I am a body language and human behavior specialist. In many books and programs I share the benefits of walking.
- Men feel more comfortable,
bond, and self-disclose more when side by side, and walking outside with someone
side by side can increase all those factors for men walking with other men
and mean walking with women. In addition children, male or female or LGBT+
feel more comfortable and will self-disclose more when side by side with
adults. So if men walk with others they can share, listen and bond more
easily. In addition, because walking and swinging opposite arms synch the
right and left hemispheres you are more comfortable having conversations. (My
rough notes from one of my books discussing this are below.)
- When you swing your left
arm and the right leg and your right arm and left leg the opposite sides
of your body are working together in a cross-body motion that synchs the
right and left hemispheres of your brain, stimulating the brain for growth
of the neural pathways. Walking with your arms swinging in this manner can
increase creativity, and problem-solving and stabilize the central nervous
system.
I
am a professional speaker and coach. When I work with C-suite executives for a
full day or over a weekend I walk with them outside to increase their comfort
in self-disclosing and help them process and problem-solving. The results of the
past 20 years have been amazing. I also use walking/coaching to help my clients
who are on the spectrum. I am blessed to live a few houses from a path through
the woods over and by creaks that go on for many miles and all the nature has an
additional benefit.
Notes
The
central window is the window at the middle of your chest that I call the heart
window. Children start changing how they orient their hearts and the rest of
their bodies to others at about the age of five. Boys begin playing with their
buddies side by side and battling face-to-face and little girls begin playing
face-to-face. The theory is that girls are nurtured and rewarded for reading
and understanding body language so they can eventually nurture preverbal babies
and little boys begin competing and jocking for who is going to be the most powerful
in a situation at this age.
When
men sit across a table a counter or a desk facing another man and their heart
windows are open and unprotected it can cause them to feel uncomfortable and
awakens their primal fears of danger. Men feel that in that vulnerable position,
they must battle, and in a business interaction that leads to disagreements,
defensiveness, ego battles, and verbal attacks. Because of this primal warring
position even little boys will move their chairs and work to sit and stand side
by side. In that position, their heart is protected and they feel that the man
beside them physically is also symbolically on their side. Men feel so much
safer that they will self-disclose more and communicate more effectively in a
side-by-side or catty corner position than from the more opposition-causing
male face-to-face position. Women are wired and socialized to speak positioned
face to face. This helps them to create and nurture relationships. In a face-to-face
position, they can see the other entire person's body language and respond
accordingly. Again, men prefer to have their hearts protected and be on the
"same side" when they talk. For more information on this you can read
the chapter on body windows in my book success signals www.PattiWood.net. Go to
the products page to o
