Circle Walking to Maximise Your Walking Practice
June 2010 Walking Tip
The last two months I’ve written about releasing the nerves, creating a sung body and deepening the internals of your walk. Now it’s time to walk in a circle to supercharge your chi.
First and foremost, I want to make the statement that I’m not specifically teaching the movements of bagua albeit incorporating aspects associated with bagua. Even still you can use normal heel-toe Circle Walking to generate chi.
The Enemy of the Internal Arts
Circle Walking, whether heel-toe or mud walking, will give you a method for exercising continuously without interruption. This reduces inertia—the enemy of the internal arts if ever there was one.
Inertia breaks your flow and diminishes your chi. Circle Walking is a method for countering the stop-start-stop-start qualities that many of us experience when we start internal arts practice. The smoother and more continuous your walk the more chi you will build and subsequently bank at the end of your practice.
Create Your Circle
Start by mapping out a space for your circle. I travel a lot to teach and the first thing I see in any new place is my circle, and the furniture moving begins! Place an object in the middle of your circle so you can identify the centre and plot its circumference.
Start with your left leg on the inside of your circle and without any internals just walk around the perimeter a few times to get your bearings. When you want to turn around, simply turn your outside leg in so your toes point roughly to the centre of the circle. Make sure your knees are comfortable and don’t feel strained in any way.
Next, as you shift your weight onto the turned leg, make sure your knee is centered over the arch of your foot. The weight is in the back of the knee in the same manner as when you walk straight.
Then turn the body to face in the opposite direction whilst keeping the weighted knee still in space and aligned—directly over the arch of the foot. Allow the un-weighted leg to turn with the body to prevent strain. Pick up the other leg, step forward and away you go.
Practice Turning When Walking
Practise this turning to change direction a lot to become familiar with these steps. Be sure that you’re operating within your comfortable zone, 70% of your capacity or less. When you’re ready progressively add the internals from the last two months.
Next month we go for speed walking, so stabilising these components will be very important if you plan to go for it with me.
Happy Circle Walking,
Paul
Any physical and/or energetic exercise can carry risks. Do not attempt these exercises if you have any physical, emotional or mental conditions that may make you susceptible to injury.
© 2010 Paul Cavel—All rights reserved.
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