Chiwalking: The Five Mindful Steps for Lifelong Health and Energy

Is it possible that one simple choice will change your life dramatically? Taking a daily walk for a specific amount of time seems so simple that - surely - we need to do something much more complicated and drastic than just going for a walk... I specialise in helping people "get better", losing weight, overcoming addiction, pain control and a few other things and was really lucky to have someone recommend this book to me - because I collect books - and am always on the lookout for helpful information. Chi Walking takes two seemingly unrelated processes - Tai Chi and Walking - and integrates and enhances both processes... I was wondering before I got this book how someone could write a couple of hundred pages on something as simple as going for a walk... I must also add that I personally walk for one hour every day - and have done for a few years - ever since I "got ill" and made a choice to do something about it. Anyway, I learnt loads of useful stuff almost as soon as I opened the book. And even more importantly - stuff I could use and teach immediately... I have suffered from a "bad back " intermittently for the last 10 years - this is what enabled me to become an expert in addiction, weight loss, psychotherapy and a few other things because I had the ideal patient - me - and funnily enough just after buying this book my back went again. Using the information in this book enabled me to go from "doubled over" to "upright again" in less than 24 hours - a new wellness record - even for me... The last time my back went - I was buying fruit and vegetables to "juice" - picked up a box of oranges at the wholesale market and my back "went" - life's funny like that... Chi Walking is about integrating five mindful steps into your life and using walking as the vehicle to do this. The authors cover the five mindful steps in detail and also cover stretching, different types of walking, technique, diet and quite a lot of other helpful information and cover it in such a way that it encourages you to "try it and see what happens". I cannot emphasise enough how grateful I am for "Amazon", the ease of buying books and the sheer wealth" of information currently on offer at the click of a button - although my addiction to buying books is another issue I'm currently wondering about... Anyway, I was walking round my local park this morning and noticing my own walking and breathing technique, fine tuning it and also looking at others - and my "power hour" flew past. It also made my walk much more interesting because I could notice how something I was unaware of - my arm swinging technique - would actually put my hips under pressure - because of alignment issues. And how many other people can benefit from the authors wisdom - probably 99% of the population... There are 11 chapters and an introduction and for me - the best part of the book was page 66 in chapter 4 (Chi Walking technique) where they cover using a one minute timer on your stopwatch or more likely smartphone to practice focusing on mindful chi technique - and more importantly and simply - practicing walking with a friend. And I reckon that's one of the secrets of "getting better" - simply walking and talking and focusing on "getting better"... Great book - and whereas my recommendation with diet books is to read it whilst walking round your local park for an hour - I can now quote from Danny and Katherine about why it's so important to walk - and to engage your Chi...

Good source for upping your walking game. Wish I had read it years ago.

A lovely book. With just about 25% into the book, I got relief from shin splints, plantar fasciitis, improved speed and most importantly, as stressed in the book - injury free running.

Best book

The book describes in great detail- including sketches - the beneficial effects of Chia walking, exercises to be done before and after walking as well how to walk properly to use your energy to the utmost effect.