You wouldn’t be alone if, when you walk, you have in your mind some version of a fashion catwalk. You may not look like a model when you’re walking, but the notion of the way models walk might actually subconsciously inform how you move.
A quick aside: I think people who identify as traditionally masculine don’t have this tendency to inadvertently embody the runway model walk — so perhaps if you’re in that category, you might just want to skip this week’s installation.
We’ve all seen images of models strutting their stuff on fashion runways and there is something about it that many people regard as appealing or sexy or fashionable. So, even though it’s not a natural way to move, it might be something that has seeped into your movement patterns without you realizing it.
When you look at this video below, notice how much side-to-side motion there is. This is because the feet are stepping across each other, rather than parallel or next to each other, as they move forward. The other elements causing this supposedly alluring side-to-side hip sway, is a combination of limb-flinging and meat-hanging — both walking mistakes that I touched on in the last 2 blog posts.
This model is asking her leg bones to plant hard with each step and in doing so, the torso is jostled and jarred as it comes along for the ride. You see how the waist collapses on each side with every step? That’s the meat of her torso “hanging” or settling on her hip bones.
To generate the staccato punctuation of her walk you can see her doing a little bit of foot flinging as well. She is definitely flinging her arms — less to generate movement and more as a result of letting them dangle (a little bit of meat-hanging as well).
This week, I just want you to check in with yourself and be curious about whether or not you might incorporate some aspect of this kind of movement pattern. Do you fling your limbs or rely on your skeleton to support you because of this idea about how models walk?
Often in real life with regular people like you and me, the runway walk is less about the intention. None of us go out meaning to strut and stomp like a runway model. More likely it’s that the body is having a mechanical reaction to some type of restrictive clothing and / or footwear. Heels don’t have to be stilettos to change how you move.
Are you walking differently when you dress differently? Remember, the runway walk is for showing off clothing and not for supporting a happy body. You may have to consider adjusting how you envision your physical appearance and style in order to develop a better relationship with walking.
Next week I’ll touch on another “mistake” — the final one — that doesn’t actually have to do with the walk itself as much as it does with what you do before and / or after walking.
As always, let me know if you have thoughts. You can comment below or reach out directly on any of my social media “channels”.
As originally published on medium.com/@yalingliou on June 3rd, 2022
5 Mistakes People Make When Walking – Bones as Meat Hangers (3 of 5)
