02/09/2026
👣 Backwards walking has at least four separate benefits, from helping pain, improving movement in delicate joints, increasing strength in muscles we don’t often use, to neurological benefits .
🫣 Pain: it has been seen to improve lower back pain.
🦿Joints: it can be much easier on the knees which is great for people with osteoarthritis/injury.
🍖Strength: It makes your legs work differently, so muscles get a new workout and step up to the demand, and it may help reduce the development of knee arthritis because of strengthening the quads.
🧠 Neurological: this new walking pattern has been seen to improve results in cognitive tasks, and short-term memory while doing the walking and shortly after.
🧠 this and any new physical learning will stimulate your frontal lobes and your cerebellum as they try to get it right, and it’s a great way to improve proprioception.
It could help reduce fall risk too.
❌If at high risk of falling, or with osteoporosis, do this in a controlled environment (with an individual therapist, or at least with a friend whose hand or arm you can take).
make sure to stay still after, do some deep breathing, or eye exercises.
👀 For near far gazing, keep switching your eyes from a target at about arms length away, to a target at least 20 feet away. Really see each target before you swap for 20 repetitions.
For peripheral vision, keep your eyes still and focused in the distance, and try and see everything you can around you simultaneously: sides, above, below. Wriggling your fingers in your periphery will help you see how wide it can actually go. Don’t move your eyes if you really want to train it.
NeuroSoma Yoga teacher training with and open to all movement professionals, starts September 12th and there are just four spaces left. You’ll learn lots of tools to add to your classes, and where when and why they are valuable.
Comment NSY to get all the details about the training.
