Home

The Gait To Happiness

31.12.69

Most people’s parents taught them how to walk. Madonna taught me how. She also taught me how to dry my underarms in a public restroom, but that’s another story. She taught me to walk in 1985 when she walked through the streets of Manhattan as Susan. Desperately sought after. Men wanted her. Women wanted to be her. Madonna, with her unforgettable swagger, epitomized wild, independent woman. In 1985, every woman wanted to be Susan. Even Rosanna Arquette. I was no exception. At age 15 I learned to walk - with Madonna-like attitude.

Little did I know that with every pounding, attitude-filled step I was compressing my low back and the cartilage in my knees. It’s no wonder Madonna and I found yoga. Did you see those boots she wore in that film? Ouch.

Talk the Walk

So much of what I want to present to the world comes though in my gait. I want to tell everyone that I’m independent, confident, and purposeful. And I say it with my walk. But as it turns out, the way I walk can be just as inefficient as my mind. I might think I’m moving quickly and efficiently, but instead of using my muscles I’m using momentum that relies on my joints. My yoga practice might help strengthen and stretch my lower back and my knees, but I spend the rest of the day undoing all that work in yoga practice. Simply by walking. With attitude.

Source: Patch.com