Daily Walking Benefits Those with Lung Disease and Cuts Stroke Risk.
Here’s How to Optimize Your Benefits from Walking
March 21, 2014
By Dr. Mercola
I've recently started writing more about the health
benefits of
proper posture. Its benefits go FAR beyond looks; your
posture has a tremendous impact on chronic pain, and in all
likelihood contributes a great deal to the biological harm
associated with prolonged sitting.
Posture and proper body mechanics is equally important
when you're moving about. Simply walking has been found to
have significant health benefits, including the reduction of
severe attacks associated with lung disease, and a reduced
risk of stroke—both of which I'll discuss in a moment.
Walking correctly can only add to such benefits.
In the video above, Esther Gokhale teaches several
components of her Gokhale Method "glidewalking" technique.
She emphasizes the following features:
Pelvic anteversion (allowing the
pelvis to naturally tip forward, with the belt line
slanting down towards the front). This is necessary to
put the glutes in a position of mechanical advantage,
and to allow the back leg to straighten and propel you
forward.
Glute contraction. The glutes are
supposed to be the biggest muscles in the body and are
designed to power your stride. Most people in
industrialized cultures have glute amnesia.
Soft landing. By sustaining your
glute contractions a little longer than most of us tend
to, your footfall becomes light. This helps protect your
weight-bearing joints.
How to Cultivate Good Gait
Pelvic anteversion (tipping the pelvic bowl
forward). The Gokhale Method advocates doing a
mini-squat and letting gravity help the pelvis tip
forward. Esther cautions against "sticking the bottom
back" as this creates tension in the low back. Pelvic
anteversion, when you are not used to it, can feel very
awkward at first. Here is a video clip of me reporting
on how I felt the first time I was positioned to
"tallstand" with pelvic anteversion by Esther Gokhale.
Since then, this pelvic position has come to not only
feel comfortable, but also normal. These transitions
back to healthy posture are nuanced and often awkward at
first. I recommend seeking out
instruction from a qualified Gokhale Method teacher
to make this practical. The six-lesson Gokhale Method
Foundations course was very helpful to me.
Glute contraction. In her presentation "Walk This
Way", Esther suggests several ways to "wake up" your
glutes so they can get the exercise they need while
empowering your gait. This extract from her DVD
Back Pain: The Primal Posture Solution shows her
working with a student who learned to contract her
glutes in walking:
The student reports developing glute tone after
decades of having a "flat butt." She also got rid of
longstanding migraine headaches by improving her overall
posture using the Gokhale Method.
Soft landing. The muscle that can assist you in
landing softly with every step is the gluteus medius
muscle. It is located in the upper outer quadrant of the
glute pack. In her presentation "Walk This Way," Esther
demonstrates how to locate the muscle by doing the
following pose:
Once you have found gluteus medius, you can
strengthen it by doing repetitions of the pose, or more
organically by using it in walking with a light tread.
She suggests learning to samba dance as an additional,
fun way to work this muscle. Toning your gluteus medius
muscles gives you additional health benefits like
improved knee alignment and better balance. As a bonus
benefit, it's the muscle that keeps your glutes from
sagging as you age.
How's Your Walk?
By reorganizing your pelvis and recruiting your glutes,
you will be improving your posture all the way from your
ankle to your hip, and upwards through your body. From a
functional standpoint, it helps you get the correct
alignment between your foot, your knee, and your hip. Proper
tracking or alignment helps protect your joints during
movement. This includes your knees, hips, and lower back. By
stimulating the correct muscle recruitment during your walk
you also give your glutes and leg muscles a better workout
while simultaneously lengthening those muscles. This will
help reshape your body in a pleasing way.
I would recommend practicing this while barefoot, to get
a real feel for your foot and toes. Walking barefoot on
either sand or grass also has a number of additional health
benefits associated with the fact that this will allow your
body to soak up electrons from the Earth. For pointers on
barefoot walking and the benefits of Earthing or grounding,
please see my previous article, "Grounding:
The Potent Antioxidant That Few Know About".
