While paying for my groceries this morning at the check out counter the woman behind me stepped forward, but with such a wide swing of her left leg it actually caught the leg of the fellow in line at the checkout counter next to us. This caused her to swing her other leg all the way crossing in front of her, nearly causing her to fall forward to her face. Luck as it may, I was there at just the right moment to see what happened and caught her before she fell on the ground.
Funny part was this didn’t even phase her. It greatly startled the man next to us whose leg she caught. But for this woman and her husband, not a second thought.
Of course, here go my thoughts.. 1) Look what happens as we age and we zig and zag when we walk instead of letting our legs swing freely from our hips. Instead this woman like so many people walks side to side rather than forward. 2) What are the leading reasons people end up in assisted care homes? They start falling and their kids become so concerned they convince Mom and Dad to make the move to safer grounds. 3) Lest, I mention broken hips that land people in the hospital and worse.
In this short video you will see a couple of small and simple ideas that we teach in Feldenkrais® Awarenss Through Movement classes, and Movement Intelligence® and our Walk For Life® Programs.
Be smart, be aware, and above all, use your body for wisdom to carry you through the rest of your amazing life.
Elinor Silverstein, GCFP
