Eyes Straight Ahead

Categories: Uncategorized Feb 19, 2014

I remember walking through the mall one time with my friend, Keith. It was a Friday night and we didn't have anything to do but "hang out" at the mall. I was walking towards some steps when I saw a very nice looking girl who I had been hoping was at the mall. Okay, that is the real reason we were at the mall. Anyway, she was walking towards me, and our eyes met. The closer she got, the more I held her gaze, until I tripped over the steps I was walking towards.

In an instant, I heard my friend Keith bust out in laughter, as well as the girl. However, with my cat-like reflexes and lightning fast mind, I caught myself from totally wiping out and I looked her right in the eye and said, "I thought I saw a quarter."

It's only funny because it is true!

I never did get to date that girl., but I did get her name that day. I also learned how valuable reflexive strength can be. Had I not had any, I would have face planted on those stairs that day, And at the tender age of 17, that would have been a hard fall to overcome.

I learned another lesson that day, too. It is best to keep your eyes straight ahead, where you intend to go. Had I been more interested in where I was walking, I would not have tripped over the stairs. Of course, I probably wouldn't have found my clever pick up line either....

Believe it or not, we are actually designed to walk with our heads held up, so we can see the horizon, so we can see where we are going. Our eyes help us navigate our paths, and they help us coordinate our motion, speed, and reflexive strength. Our brains use all the information coming in from our sensory systems: vestibular, proprioceptive, visual, auditory, and even olfactory to move our bodies accordingly to our environments. We are masters of thoughtless integration - when we are doing what we should be doing.

What does that mean?

Walking around with our heads fixed level with the horizon, freely swinging our shoulders to match the movement of our hips, and listening to the sounds that surround us, is the way we are supposed to travel around. This type of walking is actually a reset. It keeps us tied together, it nourishes our brains and it renews our reflexive strength.

However, walking around with our arms in front of us, with our hands wrapped around our phone, and our head held down to read our phone IS NOT how we should be walking. Walking like this is not a reset. If anything, it is a health hazard. As super fast and awesome as our brains are, we have now introduced so much information that we increase our likelihood to fall, trip, or just plain walk into someone else, a wall, or a bus.

When we focus on our phones, we tune out the sounds we would otherwise hear. We also lower our heads. Remember the body is designed to follow the head. If the head is held down, the body will easily be able to follow that - down, to the ground! Also, by holding our phones with our hands, we are no longer freely swinging our shoulders to match the stride of our hips. We end up shortening our normal leg stride because the coordinated effort - the exact opposite motion from the arms - is no longer present to balance and transfer energy appropriately through our bodies. We are no longer pressing reset. We are simply ambling along, while we blindfold our senses. Not only is this slightly dangerous in the short run, but it has consequences in the long run because we are not keeping ourselves connected. Done habitually, we end up untying ourselves, or "pulling ourselves apart".

I am not anti-phones. I enjoy my phone quite a bit. However, in a world with too many distractions, it is probably best if when we walk, we actually walk. Walking is supposed to be the glue that keeps us held together. Walking is the fountain of youth, or health, or resiliency. At least it is supposed to be.

What if we focused on deliberately walking the way we were designed to walk? What if we allowed our senses to communicate and coordinate our movements appropriately. We would only "tie" them together better as well, and we would allow our body to be continually reset. We have plenty of distractions, and plenty of things they try to rob us of our strength. We don't need any distractions when we are walking. We have plenty of those in every other area of our lives.

When you walk, walk like you were made to. You might be surprised at just how good it feels to walk like a human and take advantage of your design.

Keep your heads up, my friends.

---