Walking toward Springy Vitality
Walking Toward Springy Vitality
When I walk, for exercise outdoors or as part of daily activities, I explore the interconnected principles of this theory.
1. Acceptance: I start with how I am. Feel into all my parts.
2. Length: I increase the vertical space in my body (from the soles of my feet to the top of my head, giving incrementally more freedom to all my joints and body tissues, and allowing my structure to fall into its longest alignment with each step).
3. Pace: I increase the tempo/speed of my steps (just a little, perhaps letting the length of my stride shorten a bit).
4. Rhythm: I emphasize the upbeats in the rhythm of my walking (I listen to landing of my feet as the downbeats, then focus on the upbeats between).
5. Spring: I add a bounce to my steps (motivated from the little muscles in my feet, and radiating upward through all my weight-bearing joints).
6. Swing: I invite more rotation in my core (my shoulders and hips alternating their rotation around my spine, my legs and arms in a contra-lateral swing).
7. Score: I tune my inner sound score to a more lively station (perhaps humming/singing/riffing/rapping to myself so I can actually hear my inner music).
8. Self-talk: I give myself more positive self-talk (whatever I hear myself talking about or inwardly discussing, I put a more life-affirming spin on it).
9. Breath: I breathe deeper and slower (allowing more steps per inhale, and more steps per exhale, and more steps on the exhale than on the inhale)
10. See: I look outward (from my inner focus, I let my eyes roam near and far, and focus on what pleases me).
11. Smile: I smile slightly (with my lips, with my eyes, with my heart, with my belly).
Copyright, Roger Tolle, 2018