Ep.153 Transform Your Walk, Transform Your Health: The Science Behind Better Movement

Think you know how to walk? Think again.

In this episode of Asking for a Friend, I’m joined by international health expert Joanna Hall, founder of the WalkActive Method. Joanna reveals how improving your walking technique can dramatically boost posture, joint health, hormone balance, and even cognitive function—all especially important in midlife.

With 30+ years in sports science, Joanna explains how most of us are walking inefficiently, reinforcing poor movement patterns and joint strain. Her science-backed method helps women over 40 engage the right muscles, improve alignment, and walk better—not just more.

We explore why your hips, feet, and posture matter, how lifestyle habits and old injuries contribute to walking issues, and how small shifts can lead to major changes in strength, confidence, and longevity.

👉 Ready to walk your way to better health? Tune in and discover how to make every step count.

Check out the WalkActive Method at www.walk-active.com/michele/

You can also check out Joanna's blog!

Joanna Hall has graciously offered a discount code for Asking for a Friend listeners to try the WalkActive Method.

Michele50off at  https://walk-active.com/the-walkactive-method/

#midlifefitness #walkactive #womenover50 #posturecorrection #jointhealth #healthyaging #walkingformetabolism #midlifewellness #menopausefitness #mobilitymatters #walkstrong #podcastforwomen

_________________________________________
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Have questions about Faster Way? Please email me at:
[e-mail]

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*Transcripts are done with AI and may not be perfectly accurate.

**This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advice. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

Episode Transcript

Michele Folan (00:00):
Let's talk about something simple, accessible and
surprisingly powerful Walking.
It's the form of exercise mostof us do without even thinking
about it.
But did you know that walkingcorrectly can dramatically
improve your posture, reducejoint pain, support hormone
balance and even enhance yourcognitive function, especially

(00:22):
in midlife?
In fact, studies show thatwalking just 30 minutes a day
can lower your risk of heartdisease, improve sleep, reduce
anxiety and support healthyweight management.
And for women navigating thechanges of midlife hormonal
shifts, energy dips, stubbornweight gain walking is one of
the most effective andsustainable tools we have.

(00:43):
But here's a catch how you walkmatters.
That's why today's episode issuch a game changer Health,
wellness, fitness and everythingin between.
We're removing the taboo fromwhat really matters in midlife.

(01:04):
I'm your host, Michele Folan,and this is Asking for a Friend.
Welcome to the show everyone.
I'm joined today by Joanna Hall, the internationally recognized
health expert and founder ofthe Walk Active Method, a
science-backed walking techniquedesigned to help you walk

(01:25):
better, not just more.
Joanna has been featured in toppublications like the New York
Post for her insights on walkingmechanics, posture and movement
efficiency, and what she'screated with the Walk Active
Method is nothing short oftransformational.
Joanna Hall, welcome to Askingfor a Friend.

Joanna Hall (01:45):
Michele, thank you what a really lovely, lovely,
warm welcome and introduction.
Thank you so much.
I really feel very, very happyand very honored to be on your
podcast and speaking to you,obviously personally, and to
your fabulous listeners andaudience, who are, you know,
obviously we're all in the sameboat.
We just want to make somebetter decisions that improve
the quality of our life.

Michele Folan (02:05):
So thank you oh, you are so welcome, and you and
I were chatting before, and myaudience is really the 50-plus
female crowd.
We walk probably almost everyday for fitness, for brain
health, for all that good stuff,and so I thought this was a

(02:27):
really great topic to coverbecause of how much we're
walking.
Oh, and also for bone health,right?
Yep, you know we want to makesure we're doing it correctly
and getting maximum benefits,but before we get started, tell
us a little bit about you, whereyou're from, because obviously
you're not from the UnitedStates.

Joanna Hall (02:47):
No, thank you.
No, I'm not from the UnitedStates, I'm from jolly old
England.
I'm British.
I'm actually joining you todayfrom Hertfordshire, which is
just outside of London.
It's a glorious day.
We were just saying it'sfabulous bright sunshine, but we
still got that real chill inthe air, so it's enticing us to
get outside more, which iswonderful, and the light is

(03:09):
great.
But I'm here in the UK.
I'm a mum, I'm in my 50s.
I have been in the globalfitness industry for over three
decades now.
It has been my passion, it'sbeen my purpose and it's given
me a lot of joy and I've metsome amazing people as well as
having a very humblingexperience through it.
I'm not completely alien to theUS.

(03:32):
I did my sports medicineinternship in Seattle at
Virginia Mason Sports MedicineClinic and I had my first degree
is in sports science.
My second degree is in sportsscience and I actually majored
within body composition changewith sedentary women.
That was my kind of my thesis,very neat.

