Why Care About Walking and Breathing?

Walking and breathing are two functions that we don’t think about. But we should. They impact everything else we do: movement, thought process, sleep quality, stress level, and belief system. We are interconnected to all the systems of our body and when they don’t function together, they compensate separately. And we suffer.

Walking comes from the hips. It isn’t just one leg in front of the other, thoughtlessly moving forward. The hips drive the legs, adding support and stability. If the hips don’t move, the body compensates somewhere else. Ever observe someone swagger when they move? The shoulders are moving to compensate for the hips not moving. That can cause problems in the lower back, hips, on down to the knees and feet.

Think of your hips as Grand Central Station. Every movement, or non-movement coming from below the hips is reflected up above. Remember the swagger. Both the legs need to move in concert with the arms, chest, and head. Otherwise, the gait looks awkward, slow, and unsteady. To walk better, walk more, swing your arms, walk with deliberation, walk with a friend, walk with a cane. But walk. Move more. It isn’t just transportation. It’s also an indication of your aging process.

Breathing is the other function that we ignore. We breathe; what’s the big deal? Except that we don’t always breathe. When learning a new physical skill, oftentimes we hold our breath, concentrating and not realizing it until we sharply inhale. We don’t breathe deeply, but our body needs all that oxygen to function. When stressed (which has become the norm), we shallow breathe, and everything suffers.

Our brain needs oxygen to work. Otherwise, thoughts get fuzzy, decision making falters, and fatigue sets in. Our hearts need oxygenated blood to deliver nutrients to cells, so our body can keep performing optimally. Our eye cells need oxygen to focus properly, our nerve endings need oxygen to stay sensitive to any dangers, our nose needs oxygen to breathe. A stuffy nose does no one any good. Get my point?

Celebrate how your body continues working without your attention. And then start paying attention to increase it’s functionality.

That’s Aging Intelligently.