The first step

Image source: Pixabay

Awareness Question of the Week

​When you start walking, with which foot do you take your first step? I invite you to notice this throughout the week. Do you tend to always take the first step with the same foot or does it vary? At first, just notice what you do, trying not to interfere with it. 

If you observe that there is a pattern, then you can play with it. Try to start walking with your "non habitual" foot. Does it feel different? Does it change a bit the way you walk? Or not really? Some people might find that their walk feels a little different when initiated with the other foot. Why would that be? Don’t we alternate the feet when we walk anyway?
 
The thing is that we don’t use both sides of ourselves symmetrically – the same way that we have a dominant hand, we also have a dominant foot (the one you would normally use to kick a ball) and we tend to rely more on one leg for stability. There are also injuries, recent or old, which create different kinds of compensations. All of that influences our walk and is reflected in how we initiate it. How is it for you?