Fries With That Shake?
There’s a persistent belief that when a person sways their hips when they walk it has more to do with being sexy than it does with just walking. Hip sway may look sexy (fill in reference to any number of mid-century Italian movies here), but it’s also functional and necessary for healthy hips.
Our hips need to rotate when we walk. You can call it shake, sway or many other things. Whatever you call it don’t try to keep your hips rigid.
Illuminate me.
As your leg comes forward when you walk, the thigh rotates inward a little bit which means your hip rotates inward little bit too.
As your leg goes back your thigh rotates little bit outward and your hip rotates a little outward as well.
This is a natural and part of healthy hip movement in walking.
We also need to make sure that our toes are pointing forward as we walk, not out of the side. This helps ensure our thighs are situated well in the hip socket and rotating the way they need to.
Try it…
First, just see what your go-to walk is.
Place one had on each front hip point.
Walk forward and notice if your hands move in and out as you walk, or if they just move forward with your body. It’s a small movement, so you may need to do it in front of a mirror to see.
If they don’t move, try to loosen up the hips a little bit.
Bring your feet just wider than hip distance apart and come into a slight squat.
Bring your right leg straight out to the side and be on the ball of your big toe.
Externally and internally rotate the from the top of the thigh, keeping the toe grounded. The foot will swivel on the big toe, but the action should start at the top of the thigh.
You may feel a little like Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock as you do this. And that’s a good thing.
After doing the other side, walk forward again with your hands on your hip bones and see if there’s more rotation in your hips.
Shake, sway or rotate. Whatever you wanna call it, make sure you do it when you walk. And get some fries to go.
Try it and let us know what you think. Contact us here. We’d love to hear from you
Wishing you happy hips!