Day 15 - Secrets of Natural Walking: Unlocking the True Potential of the Human Body
The human body is a miraculous system. From a young age I’ve been fascinated by the limitless potential of human beings. I would spend hours reading encyclopedias collecting facts to inspire imagination of my hidden superpowers. As an 11-year old to learn that the human bone is nearly 5 times stronger than steel; the human eye can distinguish 10 million different colors; and that a single human brain generates more electrical impulses in a day than all the telephones of the world combined was very powerful in opening my mind to what is possible.
Human beings only use a small percentage of our body’s true potential. We often hear that the average human being utilizes less than ten percent of the brain. Whilst this isn’t entirely true, it speaks to the shared understanding that humans have yet to realize our potential. This idea is periodically renewed by stories of everyday people that demonstrate superhuman ability, such as Daniel Kish. Kish had both eyes removed due to cancer during his first year of life. He learned to navigate the world by using echolocation, clicking his tongue to produce sound waves through which he perceives the environment around him – similar to bats. He famously mountain bikes down winding forest trails without aid using only his clicking sound as guide. Now teaching other blind people his echolocation technique, Kish has shifted the scientific community understanding of human hearing ability. Another remarkable individual is Wim Hof who mastered Tibetan breathing techniques to regulate his heart rate and body temperature to perform incredible feats in extreme cold. Hof holds 26 world records, including staying immersed in ice for 1 hour and 13 minutes, summiting Mount Kilimanjaro within two days wearing only shorts, and running a full marathon in Namib Desert without any water. History is littered with records of individuals with abilities that reshape the way we perceive what is possible.
Unlocking the true potential of the human body … There are many physical and spiritual techniques that require intense practice over years to develop great strength, stamina, endurance and health. These exercises are often centered around the notion of pushing the body to its limit. Today everything from our attitude, diet, lifestyle, posture to even the way we move often places an excessive amount of internal and external stress upon the body. This stress inevitably inhibits the very core functioning of the body’s organs and systems. Rather than discovering the upper limits of our potential, we too often and too soon find ourselves in modes of critical health. Over time, we have come to accept this as the norm. We forget that the human body has a heart that pumps blood at such pressure that it would be able to raise blood up to the fourth floor of a building; a liver that has an amazing ability to grow back after surgical removal or chemical injury; and incredible regenerative abilities, where only while reading this sentence 50,000 cells in your body died and were replaced by new ones. In spite of us, the human body performs miraculous feats every moment.
… One step at a time. Secrets of Natural Walking is a meditative-walking practice centered upon the understanding that the key to unlocking the potential of the human body is by us doing less and allowing the body to naturally function. Two methods renowned for reactivating the natural healing abilities of the body are acupuncture and reflexology. According to Chinese acupuncture, meridians run throughout the body connecting all parts of the body together. Reflexology relies on pathways called reflex zones, which contain reflex areas located on the hands and feet. Stimulating the meridians or reflexes relieves tension, improves circulation, and promotes the natural functions of the related organs.
With Secrets of Natural Walking every proper step we take naturally adjusts our legs, muscles, joints, spine, and stimulates the meridians and reflexology zones to cleanse all blockages and reactivate the natural healing functions, improving our overall health including our internal organs. Frequently we hear about miraculous stories from practitioners, including stroke victims achieving a full recovery, lifelong diabetics receiving independence from insulin shots, and Scoliosis patients having curved spines naturally straightened. To experience these dramatic health benefits from simply walking properly may sound simplistic, but that’s the point – once we stop our doing the body’s healing abilities can begin to function more properly and nature can take its course.
My journey with Secrets of Natural Walking. I started practicing Natural Walking in 2014. Entering the practice with little expectation, I would feel refreshed and peaceful after each session, which motivated me enough to continue. Over time, I began to notice that deeper physiological changes started to occur. For several years into my mid-twenties, I had suffered from gastritis that resulted in sharp pain every time I missed a meal or invariably ate something that disagreed with my system. After four months of practicing Natural Walking regularly, I noticed that my stomach stopped hurting with the intensity and frequency that I had come to accept as part of my everyday life. Gradually the pain disappeared completely and I realized I could miss meals or eat almost any food without discomfort. For many people this might sound insignificant, but it’s something I had not experienced since I was 15 years old. Other changes I began to observe over time included significantly heightened energy levels, strengthened immune system, deep quality sleep, and muscle development. The way I experienced life had subtly yet fundamentally transformed. What surprised me the most was it was largely effortless. Simply by walking a few steps each day my body responded in a tremendous way. Bruce Lee often described Kung Fu by expressing that “the extraordinary aspect of martial arts lies in its simplicity … the easy way is the right way, and martial arts is nothing at all special…” I feel the same way about Secrets of Natural Walking. It’s remarkably simple as the emphasis is not at all upon the art. Instead it’s centered upon the miraculous abilities of the human body in it’s natural form. I believe we are only beginning to discover the true potential of the human body and understand the significance of this Divine gift.
