Walking Backwards

[mYTHmAKER]

Does anyone practice walking backwards?

I was taught to do this for a few minutes after standing Zhan Zhang.

[Friend]

Edited November 16, 2011 by Friend

[Otis]

I've been doing barefoot hikes for a few years (and would highly recommend it for others).

 

In the last few months, I've also added some backward hiking, and spiral hiking. Both gain me some strange looks, but they are great for adding useful stress into my body (particularly feet, ankles, calves, etc.) to wake up and enervate the all-important base of my body. The balance of the rest of my body depends upon an easy balance in those lower parts, because all the weight has to pass through them.

[effilang]

In the park in Rotterdam, there is an old Asian dude who basically walks the whole park backwards, and the park ain't small either.

 

He seems like the happiest fellow alive to me, always has a big smiley on his kisser.

 

I watch him sometime while i do my Dao Yin.

 

I never see him doing any sort of practice before he gets walking, so apparently it's not only for balancing, perhaps it is an independent practice too. Maybe we don't know enough.

 

How funny would it be if to become an immortal really all you had to do was walk 10 km backwards. I bet we'd all slap our foreheads.

 

hahahah

[mYTHmAKER]

[Ya Mu]

... so apparently it's not only for balancing, perhaps it is an independent practice too. Maybe we don't know enough. ...

 

Yes, it can be a practice in itself. I used to do it all the time. It helps de-train the brain - we are so used to the forward motion and to see the world fading helps to get away from "that is exactly how it is".

[thelerner]

I like walking with my eyes closed. Every 30 40 steps or when I lose my nerve I'll take a quick 'reverse blink'.

 

Note don't try it on busy street. I feel it helps awaken my other senses.

[Otis]

I like walking with my eyes closed. Every 30 40 steps or when I lose my nerve I'll take a quick 'reverse blink'.

Me too. I find that my brain takes in a lot more information than "I" do in that "reverse blink", because my body successfully navigates things that I was barely aware of.

 

I find that too, in spiral walking, which I do barefoot, on rough trail. Even though I don't fix my eyes anywhere or try to figure out the terrain, there's enough information for my body to figure out where to step.

 

Spinning in place is another great way of being in full motion, without any attempt at trying to figure things out. I don't have any reference point, just a blur, and yet my body stays in one place. And, of course, spinning is all about dynamic balance, so it's great practice for getting my body to act as a unit.

 

I also do some backwards running, but in a large circle, in the grass, so I don't have to worry about crashing into things. Very nice.

[joeblast]

I've been reversing some bagua walking, its kinda funny trying to completely and accurately reverse the motion

[zerostao]

I've been reversing some bagua walking, its kinda funny trying to completely and accurately reverse the motion

dang sometimes i have trouble bagua walking forward i may have to ask about this.(once i get the forward down)

i used to have a daily practice of walking backwards on railroad tracks. i would still do it but here they came and took up the tracks.

[joeblast]

stop drinking and circle walking I've been doing a palm change or vortex of some sort and keeping the circle I was walking but try and seamlessly reverse the body's motion, can do the same process to go back forward. I probably look like a toddler learning to walk doing it!

[Walker]