Let’s come to look at walking or the Gait Cycle, something we normally take for granted until such time as we are injured or infirm.

For efficiency in the Gait cycle, or walking, a whole raft of muscles need to work in sequence and as a team. Every time we take a step, swinging one leg through and forward, before the foot lands to bear weight once again it needs to be angled correctly when meeting a potentially uneven surface.

To achieve this there are two sets of muscles which served to either invert or evert the foot, or to put it more simply – to tilt the foot creating lift from either the inside or outside edge, we do this instinctively and lightening quick.

The torsional forces from the muscles in the front of the shin and side of the lower leg (from striking the ground) are continuous from the side of the lower leg up, through the outer hamstring, up through the buttock, across in to the opposite side lower back and up through the deep spinal muscles, all the way up to the base of the skull. This is known as the deep longitudinal sling and can be trained alongside the other postural slings to develop a more integrated functional strength.

Really useful stuff to make walking and running more efficient with less propensity towards injury.

It is useful to view yoga practice through the lens of everyday functional movements so you can become functionally strong and develop an integrated whole body strength, balanced with flexibility.

A yoga workshop on this subject forthcoming, date to announced very soon.

Let me know if you are interested and feel free to share this if of value to someone you know.

All good wishes in physical and mental health. 🙂🙏