Tai Chi Walking: A Low-Impact Path to Better Health

Transform Your Health Through Better Walking Habits

If you want to feel better, have more energy, and avoid injuries, starting with how you walk is a smart idea. This book shows you that even though you walk every day, small changes—like how you align your feet, knees, and hips—can make walking safer and more comfortable. You’ll learn about bad habits you may have picked up, and how the wrong shoes are doing you a disservice, hurting knees or backs. Simple, healthy walking starts with alignment.

Walking isn’t just putting one foot in front of the other—it’s part posture, part balance, part mental focus. You’ll discover how what you see and think affects how you walk. For example: using your eyes to spot uneven ground helps avoid falls; being mindful of how you step improves balance. This book gives you easy exercises to try right away, whether you're at home, in a park, or just walking around your neighborhood.

There’s a strong connection between Tai Chi and walking, and this book teaches how to bring Tai Chi’s principles into every step. Things like alignment, balance, being in the moment—when you walk with these in mind, walking becomes more than exercise; it becomes meditation. Even something simple like walking uphill or on grass forces you to tune into your body, keeping energy flowing smoothly and reducing strain. You’ll see how walking “soft knees, feet parallel, stepping gently” helps your legs and joints stay strong.

You’ll also get help for common problems—sore feet, blisters, choosing the right shoes and socks. And you’ll understand how walking outdoors helps your mood, heart, and even vision. By the end, walking won’t feel like a chore—it’ll feel like a way to connect with your body and your breath, improve strength, and stay centered. Ready to start? One step at a time, you’ll see big improvements!

Here are six key things you’ll learn in this book:

• How to walk with better posture and alignment so knees, hips, and feet stay safe.
• How to pick shoes and socks that protect your feet and keep you comfortable.
• Easy balance and coordination exercises that you can use every day to avoid falls.
• How outdoor walking boosts your mood, helps your heart, and even sharpens your vision.
• Ways to make walking into a meditation—staying present with breath, steps, and surroundings.
• How to handle common foot and leg problems like soreness and blisters.

Start your journey to better health, one step at a time. This book will show you how small changes in your walking can lead to big improvements in your life!

Robert Chuckrow has been a Taiji practitioner since 1970 and has studied Taiji under the late Cheng Man-ch'ing, William C. C. Chen, and Harvey I. Sober. He has studied I Liq Ch'uan with Sam Chin Fan-siong, Ninjutsu with Kevin Harrington, Kinetic Awareness with Elaine Summers, and Healing and Re-evaluation with Alice Holtman. He has taught Taiji extensively and has written four other books: The Tai Chi Book, Historical Tuning of Keyboard Instruments, The Intelligent Dieter's Guide, and Tai Chi Walking. The Tai Chi Book was a finalist in the 1999 Independent Publisher Book Awards as "among the three best books in the health/medicine category."

Chuckrow is certified as a master teacher of Kinetic Awareness, has a Ph.D. in experimental physics from New York University, and has taught Physics at New York University, The Cooper Union, and The Fieldston School in Riverdale, New York. He currently teaches Taiji in Westchester, NY.