Learning from Healthy Examples
In the video above, Esther Gokhale walks in line with
some ladies from Burkina Faso, Africa, to mimic their gait.
Notice that their "behinds" are behind them, that their
glutes engage alongside straightening the rear leg, and that
they are able to carry weights on their heads and babies on
their backs without any apparent stress or strain.
In this video taken in Manaus, Brazil, the man carries a
large basket on his head. Notice the steadiness of his
pelvis, the strong action of his glutes in propelling him
forward, and the relaxation of the leg in the "swing phase."
In the Gokhale Method, relaxation in the swing leg is taught
after students have gained some mastery of the active
propulsion phase of walking.
Walking Posture Connects with Your Overall Posture
How you sit, bend, lift, stand, and even lie influences
how you walk and vice versa. For example, by walking well
you will develop your glutes and have a more comfortable
built-in "cushion" to sit on. Conversely, by sitting well
with your behind out behind you, you will be cultivating
pelvic anteversion and be well poised to have a more
powerful, effective stride.
By using your "anti-twist muscles" (the abdominal
obliques and rotatores) to stabilize your torso as you walk,
you will strengthen critical components of your "inner
corset." A stronger inner corset will allow you to carry
weights more effectively and safely. Conversely, by
cultivating your deep abdominal and back muscles as you
carry objects, you will have a more stable torso to help you
walk rapidly.
Free Online Workshop
Esther Gokhale is offering a special online workshop on
glidewalking for Mercola.com readers. This is a marvelous
opportunity to learn more about how to walk properly from a
real expert. The event is free, and will be offered during
three time slots as follows:
Exercise Reduces Chances of COPD-Related Hospitalization
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common
lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe. The disease
is progressive, and falls into two main categories or forms:
chronic bronchitis and emphysema, which destroys your lungs
over time. Those with COPD may suffer a combination of both
of these forms. The US fatality rate from COPD is estimated
to be around 134,000 each year.
Previous research has highlighted the benefits of diets
rich in fruits and vegetables to protect lung function and
decrease your risk of COPD. More recent research also notes
the benefits of gentle
exercise on the condition. According to a two-year long
study published in the journal Respirology,1
walking for two miles a day or more can reduce your chances
of hospitalization from a severe episode of COPD. As
reported by WebMD:2
"Scientists found that chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) patients without regular
walking regimens had about twice the rate of
hospitalizations triggered by the condition compared to
those who maintained the highest levels of physical
activity. This was defined as walking between roughly
two and four miles each day.
'Of course, daily walking acts to improve the
exercise capacity of these patients,' said study author
Dr. Cristobal Esteban, a staff member in the respiratory
service at Hospital Galdakao-Usansolo, in Spain.
'Physical activity is a 'medicine' that will improve
your general condition as well as COPD.'"
While the study used a mild two-mile walk, this is a very
low level aerobic exercise and will not provide as much
benefit as
Peak Fitness exercises. The study never examined higher
intensity exercises, but they should provide far more
benefit than low level cardio as long as one limits oneself
to operate within the parameters of reduced oxygen capacity
from the COPD. Additionally, the Peak Fitness exercises can
be done in less than half the time of a two-mile walk.
A commonly held idea used to be that if you have COPD,
you should avoid physical activity so as not to stress your
lungs. As with many other health conditions, this turns out
to be seriously flawed advice. Research has repeatedly
demonstrated that exercise is beneficial for virtually every
condition under the sun. This includes people with
cancer and
heart disease,
pregnant women,
asthmatics, those with
osteoarthritis, and the
elderly.
One of the key health benefits of exercise is that it
helps normalize your glucose, insulin, and leptin levels by
optimizing insulin/leptin receptor sensitivity. This is
perhaps the most important factor for optimizing your
overall health and preventing chronic disease, including all
the ones listed above.
