09/24/2025
Walking is as distinctive as your face.
Walking is refreshing, healthful, and a nice change of scene. It is also a fantastic opportunity to play! Yes, play with your walk.
You may not think about walking in the sense of: How exactly do I walk? Most people just walk the way they walk as though there were no other option.
You've probably noticed, though, that you can tell someone from their walk, even from a great distance. The way you walk may be as distinctive as your face.
How could that be? Are there really that many ways to walk? Yes, and there are genetic, compensatory, immitative, psychological, and momentary influences.
And this is where play comes in: How about next time you walk you notice how you walk, and then play with it. Maybe soften your knees, maybe kick your toes a little bit, maybe bring your weight down on the whole foot rather than the heel first. Ooh! How about swinging your arms a little more or less, or swing your spine a bit more or put some hip into your walk. Wait! How about singing (in your head or out loud) a favorite song and walking to the rhythm. You could walk like a stork, or a cat, or a gecko.
Beyond being just fun, this play can also help us understand our habitual movements and offer us an opportunity to unwind habits that should be unwound.
Have fun out there people!
Photo Credit: https://www.pexels.com//
