It’s a slight change in gait, a studied variation from the standard heel-toe rhythm favored by casual walkers. Watching people practice Ilchi Lee’s longevity walking technique, the casual bystander thinks of pigeon-toed strides and deliberate forward movement. Ilchi Lee sees a vital energy channel being consistently stimulated. By distributing firm weight on the ball and toes of each foot, walkers massage certain meridian points and so promote their wellbeing.
“This area contains the yong-chon acupressure point, which is believed to be the start of the kidney’s meridian,” says Ilchi Lee, founder and president of the International Brain Education Association and the Korean Institute of Brain Science, which enjoys consultative status with the United Nations.
A creative healer, Lee discovered longevity walking after he fell from a horse in 2006. To coax his body back to health, he fine-tuned his walking approach, repeatedly exerting gentle pressure on the kidney meridian during walking sessions. His recovery time decreased as a result.
By focusing on the kidney meridian, Lee has added new benefits to the practice of walking. Modern scientific research shows it to be a beneficial bone-bearing exercise that can prevent and lessen obesity, lower blood pressure and decrease depression and anxiety. Done correctly, Lee says, it can also hasten healing.