Walking Also Cuts Stroke Risk in Elderly Men
Another study published in the November 2013 issue of the
journal Stroke3
found that daily walking reduced the risk of stroke in men
over the age of 60. A stroke involves either a rupture of an
artery that feeds your brain (hemorrhagic stroke), or an
obstruction of blood flow (ischemic stroke), with the
ischemic type representing 75 percent of all strokes. Your
risk of stroke increases with age, with most occurring after
age 55. Nearly 3,500 men between the ages of 60 and 80
participated in the study. They were divided into five
groups, depending on how long they walked each week:
Those who walked 0-3 hours/week
4-7 hours/week
8-14 hours/week
15-21 hours/week
More than 22 hours/week
The findings suggest that walking for at least an hour or
two could cut a man's stroke risk by as much as one-third,
and it doesn't seem to matter how brisk the pace is. Taking
a three-hour long walk each day could slash the risk by a
healthy two-thirds. Same issue here though; Peak Fitness
exercises would provide far more benefit in a fraction of
the time. According to lead author Barbara Jefferis, a
senior research associate in the department of primary care
and population health at University College London:4
"Stroke is a major cause of death and disability
and it is important to find ways to prevent stroke,
especially in older people who are at high risk. Getting
into the habit of walking every day for at least an hour
could protect against stroke. Walking could be for
transport, such as doing errands and going to the shops,
walking around indoors as well as walking for leisure,
such as walking in a park."
Both Women and the Elderly May Do Better with Low to
Moderate Intensity Exercise
Previous research supports the notion that exercise is a
key stroke prevention tool. One study published last year5
found that if you're inactive, you have a 20 percent higher
risk for having a stroke or mini-stroke (transient ischemic
attack) than people who exercise enough to break a sweat at
least four times a week. It's worth noting that there appear
to be some gender and possibly age-related variations that
make the intensity of the exercise either better or
worse in terms of reducing stroke risk.
Research appears to support the idea that adult men need
more vigorous exercise to reap maximum benefits whereas
women tend to do better with moderate intensity. The elderly
may also only need low intensity, provided they walk for a
longer period of time. As an example, research presented at
the 2014 American Stroke Association's International Stroke
Conference found that moderate exercise (such as taking a
brisk walk) reduced women's stroke risk by 20 percent.
According to Medical News Today:6
"The researchers, led by Prof. Sophia Wang of the
Beckman Research Institute in California, say this
decreased risk from moderate exercise is just as strong
as that of strenuous exercise... Prof. Wang says she was
surprised that the link to reduced stroke risk was
strongest with moderate physical activity. 'More
strenuous activity such as running didn't further reduce
women's stroke risk,' she adds. 'Moderate activity, such
as brisk walking appeared to be ideal in this
scenario.'"
Another 2013 study7
also concluded that walking at least three hours per week
reduces stroke risk in women better than high
intensity cardio. One possible explanation is that women may
be more susceptible to the excessive physical stress
"conventional cardio" exerts on the heart. Men, on the other
hand, appear to fare better with higher intensity exercise.
For example, one 2009 study published in Neurology8
found that vigorous exercise reduces stroke risk in men, and
helps them recover from a stroke better and faster as well.
(Moderate to heavy exercise was, again, not found
to have a protective effect for women.) I would expect the
right type of cardio to lower stroke risk in both
men and women.
Walking—It Does a Body Good
Few activities are as underrated as walking. But research
and experience both confirm that walking is powerful
medicine. Younger people would do well to pick up the pace
and intensity, while the elderly may simply focus on staying
in motion for as long as possible each day. Reducing
COPD-related hospitalization rates and stroke risk is just
the beginning.
Add to this proper posture, and walking can suddenly take
you even further, improving your workout, your
cardiovascular benefits, and your
muscle tone, while decreasing pain and stresses on your
joints.
Just remember that, ideally, to optimize your benefits
from exercise, you'll want to push your body hard enough for
a challenge while allowing adequate time for recovery and
repair to take place. One of the best ways to accomplish
this is with
high intensity interval training (HIIT), which consists
of short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed
by longer periods of recovery, as opposed to extended
episodes of continuous vigorous exertion.
This is a core part of my
Peak Fitness program, which has helped many return to
and maintain good health. Unfortunately, the concept of high
intensity exercise training, or Peak Fitness, is relatively
recent and it will be many more years before studies are
conducted that show its superiority to the low level cardio
used in the studies above.