| By
Paul
Chek, HHP, NMT
Today, most civilized countries face the highest incidence
of obesity, disease and orthopedic injury in almost every
conceivable category on record. These types of health issues
persist despite our vast quantity of medical technology and
the presence of more doctors and health care professionals
than ever in history. Given our resources and current state
of health, one must surmise ... if there is anything we can
do for ourselves, we best get moving!
There are a few factors that can be correlated to our declining
health, such as:
- A tremendous increase in the consumption of medical drugs;
an astonishing percentage of Americans are on at least one
prescription drug. In 2000, 3 billion drug prescriptions
were filled by pharmacies (1). In Dr. Mercola's words, "
... that's enough drugs for every man, woman and child to
have a new prescription each month of the year!"(2)
- Increased consumption of caffeinated and sugar-laden beverages
in place of water
- A massive decline in food quality secondary to depletion
of soils and use of industrial farming technology as well
as a huge increase in the quantity of processed foods
- Lack of exercise!
While I have a lot to say regarding all these points, and
many more, it is this last point I would like to address herein.
While many of you could, and probably do, have reasons why
you don't participate in a regular, structured exercise program,
none of you can honestly say that you don't have time to walk!
The human body is not only designed for daily movement, it
is essential for optimal physiological function--which contributes
to health and well-being. To demonstrate my point, consider
the following benefits of simply walking.
Metabolism
Walking is one of the most primal movement patterns known
to man. Because bipedal walking became essential to our survival
as we progressed through the paleo-mammalian phase of human
development into the neo-mammalian phase (fully upright),
our bodies have developed in such a way that walking and movement
are essential to health; as they say, form follows function.
Walking requires the integrated use of our arms, legs and
torso. Hundreds of calorie-burning muscles are utilized by
walking. Walking briskly on a daily basis not only results
in the burning of calories, it increases enzyme activity and
other metabolic activity. Eherenfried Pfeiffer, famous nutritionist,
biochemist and understudy of Rudolph Steiner, suggests that
walking as little as two miles may result in increased calorie
consumption for up to 12 hours post movement (3); from clinical
experience, I can assure you that the more deconditioned you
are, the greater the metabolic effect of walking.
Increased metabolism doesn't only mean using more calories,
it means your body is more likely to draw in nutrients from
your foods and supplements. This is because of the supportive
effects walking has on peristalsis (see below) as well as
the overall stimulation of metabolism, assimilation and elimination.
It also means your desire to drink more water will increase,
supporting all your bodily systems of detoxification and elimination,
as well as improving digestion.
Circulation of Vital Fluids
Walking results in rhythmic contraction and relaxation of
muscles as well as rhythmic pressure changes in body cavities.
This results in improved circulation of blood, lymph and even
synovial fluid (the lubricating fluid made in joints). Because
much of your immune system travels through your body via the
blood and lymphatic fluids, improving your circulation through
daily walking can improve immune function, as well as your
metabolism and health in general.
Cerebral spinal fluid is the special fluid that bathes and
nourishes your nervous system. Unlike blood, which is assisted
in its movement through the body by the heart, cerebrospinal
fluid movement is dependent upon a number of pressure-wave
influences that range from expansion and contraction of cranial
sutures and pressure on the brain tissue, first by systolic
pressure and then by diastolic pressure. Another factor assisting
the flow of this vital fluid is breathing; inhalation lengthens
the spine assisting cerebrospinal fluid flow back into the
brain while exhalation achieves the opposite (4).
Steady state rhythmic walking further assists movement of
body fluids. Steady state walking, or walking at a consistent
effort, synchronizes breathing with movement, again causing
wavelike pulsations throughout body cavities. You will notice
that during relaxed walking, the number of steps per inhalation/exhalation
cycle will self-regulate or synchronize. When you're walking
and breathing synchronizes directly, or in an octave relationship
with other fluid pressures and pulsations, movement of all
major body fluids, including cerebrospinal fluid, is assisted.
In a future article on the major pump systems of the body,
we will explore the relationships between fluid movement,
pumps and physical-emotional-mental and spiritual health.
Mobilization of Internal Organs
The rhythmic pressure changes produced by walking, which
I've described above, also mobilize and massage your internal
organs. This occurs as your diaphragm contracts rhythmically
with the abdominal muscles to aid respiration, as well as
stabilization of the body, the result of which is a massage
for your internal organs. The movement, pressure changes and
improved fluid transfer keep the internal organs mobile and
healthy, improving their physiological functions individually
and synergistically.
A typical example of a common internal organ dysfunction
that often responds well to walking, hiking, or even climbing
stairs is constipation. When people become sedentary, they
lose the natural visceral mobilization provided by functional
exercise. Couple this loss of needed activity with the dietary
habits of modern man and you have constipation and a host
of other reasons for the body to perform poorly!
