Do you know how to walk? You’ve been doing it all your life, so of course you do, but do you know how to walk well? With the right posture? So that you move naturally, don’t lose your balance or fall over? Don’t worry, I promise you’re not going to fall over, but to walk well it’s essential to ‘get off on the right foot’, which means making sure you have the correct posture.

A good posture is the basis of effective, comfortable movement. It maximises the use of your muscles and minimises the chance of injury. I’m going to talk you through how to assess and reset your posture, and how to hold that posture as you move, so when you walk you involve your whole body, engage your core and take long, confident strides. Believe me, a good understanding of posture and an awareness of how you move while walking will set you up for success, wherever you want to take your walking.

Step 1: Assessing your posture

I often start a walking class by asking the group to walk round in a circle. This helps me look for any gait issues or injuries, but it also makes the participants think about how they are walking. I then ask them to walk as if I wasn’t watching and that’s what I need you to do now. Then answer these questions and be really honest with yourself:

Do you ‘economise’ on posture when moving around indoors? Perhaps you don’t stand up straight when you move from the kitchen counter to the sink or table, but remain slightly bent over.

Do you walk with purpose and posture or do you lapse into what I call ‘the teenage boy’? This is an economic gait where the upper body slouches and the legs move almost at a shuffle?

It’s all too easy to take a shortcut and both these habits are common. Sometimes we aren’t even conscious of them. For example, rather than standing up between picking plates up from the table, we may stay bent over as we know we will be placing them back down. Similarly, it is common to economise with your walking gait, especially when using smartphones on the go.

Step 2: Resetting your posture

Stand straight and work up your body, checking each part and resetting your posture. Do this every day until good posture becomes a habit. Use a mirror if that makes it easier.

FIND YOUR BASE POSITION

Start by placing your feet side by side and close together.

Turn your heels outwards, but keep your toes together.

Then turn your toes outwards as well, in line with your heels, so there is a gap between your feet.

Your feet should now be parallel and directly below your hips. This is your perfect base position.

SORT OUT YOUR STABILISING POSITION

In your base position, gently rock backwards and forwards, shifting your weight between your toes and heels.

You should be standing on the flat areas of the soles of your feet and you should feel ‘grounded’.

CHECK YOUR KNEES

Gently bend your knees. Feel how this activates the muscles in the front of your thighs.

Then straighten your legs and check your thigh muscles again.

Repeat this action, making sure that once you straighten up you keep your knees ‘soft’ and not locked.

DISCOVER YOUR OPTIMUM PELVIS POSITION

If you’re using a mirror, turn to the side, so it’s easier to view your pelvis.

Make sure your hips are in line with each other and your buttocks are relaxed.

Place one hand behind your back and rest the back of your hand across the top of your buttocks. Place the other hand on your lower stomach/pelvic area, with your fingers pointing downwards.

Gently rock your pelvis and press lightly with your hand on the front of the body. Reduce the tilting movements until your fingertips are facing straight down to the ground and the front of your pelvis is flat.

Check the curve of your spine with the other hand. We all have different spinal curves, but this should feel comfortable and perhaps more accentuated than normal.

LOOSEN YOUR ARMS AND SHOULDERS

To loosen your shoulders, stand in your new lower body stance with your arms hanging down at your sides.

First, roll your shoulders forwards, pulling them up towards your ears and then back. Allow them to relax and drop down.

Check your little fingers are in line with the side seams of your trousers (or if you don’t have seams, where they would be). This opens up your chest and brings your shoulders into a nonstress position. You may find this difficult, because when we are stressed and tight, often due to working on screens, we tend to draw the shoulders up (which I liken to wearing the shoulders as earrings).

When your shoulders are low and relaxed, you will find it easier to mobilise your neck and therefore hold your head correctly, in line with your centre of gravity. Bring your shoulders up towards your ears again and gently try to move your head from side to side, feeling how restricted it is.

Repeat this exercise. Once the shoulders are low and relaxed, gently ease your head from side to side again. It will feel looser.

BE AWARE OF YOUR HEAD

You particularly need to concentrate on head position because using screens and smartphones daily causes us to tilt our head forward from its natural position. As the head weighs nearly as much as a bowling ball, this is not good for your posture or the health of your upper body.

Your chin should be parallel to the ground, not jutting forward or tilting upwards.

Your ears should be directly over your shoulders, and not in front of them.

Step 3: Move with good posture

Staying in the same posture reset position from step 2, mobilise each area from the feet up to enhance your stride and natural gait.

START WITH YOUR LEGS

March on the spot, noticing how, when you bend your knee at a right angle to lift your foot off the ground, your ankle is set at a similar angle and is placed back on the ground quite flatly. I call this ‘square movement’ (and we will come back to this concept later). Next, walk forward two or three paces, maintaining this high knee, flat foot action. You will feel some leg activation, but your strides will be short and square. Return to standing position.