wear good walking shoes that that are stable from side to side and well cushioned. Allow your arms to swing naturally with your walking movement and breathe in a relaxed manner.
Balance Assessment: This self-assessment involves standing for brief periods of time on one leg, so be sure to have a chair at hand in case you need it for balance.
1. Begin by standing with your weight evenly distributed be- tween both feet. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your knees slightly creased. 2. Weight your left foot, and lift the heel of your right foot up so that the ball of your foot is barely touching the ground. 3. Lift your right toe gently off of the ground, placing all your weight on your left side as you stand on your left leg. 4. Count to 10 and see how high you can get before you lose your balance.
5. Repeat this sequence on your other side. 6. Make note of which leg seems to be stronger, and how high you were able to count while standing on each leg.
Warm Ups for Walking: • Waking up the Feet Stand with your weight evenly distributed and your feet shoul- der width apart. Imagine that you are at the beach standing in warm, damp sand. Squinch up your feet and toes several times as though you were trying to make an impression of your feet in the sand complete with toe markers!
• Rotating the Ankles Weight your left foot and rotate your right ankle in a circle 9 times. Repeat in the opposite direction. Repeat the whole pro- cess on your other side.
• Strengthening the Legs Weight your left foot. Place your right toe lightly on the ground in front of you. Move your right toe in a crescent moon shape from front to back and back to front 9 times. If you feel stable, lift your right toe up a few inches off the ground and repeat the movement a few times, seeing if you can hold your balance. Repeat on the opposite side.
Three Tai Chi Walking Practices: 1. First Practice: Stalk Like a Tiger • Stand with both feet equally weighted and shoulder width apart
• Shift all your weight onto your right leg • Step out with your left foot, heel first, then roll the whole foot down until it rests on the floor but do not put any weight on this foot yet • Now lift the left foot an inch or two off the floor, checking to see that this foot is not weighted • Slowly shift weight completely into the left foot. • When the left foot is fully weighted, repeat process with right foot • Move slowly, giving your full attention to each step, and then the next step, and the next step, being fully present to each step.
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