FITNESS Get the most out of walking

Put your best foot forward


Yoga
Lee Kennedy

Part 1
Over the course of the average lifetime, we are likely to walk at least 25,000 miles. Yet we stroll through life not realising that our walking pattern and posture affects our health and energy levels.
Walking can increase the oxygen to our brain and muscles, reduce stress and slow bone-mineral loss. Yoga can help walkers get the most out of the activity. We all have individual, quirky little walking habits that may be contributing to discomfort during walking. Yoga can help iron these out.
Take a moment to observe how you are standing. Are your feet turned out? Do you prefer one leg to another? Are your feet rolling to the inner arches, or do you put more weight on the outer edges? Is one of your hips protruding? Are your thighs sinking forward? And what’s going on with your lower back, shoulders and head?
Balanced yoga practice can greatly increase all over strength. All yoga poses involve the entire body, so while you are stretching one part of yourself, another part is working at becoming stronger. The triangle pose, or ‘Trikonasana’, is great for opening the hips and  lengthening in the spine while strengthening the legs.

Next week Walking, part 2 – how you carry yourself

Lee Kennedy qualified with The BKS Iyengar Yoga Association UK, the YTTC and Ana Forrest of Forrest Yoga. She specialises in pregnancy-related yoga and also studied with Janet Balaskas, founder of the Active Birth Foundation, UK. Visit Yogadara.com or call 0863906343 for more information.