When you’re ready to walk, look in the direction you want to go. This is one of the secret ingredients. People tend to look at their feet when they’re trying to walk, but when we send our gaze in the direction we’re headed, we naturally lean that way and drop into a fluid, effortless gait easily.

To begin walking, simply lean forward and yield to gravity. What’s happening? The body leaning forward under the influence of gravity starts the motion. Gently lead with your hips. When the back leg is needed to keep you from falling, send it forward with a “push-off” from the ball (front) of the back foot.

Really spread your toes and grab the ground in front of you. Deeply connect with the ground as you pull it behind you, as if your legs are octopus tentacles that have attached their suction cups to the Earth. Feel all the muscles of your legs — and especially your quadriceps (thigh muscles) your glutes (butt) — engaging. This conscious, powerfully connected action should feel quite different than the walking you’re used to.

This grabbing and pulling action further activates the back of the body. All these actions of the posterior the body stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which lowers the stress response. With each step an active back body massages the posterior diaphragm where the adrenals live (the glands that produce adrenaline), which has us begin to breathe more deeply, relax, feel more, and heal more.

As you continue walking, as you land on the heel of the foot in front of you feel the natural “shock absorbiing” action as you roll fully through the whole arch of your foot. The foot, ankle, knee, hip and pelvis, the whole skeleton actually, is a spring mechanism that sends a wave through your whole body as it compresses and then recoils from the ground. See if you can feel this full-body spring behavior.

As our arms naturally swing back and forth, a nice rotational motion combines with the vertical wave. Your “tail” will naturally wag a little bit. Can you feel that too? This subtle, playful tail wagging is key. This sensual, fluid combination of motions sends pleasurable waves through the entire body.

Adding a gentle “activation” of the pelvic floor (Bandha practice in Yoga) and gently pulling belly button into relationship with the spine wakes up the muscles of the “core” and adds a pumping action that activates the breath and further massages the diaphragm, kidneys and adrenals.

We all know the core is important, but do we really know what it is? The core is more than muscles; it’s also an energetic midline and a neurological orientation to our central axis. Natural walking is an easy and pleasurable way to bring — and keep — these midline functions and structures awake and communicating.

When we move from a powerful vertical axis, our core, the work of walking happens without tension in the limbs. Natural walking activates a tree trunk of both electrical and muscular power and coordination that supports our limbs so they can swing freely; the hips and shoulders can completely relax.

Feel your pelvic floor connect with the deep muscles of the belly. Imagine your belly button connecting to the spine. This immensely pleasurable action recruits deep muscles of stability and also activates our vital energy circuitry. The work of walking is then done by gravity, a springy skeleton, our core muscles and the flow of vital energy. A strong, active central axis is the key to relaxing, coordinating and empowering the entire body.

Core activation, or moving from a powerful midline axis, is evidenced by smooth, elegant, effortless motion through the whole body, much like swells in the ocean. With each step a vertical wave of motion, blended as if into a spiral with the rotational wave created by our arms as they sway from side to side, moves and hydrates every cell in the body. Our hips, shoulders, and even the joints of the spine are not just relaxed, they are also massaged and lubricated.

The best part is that we have “body memory” for natural walking. We’re not learning anything new. We’re simply, and pleasurably, reconnecting with the body’s innate intelligence and desire. Once you remember your natural fluid stride, you’ll continue to benefit ongoing without having to do anything but move throughout your day as yourself.

Natural walking will gradually shift your nervous system from survival to healing, and you’ll tone in all the right places. Walking this way invokes power, ease, healing, and flow. The impact of this state on strength, vitality and creativity is astounding.

See the video “African Women Walking” below for a beautiful example of natural walking. The weight on their heads loads the “shock absorber” of the skeleton and adds spring. Can you see how the entirety of these gorgeous bodies move rhythmically with each step? Flow at its best.