Maybe you would like to walk more as part of a health program, but you find walking uncomfortable. Or maybe you would like to look better and feel more comfortable in high heels. Improving your ability to walk is possible, and can improve the way you look, as well as make every step easier, more enjoyable, and even safer. The tips and exercise in this article, based on the Alexander Technique, can get you started on improving the way you walk beginning today.

The Alexander TechniqueThe Alexander Technique is often described as a method for recognizing and breaking habits of excess tension in everyday activities. People take lessons in the Alexander Technique from a certified Alexander teacher to, among other things, improve posture, movement, and breathing. Walking might seem like a simple activity, but people often develop unconscious habits in their walking that make this skill more difficult. You can't learn the whole Alexander Technique just from one article, but trying out the tips and exercise here can help you gain a new perspective on this seemingly familiar activity.

A Note on Walking in High HeelsThere is always a lot of controversy about high heels. The tips and exercise contained here work the same for heels and flats. Walking in high heels is similar to walking down an incline, and although it can be more difficult, all the same rules apply as when walking on flat ground. One common complaint about heels is that they cause the pelvis to tip forward. This is actually a common postural problem with or without heels and it is addressed here. It will be more challenging, but you can practice the tips and exercise while wearing heels.

Six Tips for Improved WalkingInstructionsWalk around the room to experiment with these tips. Try them one at a time and then all together. Use the tips with some subtlety and without exaggerating the instructions. None of these tips should cause you to walk in a strange of uncomfortable way. But if you want to improve, you will have to practice and experiment. Always remember to look where you are going. Self-discovery is fun, but don't get too caught up in it.

1. Walk with a lighter step. This doesn't mean walking in a funny way, just put each foot down a little lighter as you walk. It may help to take a shorter stride. Most missteps happen when too much weight is placed on the new step too quickly. Walking with a lighter step gives you slightly more time to evaluate what you are stepping on, reducing the risk of falling. Dancers always have a light step and it is also less jarring and easier on your joints.

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2. Let your waist stay mostly over your standing leg. Avoid pushing your hips forward along with the moving leg. When you walk, the knee goes forward, the hips should stay a bit behind.

3. Let the movement of your knee peel your foot off the floor.It may seem strange, but don’t pick up you feet. Instead, let the forward movement of your knee peel your foot from the floor. When walking, your foot needs to move both forward and up. Picking up the foot only makes the foot go up. Letting the foot follow the knee causes the foot to go up and forward at the same time. Besides possibly reducing the time the foot is in the air, it may also leave a portion of your foot on the ground longer as it rises. Both of these results will improve stability because you will have both feet on the ground longer with each step.

4. Minimize side-to-side shifting.Side to side movement can wear on the joints of your spine and also wastes energy. You are not going sideways—you are going forward. There will always be some sideways shifting as you walk, but with a little thought, you might be able to minimize it. This will also be addressed more clearly in the exercise.

5. Imagine you are floating above your moving legs. Find the joints from where your legs move and imagine that you are floating above those joints. Avoid sinking into your legs because it makes you feel heavier and it causes binding in the hip joints, making movement more difficult. You can find your hip joint by lifting one knee and putting your thumb in the joint.

6. Avoid tightening the back of your neck.When walking quickly, have you ever noticed a tightening in the back of your neck? This tightening in the neck probably happens every time you walk, but it is usually more prominent when you walk quickly. As you walk now, see if you can allow the back of your neck to be softer. Most people think this is more comfortable.

Using the TipsRemember to use the tips one at a time and then try to add them together. After experimenting with them, try the exercise below.

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Improve Your Walking – A 10 Part Exercise Based on the Alexander Technique

This is mostly a thinking exercise. It is similar to the Six Tips above, but it asks you to apply the instructions while marching in place.

InstructionsTry this exercise after you try the tips. The exercise isn't meant to be a way to walk, but a way to examine walking. Like the tips, it is a cumulative exercise—you begin with the first part and you end with all ten parts together. Take your time with it, probably at least 20 minutes, and march in place at least ten times for each part of the exercise. If you are concerned about balance, hold on to a wall or poll.

1. March in place.Do this as you would normally and compare how it changes as you go through the exercise.

2. Place Each Foot Down Softly.This should be just a subtle change that only involves the moving leg. Avoid bending the standing kneed in order to place the new foot.

3. Think about the Standing LegIn addition to the previous instructions, be more concerned with the standing leg than the moving leg. It might seem obvious to think about the leg you are lifting, but it is the standing leg that is holding you up. You should find that it is easier to stand on one leg when you think about the leg you are standing on, rather than the moving leg.

4. Point toward ceiling.In addition to the previous instructions, try pointing toward the ceiling with one finger. Thinking about the standing leg while also pointing toward the ceiling also helps balance.

5. Move your knee forward, not up.In addition to the previous instructions, instead of lifting your knee with each step, think of putting your knee forward in space. Your knee will go up automatically when you put it forward.

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6. Reduce side to side movement.In addition to the previous five instructions, try to limit your movement only to your legs as much as you can. There will always be some movement in your torso, but imagine that if people could only see your body from the waist up, they wouldn't know you were marching in place. The more you think of both your pointing finger and your standing leg, the easier this will be.

7. Let your foot hang under your rising kneeIn addition to the previous instructions, let your rising foot hang under your rising knee. Avoid bringing your foot backward toward your thigh.

8. Leave your pelvis over your standing foot.In addition to the previous instructions, avoid pushing your pelvis forward as your knee goes forward. Let your knee go forward while your pelvis stays directly over your standing foot.

9. Avoid pulling the back of your head down.In addition to the previous instructions, let the back of your neck be very soft. Avoid pulling your head backwards as each knee goes forward.

10. Finish the exercise by just walking around in a normal way.

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Any improvement in your walking should be subtle. Avoid walking in an exaggerated way. If you discovered anything from the exercise, try to apply it along with the tips. But no matter how much you enjoy improving the way you walk, be sure to always watch where you are going.

To find out more about improving all your movement and posture with the Alexander Technique, schedule an introductory lesson. www.freeyourneck.com

©2009 Leland Vall 5 www.freeyourneck.com