Tips for Walking

Have you ever been taught to walk? Oh yes, you might reply---but have you? Really. Perhaps you were taught how to sit or stand after your first few baby steps. How you step, how you walk is all left to you. But Walk? Perhaps only models in our society are taught how to walk-but that type walking won't work on the road. Ha! Now this is "the Blessitt thing".

Go out and walk normally through soft dirt, sand or anywhere that leaves your footsteps. Go back and photo them, study them.

Often they look like this:

They should look like this:

Type A

1. Your heels come down wrong - notice how your shoe wears away on one side of the heel.
2. As your weight comes down and you push off, all your bones and ligaments are stressed because they are not properly in line.
3. If your feet are spread apart you use only part of your foot on the forward thrust as you step forward.
4. Your shoe twists and causes extra sole wear.
5. The mis-stepping leaves you a bit off balance.
6. All this causes you to burn extra energy which makes you tire.

Type B

With type B your entire bone, muscle and ligament structures are all in line. There is no twisting or tension at each stress point. Your body flows. When you step down on your heel it strides evenly, not on one side. As your weight and step moves forward the front of your foot now smoothly takes the weight and gives you a thrust forward. You push off with the ball of your foot, toes, and ankle as your leg now produces power. This is all one smooth, natural movement. It takes less energy, gives more power and causes less stress on the body system.

So remember, relax, walk relaxed, relax your shoulders, chest, arms, and then walk with your body straight up - not slumped over. Keep your feet straight and step forward completely coming off the front of your foot, now take in the beauty of your journey.

How to walk on different terrains:

1. Smooth track, sidewalks, paved roads - walk in full stride with feet pointed straight ahead stepping onto your heel, then on to the ball of the foot and pushing off through the toes. It should be no problem.
2. Grass, vines, tree limbs, rock - must change stride so that instead of lifting the back foot just above the ground, you must at the end of your step lift the back foot up several inches, move it forward still up then place it down not dragging the foot. This prevents the foot being caught in a vine, etc... and causing you to trip and stumble or fall. Remember up, forward then down - don't drag.
3. Ice, wet trail, wet grass, small gravel on the ground or pavement going down hill. Step forward more with your leg than your front foot. Do not push off with the front of your foot as you normally would because this would cause the shoe to slip. You need all the traction you can get, so step with the entire foot on the surface. Also when you step down, put the entire foot down at once, this again gives full foot traction. Not just the heel. In this way of walking you must shorten your stride to get full traction on each step. It also is very important so that if the gravel on the steep decline begans to slip your other foot is there quickly to keep you up because your stride is short.
4. When walking anywhere not familiar to you - you must keep watching where you step - all the time. Should someone be walking with you, talk but do not look. A rock sticks up and you step on one side of it and sprain your ankle. The ground surface may be loose and you slide, there is a hole in an unexpected place, a stick across the path and you trip. There is a bottle you step on or a can, or a wet spot. The sidewalk may be chipped out or a manhole with the top off. (A friend walking with me once stepped into a manhole and fell 10 feet into the pit just beside me!)

Remember on unknown surfaces to watch your step. Then stop and observe the beauty. Then walk on watching your step not the view around. Accidents happen at the most unexpected moments.

Walk at a good steady pace. Learn endurance! On long walks consistency is more important than speed. Some people go so fast that they burn out soon. Set a pace you can keep up hour after hour, day after day. Remember, even walking around the world is simply taking one step at a time. I've had people to walk with me and, wow, they go fast at first but by the second or third day they are exhausted or ready to go home.

I was once invited to a special reception that was given for me in the home of a Hollywood actor. After the dinner as I chatted with the Hollywood crowd a man said to me "I'm into sports and I run everyday." I replied, "And where are you going?" Tears filled his eyes as he said, "Nowhere! I just run around in circles! You walk, but you walk around the world, Jesus called you, you have a purpose, you love God, you love people, I just go in circles that's my life."