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A walk to remember
I’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER that late afternoon when my teacher
in visual poise, a beauty titlist, taught me how to walk gracefully.
The process involved, first, the painful acceptance that for
the past 24 years of my life, grace was absent from my gait;
second, hours of re-learning, training and practice which
resulted to temporary body ache; and third, the sweet boost
of added confidence after I finally got the techniques right!
Nothing beats actual demonstration and practice but let me
share with you some pointers to a graceful walk.
The Correct Posture
With a mirror in front of you:
1) Stand with your back against a wall.
2) Let your head, shoulder blades, buttocks, back of lower
legs and heels touch the wall. You should be able to put a
fist between the back of your waist and the wall. Hold the
position for15 seconds and you may feel slight pain with the
stretching of the stomach area but voila you are now standing
straight! Note that in this position, your chin is parallel
to the floor, your neck is stretched a little, your shoulders
are slightly pulled back, your midriff is lifted into the
ribcage, and your tummy is tucked in.
3) Hold the position for a few more seconds and memorize
what it looks and how it feels like to stand straight.
Feet Position
4) Maintaining the same position but now off the wall, position
your left foot to a 45-degree angle.
5) Place the heel of your right foot near the arch of the
other, making sure you equally distribute your weight on both
feet. (For those who have read my article on Sitting Pretty,
I am referring here to the hesitation position.) Do this right
and now you are you are standing gracefully!
The First Steps
Now here comes the most crucial part --- learning the first
graceful steps. (I warn you that you may not get this right
the first few times but success is guaranteed if you understand
the concept and continuously practice in front of a mirror.
I practiced for weeks!)
With each step:
6) Flex your knees.
7) The heel slightly touches the ground first. The foot rolls
until the weight of the body is supported by the ball of the
foot (located just behind the big toe) which pushes the body
forward for the next step. Note that the trick here is for
the balls of your feet, not the heels as normally done, to
carry the weight of your body with every step. An exaggerated
illustration would be tip-toeing where you move from one place
to another using the balls of the feet and toes.
8) Glide smoothly as you transfer your weight from one foot
to the other. Don’t bounce up and down or sway your hips
from side to side, please, or your name will be disgrace.
9) Slightly lift your feet with every step so you walk with
the least sound. Feet dragging is totally unflattering.
10) The toes must point slightly outward (less than 45 degrees)
with each step. Do not overextend like some ballet dancers
do or like Charlie Chaplin did. Never walk on a straight line
like models do on the catwalk. You might trip on your toes
and draw embarrassment rather than admiration. The feet must
walk on two close parallel lines.
11) Slightly swing your arms when you walk. The technique
is to brush your thumb to the side of your legs to ensure
an average swing. The swing of one arm alternates with the
stride of a leg i.e., when the left foot strides, the right
arm swings.
12) Lastly, look straight ahead (not up or down or sideways),
maintain your posture, relax and smile!*
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