Silent Outdoor Walk with Ease

Applying Natural Movement

During our Retreat@Home we encouraged everyone to take a Silent Outdoor Walk to practise what we just learned in the Natural Movement Workshop. While I was at Strala Yoga training in Sundance, Utah in 2019 we practised this every morning.

Mike Taylor, one of the founders who is also an avid mountaineer, would take us up the mountains and tell us something to pay attention to each day. Don’t talk, just notice he would say.

Just Notice

The first day it was: just notice your breath. And during the  walk he would stop at some point to do some Qigong exercises and tell us to keep taking deep long breaths, even if it got more strenuous.
The following days, he would teach us something else to notice each day.
Like notice your shoulders: where you are holding tension or creating tension. Another one: notice if you are moving from your middle or with just the force of your legs.

The Easiest Path

Then, walking up and down a very steep part, we learned to find the easiest path, using as little energy as possible.

And guess what? That path didn’t go in a straight line. We found our way by meandering up or down, carefully moving from our center. Unweigthing and resting the parts of us that we could rest and only using the energy needed to move the parts that needed to move.

Conserving energy this way makes doing hard things like climbing a mountain WAY more fun and WAY less daunting.
Within that week I learned so much about Natural Movement. And its not only in doing hard things that these principle can be applied. 

Just take a walk outside and try it out for yourself.
Notice. 
Soften.
Breathe deeply. 
Move from your middle.

Let me know how it goes!

XO
Yvonne