(03:53):
Yeah, women's health has alwaysbeen a real sort of focus of
mine and through my career.
As we knew, are probably aware,the fitness industry, the
health sector, is quiteunstructured and you are
probably aware, the fitnessindustry, the health sector is
quite unstructured and I thinkif you have a passion and you
want to sort of communicate,it's taken me through a really

(04:13):
interesting and diversebackground.
So I've written a number ofbooks 14 books which have
actually been translated intoseven different languages.
I have been the residentfitness and diet expert on the
UK's number one morning show,where I was leading health
fitness well-being campaignsevery week on a Monday morning,
which was really insightfulabout what could we give the

(04:34):
nation to give them some amazingtransformational change
overnight.
And you know how that haschanged with what gives people
excitement and actually whatwomen are really wanting now and
maybe the perception of whatpeople thought women wanted.
So that's been a reallyinteresting insight.
And now, obviously, as thecreator and founder of the Walk

(04:56):
Active Method, which I've beendeveloping and evolving really
right through my whole career,but it's gathered a lot of
momentum over the last 15 yearsso that we teach it as an online
program as well as in-personevents.
Uh, we have our training appand it's really designed to help
people not just walk more butimportantly, to coach you to
walk better for your posture,for your joints and um, yeah,

(05:20):
it's kind of like my baby, butit's something that I feel
really passionate about and it'sjust lovely to be able to
connect with people likeyourself who have that fellow
passion.

Michele Folan (05:28):
Yeah, and you know you, you, you did your, I
think, what you said, your yourthesis on sedentary women?
Yes, so is that where youstarted thinking about walking
as being a game changer forfitness?
Oh, wow.

Joanna Hall (05:43):
That's a really interesting question.
So from my perspective, I'vealways felt that somehow we've
been chasing the wrong end ofthe stick here and this whole
message about exercising threetimes a week or four times a
week and just get your 150minutes.
There is significant merit inthat, but I think what we need
to appreciate is that we alllead busy lives and busy lives

(06:08):
may mean that we have pressurescoming from a commercial
background running businesspressures and busy life may mean
from a personal perspective,from a family perspective, from
a social perspective.
So the actual reality of whathas been shown in a white lab,
clinical situation to have ameaningful impact for us can

(06:30):
actually translate quitedifferently to what actually
fits within our lifestyle.
So I have been very passionateabout really what is achievable,
what's sustainable, whatactually gives us joy is
achievable, what's sustainable,what actually gives us joy and
is going to be with us, not justtoday or tomorrow or next week,
because we may be feeling likeit's bikini season or whatever

(06:51):
those kind of pressure pointsare or have historically been,
but something that can really bethe bedrock right through our
lives, and thinking about whatgives us joy and also the
moments in life that gives usjoy.
They're all connected byactually how we get from point
one to point two, point A topoint B, and we do that by

(07:11):
walking.
So I think it's a way that hasalways been part of my DNA
really, in that, just as we mayimprove how we do a sit-up, or
we may improve how we do atennis serve or a golf drive,
actually why don't we thinkabout how well we walk which may
sound a little bit contentiousbut if we can improve how we

(07:34):
improve the quality of ourwalking, which really is the
blueprint of everything that wedo, that can have a powerful
benefit.
And so that was part of mythesis looking at body
composition change for mymaster's degree for sedentary
women, but it was also actuallylooking at it in terms of total
caloric expenditure, and that, Isuppose, was an opportunity to

(07:58):
highlight the importance of howwe can move our bodies more
effectively.
And also, I think it highlightsthe pressure we can sometimes
put on ourselves to get so muchout of those three times a week
in the gym to get there, parkthe car, manage everything else,
which often then becomes apressure rather than a pleasure,
and obviously that hasdifferent impacts then on our

(08:20):
parasympathetic nervous systemour actual joy, our emotions,
our relations and so forth.
So it's kind of a smorgasbordof experiences.
Through my life.

Michele Folan (08:29):
You know and this is one thing I tell my clients
about a walking practice is thatit doesn't have to happen all
at one time and there's trulybenefits in walking after you
eat.
Yes, so in that if that's 10,15 minutes, whatever you have
time for, but it doesn't have tobe an hour and a half walk, we

(08:53):
can break it up through the day,which I think lowers that
resistance and that tensionlevel that people have around
working out.
I do have a question for youabout the walk active method.
How does it differ from simplywalking more?