In fact, today, it is common for people to report to hospital
emergency rooms with terrible back and sciatic pain, only
to be told that they are constipated and given a laxative,
which frequently alleviates the back or sciatic pain. Consider
that in the United States, laxatives are the third best-selling
drugstore item, and most of the laxative customers would look
and feel much better by merely walking as little as two miles
a day and drinking daily an ounce of water for each two pounds
of their body weight!
The P-M-E-S Connection
The human being is a unique organism in that we are physical
(P)-mental (M)-emotional (E)-spiritual (S) beings. With only
a little self-observation, you will quickly realize that any
time your physical being is sluggish or functioning sub-optimally,
your mental-emotional-spiritual well-being also suffers. Most
of you would be surprised at the improved mental clarity and
the emotional and spiritual well-being that results from walking
a couple miles a day.
I frequently prescribe meditative walking for stressed business
executives, a practice I learned from Master Fong Ha (5).
With meditative walking, you need only set a comfortable pace
and work to maintain a rhythmic relationship between the number
of steps taken for each breathing cycle (one inhalation and
one exhalation); for example, breath in for four steps, natural
pause for one step and breath out for four steps. Keep this
steady cycle and soon you will find that not only do your
internal systems synchronize, your mind quickly empties.
If you find your mind jumping around, concentrate on breathing
diaphragmatically, emphasizing inhalation through the nose.
It is also beneficial to the breathing process to keep the
tongue in the physiological rest position on the roof of the
mouth, just behind the front teeth; it naturally goes there
if you swallow or initiate the pronunciation of the letter
'L'.
 Not
only does keeping the tongue in its physiological rest position
assist in deeper breathing by facilitating diaphragmatic breathing
(6), the tongue is the energetic link between two of the primary
energy meridians of the body (7). The microcosmic orbit is
composed of two primary meridians, the Governing in the rear
of the body and the Conception in the front of the body (Figure
1.). With inhalation, Chi, or life-force energy, rises from
the anus, along the spine and over the head to the end of
the Governing vessel at the point in the upper palate where
the tongue naturally rests.
On exhalation, the Chi energy flows down through the tongue,
neck and linea alba (central line between your abdominal muscles)
to the anus. As you relax into your walking meditation, it
is important to keep the tongue relaxed or circulation through
the microcosmic orbit becomes diminished. With relaxation
and practice, you will begin feeling the Chi flowing through
the microcosmic orbit; most people can feel Chi flowing in
the microcosmic orbit after one gong, which is 100 consecutive
days of practice. I feel the minimum commitment should be
40 breath cycles, which is minimal considering you will breathe
about 25,900 times a day anyway!
Time to Get Walking!
Now that you know walking can aid in improving your metabolism,
body shape, energy levels, mental clarity, and most aspects
of your well-being, it is time to stop driving around the
parking lot at the shopping center for 10 minutes waiting
for a spot to open up by the door! It is also time to stop
riding elevators all the time, particularly since most of
us need a lot more exercise! If you could use a little more
vitality in your life, climbing a few stairs whenever possible
will be a big step (literally) in the right direction.
Whenever you can get out into nature and walk or hike, you
will always attain increased benefit. Uneven terrain stimulates
the use of many different movement patterns, further assisting
in massaging the organs, pressure changes and improved circulation.
You also get a much-needed chance to breath fresh air and
share your energy with Mother Nature's life forms. Put all
this together and you should be able to easily sell yourself
on the idea of going for a walk, one of the easiest ways in
the world to reap benefits for your Physical-Mental-Emotional-Spiritual
well-being!
Paul
Chek is a Holistic Health Practitioner (Ca.) and Certified
Neuromuscular Therapist. He is founder of the C.H.E.K Institute
in Vista, Ca. If you enjoyed this article, you will love the
greater scope of information available to you in his new book
"How To Eat, Move and Be Healthy!" For more information
on Paul Chek's books, videos, audios, correspondence courses
and articles, visit his Web page at www.chekinstitute.com
or call 1-800-552-8789 (U.S.) (1-760-477-2620 International)
for a free catalog.
References:
-
Dr. Mercola's Web site: /sites/articles/archive/2002/04/13/pharmaceutical-spending.aspx
-
Personal Communication with Dr. Mercola. July, 2003
-
"Ehrenfried Pfieffer Himself" Audio Cassette
Series
www.acresusa.com
-
Johathan M.P. Howat, D.C., D.I.C.S., F.I.C.S., F.C.C.
"Chiropractic--Anatomy and Physiology of Sacro Occipital
Technique"
Cranial Communication Systems, Oxford, UK 1999. p. 19
-
Personal Communication with Master Fong Ha
Integral Chuan Institute in Berkeley, California
www.fongha.com
-
David A. Zhon, M.D.
"Musculoskeletal Pain--Diagnosis and Physical Treatment,
2nd Ed." (p.187)
Little Brown and Co. Boston/Toronto, 1988
-
Paul Brecher
Secrets of Energy Work (p. 114)
Dorling Kindersley, UK.
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