The concept of afghan march It was developed in the early 80’s Édouard G. Stiegler. During a mission to Afghanistanthis researcher noticed the incredible physical resistance of the nomads that they were able to travel hundreds of kilometers in a row and they just stopped sleeping for a few hours. In his book Regeneration through Afghan Walking: Breathing for Health, Stiegler reveals all secrets of this technique. “Los breathing rhythm which I collected is similar to the tradition of Hanish,” he explained, referring to conscious breathing which heals and invigorates the body through inspiration and expiration. “I tried them on all kinds of routes, in Afghanistan and elsewhere, on flat roads, hills and shoals, at different altitudes, as I saw from the nomads I saw. ( …) The results obtained in the plans physical, mental, spiritual, nervousbeing so persuasive, they allowed many new followers, in other places, to recover a greater vitality, peaceful sleepa new resistance, physical well-being and inner peace“. Now the The march in Afghanistan went viral and every day it has more followers.
How the march in Afghanistan was practiced
Also called meditative hiking or hiking yoga, afghan march based on synchronization between breathing and steps. Thus it combines two disciplines: TAKING and the act of Walk. And this is done in the same way as the Afghan nomads: with a 3-1/3-1 breath-to-step ratio. These are:
- Se breathe through the nose during the first three steps.
- Se the wind remains in the thick of time fourth step.
- Se breath during the following three stepsmaintenance of empty lungs during the last step.
In addition, there are others differences according to exercise intensity. For example, in the case of physical effort such as climbing, the technique reduces the steps to two: 2 steps of inhalation, 2 steps of exhalation.
The health benefits of Nordic walking
and Walk It already represents great benefits to the body strengthening the cardiovascular and respiratory systems but, by synchronizing the breathing steps, the afghan walk creates excess oxygen that promotes better oxygenation of body cells, regulates heart rate, promotes blood circulation and improves posture. According to The French Afghan Walking Schoolthese are its benefits for physical and mental health:
- Improve function and breathing capacity.
- Rebalance the body posture.
- Allow the hyperoxygenation throughout the body.
- Turn on the blood and lymphatic circulation.
- In favor of basal metabolism and elimination of toxins.
- Strengthen the knowledge of the body. Sensitivity.
- Help manage the stress.
- Increase the creativity.
- Improve the concentration.
- Bring to a state of full attention.
