How Does Your Walking Posture Affect Your Mental Health?
We all know the health benefits of walking but does it matter how we walk? Research is showing that it really does matter.
Your posture matters!
We all know that depressed people who are down will probably walk with their head lowered, their shoulders are rounded and drooping, and with minimal arm movement.
Just like their mood.
Similarly, happy and confident folks have their shoulders back and their head is held high and they walk with a brisk pace with lots of arm movement. You can spot them a mile away.
But can we turn this around? If we make sure we walk with our shoulders held back and with brisk steps will that actually help to change our mood and outlook on life?
Happily, the answer is Yes!
Scientists have shown that this is possible and their research shows that our walking posture can change how we feel. So, the short message is to “walk tall, walk straight, look the world right in the eye”, as Val Doonican, the famous Irish singer used to sing. We always heard this song while growing up so it may have affected how we walked!
We also went to a youth organization called The Boys Brigade and there we did lots of marching and military-type drills…
