HOW TO DO THE SPARKLE WALK
The Sparkle Walk is the sister of The Sunshine Walk. They both have the same basics, but different ways of executing them, for different results. The Sunshine walk is done as an exercise and is faster paced. The Sparkle Walk is done more as a meditative walk and is slower-paced. If you are frail or very unfit rather start with The Sparkle Walk, just to get you up and walking.
THE BASICS
The Sparkle Walk has been designed in such a way that you can do it anywhere. All you need is a small area of approximately 3 to 4 meters by about 2 meters.
If you live in the countryside or have your own yard, perfect. If you live in a small bachelor flat, great. You have your own private office at work, wonderful!
If you don’t have a yard or space in the middle of any of your rooms and are not shy or worried that people will think you have completely lost the plot, then any foyer, courtyard, or passageway anywhere will do.
If you are starting, and not used to walking, then set aside 10 to 20 minutes until you have more energy. Are you already fit and walk everywhere? then make use of whatever time you feel will benefit you. If you are one of those people that must get a certain amount of steps in every day, you can work out how long to walk by using the formula of 100 steps a minute x how many minutes to walk. For example, 10000 steps will take you approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes.
WHY WALK IN AN 8 SHAPE?
Other than the obvious health benefits of walking, The Sparkle Walk also benefits your internal organs by massaging them as you turn and turn, stimulating your chakras as well.
Also, you will find that far more movement is directed at various body parts like knee joints, hip, head and shoulders. If you can do it barefoot, that will stimulate several reflex acupressure points in your feet. Not everyone can, but walking on sea sand, or grass or a cobbled stone surface will not only have a great earth grounding effect, but the textures will add to the pressure points even more. Do you slouch? use this walking time to keep your chin level to the floor and train yourself to walk tall.
Walking this way will also bring great relief to many digestive problems, thyroid, constipation, arthritis, help you lose weight, plus bring down blood sugar and high blood pressure.
THE 8 METHOD
Either visualize a pattern of an eight (8) on the ground or if it helps you, put two kitchen type chairs next to each other with space enough to walk between them. You can then just start walking around them in an eight pattern, or draw with chalk around them, remove the chairs and start walking.
In the Southern Hemisphere start your walk towards the North, and in the Northern Hemisphere start towards the South. If you have planned to walk for 10 minutes, then do 5 minutes in one direction (anticlockwise), and 5 minutes in the opposite direction – (clockwise). Likewise, if you intend walking for 45 minutes, half one way, half the other way. The walk is best done barefoot.
WALKING ON SPARKLES
This walk is done at a gentle pace, and in a reflective mode. Think of the old Christmas song “We three kings of Orient are” and you will get an idea. It is a form of meditation at a slow trot. You can let your hands move gently at your sides while you are walking or use a hand mudra for an extra boost. You can be quiet and still your mind, or you can use it to find inspiration, fix a problem, or go through some affirmations or tones.
PROBLEM-SOLVING
By walking anti-clockwise, then switching to clockwise you are stimulating first the left-hand side of your brain, and then the right-hand side. You are switching from your creative side to your more critical logical side, then back again. Because of this, you will find that you can easily way up the pros and cons of any decision you have to make by switching from creativity to logic. Your internal dialogue becomes like it is bouncing the problem back and forth with someone else. If you do this walk in a quiet space you can use this time to contemplate the solution to a single problem that you have.
HAND POSITIONS
While walking you can choose to add various hand mudra’s. What is a hand mudra? Very briefly it is a position that you put your fingers into for a period of time. Why? By doing this you are stimulating the energy of a certain area of your body to relieve it of any energetic blockages which are having some sort of outcome. Mudra’s go back as far as the dawn of time, originating when man first started communicating with hand gestures.
When I walk, I walk 15 minutes in one direction – doing one type of mudra, and then I change my walk in the opposite direction, with 15 minutes doing another type of mudra. There are many that you can choose from if you have a particular ailment. Like hair loss for example, then you can do a hair loss mudra while walking. Or do one for liver detox or energy boost.
GYAN MUDRA
A good general and easy to remember mudra is the ‘OK’ sign. Put the tip of your pointing finger on the tip of your thumb and keep the other 3 fingers straight. Do this with both hands for the length of your walk. This mudra is called the Gyan mudra and helps to increase your concentration and memory. It also helps to reduce sleep disorders. If you are stressed, have a headache or are feeling angry, this is the perfect mudra to do because it has been used for thousands of years by yogis. It brings peace, calm, and spiritual progress.
AFFIRMATIONS WHILE WALKING
A great general affirmation that is all-encompassing that you can chant to yourself whilst you are walking is “Every day, in every way, everything that is good comes to me and my DNA family, two generations back, and two generations forwards”
This way you are covering your parents, grandparents, yourself, your children and your grandchildren. It does not matter if they have passed on or not been born yet. On the off chance that this can influence past genetics then realise that a better life lived by your grandparents/parents, ultimately means your life will be better, and as a result, what you pass down/onwards will also be better in every single way.
You can find more affirmations and things you can chant, or say over here