Joanna Hall (09:10):
Okay, so, as a sports scientist and fitness
educator, the walk active methodis based on actually allowing
the body to utilize the rightmuscles in the right way, at the
right time and the rightsequence.
So that means that when weactually move from point a to
point b, there is a correctmovement pattern, and that

(09:32):
correct movement pattern has tohappen in the right order and in
the right sequence and also inthe right way.
And the analogy that I wouldgive is, if we think about
looking at Tiger Woods hit agolf drive, or Roger Federer or
Andre Agassi actually doing atennis serve, we can see that
there's effort involved in it,but it doesn't look like they're

(09:53):
really kind of battling withtheir body.
There's an element of fluidity,there's an element of joy and
obviously there's an amazingoutcome, but they make it look
easy.
There is obviously an elementof effort, but they make it look
easy, and that's because theyare utilising for that
particular activity.
They're utilising the rightmuscles, they're utilising the
right way, they're utilisingthem in the right time and the

(10:13):
right sequence, so it creates abetter performance but also
gives more joy.
So, as a sports scientist, whathappens with walking is that we
may go out with all goodintentions to walk for our
mental well-being.
We may go out with all goodintentions to improve our bone
density, to actually help maybeimprove our cardiovascular
fitness.

(10:33):
However, our movement pattern,which is um contaminated, if I
can say that, because ofmuscular imbalances that we all
have, and also contaminated byactually our lifestyle, by
sitting down quite a bit,whether it means we're spending
time in the car or at our deskwith hobbies, or maybe looking

(10:53):
after an older relative, becausewe're at that stage now, or
younger little ones, yeah, allof that means we have a
lifestyle that imposes the bodyto become more compressed.
And then, if we add a thirdelement to that, Michele, which
is actually our own personalstory, which could be whether we
had a C-section, if we have hada child, or maybe we've had

(11:14):
surgery, maybe we've actuallyhad an injury, maybe we've had a
fall, maybe actually we haveone leg a little bit longer than
the other, this will be ourpersonal story, what experiences
we've had through perimenopause, menopause.
So the combination of muscularimbalances, our personal
lifestyle and our own physicalstory creates this what I call

(11:38):
tricky triangle.
And this is important becausewe can go out for a walk and we
will walk from point A to B.
Or we may walk with a friend orwe may walk for our fitness,
but actually the movementquality that we are utilizing to
do that is suboptimal.
We are not optimizing the bodyto utilize the right muscles,
which should be the posteriorchain and the fascia net of the

(12:02):
body, and to actually utilizethem in a lengthening way and
also at the right time in theright sequence.
So walk active teaches us towalk well, to walk our best walk
, and that's really why it'sdifferent and, as a sports
scientist, it came from a verypersonal space of where I
created it to heal myself, butalso over the years of

(12:23):
developing it and having writtenthe books and created our
online programs.
Anecdotally, so many people havereally noticed that a even as
regular walkers they've had atransformational change in their
posture, how their joints feel,their fitness, actual mental
well-being aspects, bloodglucose levels changing.
It has actually also beenscientifically validated through

(12:45):
south bank sports performancelaboratory by dr darren james to
significantly improve yourposture more than normal walking
because we had our controlgroup.
It's also been shown tosignificantly reduce the joint
strain at the knee and at theankle more than normal walking
and also has been shown thatwhen you learn the walk active
method, it will significantlyimprove your walking pace by up

(13:09):
to 24 percent over a four-weekperiod, compared to normal
walking.
So it's about taking everythingthat we always do, but actually
doing it to the best of ourability, in a way that gives us
joy, improvement, improving ourposture, improving our breath,
but we can integrate it into ourlife in an easy way, in a
bite-sized results.

Michele Folan (13:29):
Okay, first of all and I wanted you to get into
that because, first of all, Iknow I'm desperate to show you,
I know, I know.
So it's so funny because thelisteners can't see you, but you
all she cannot sit.
Still, she is so excited aboutthis topic, which I love.

(13:51):
So when I first started, orwhen I went, when Joanna and I
first met, she was like allwalking around the room and
because I was pointing out thefact that I was having some knee
pain, and particularly when Iwas walking downhill, and she
very simply showed me a way forme to change my gait.

(14:15):
Once, I think you train yourbrain almost, if, if I'm correct
, yeah, where it becomes natural.
But you, but you, you have tothink about how you are, how,
how you're walking, right, and I, I have one question so as we

(14:38):
get older, do we inherentlyshorten our gait?
That's a really good question.

Joanna Hall (14:45):
So the weight of available evidence currently
suggests that as we get older,there is a reduction in gait
length, in stride length, andthat is associated with
cognitive decline, with areduction in how well our brain
works.

(15:05):
I also think that happensbecause, obviously, the aging
and how we utilize our body and,importantly, this tricky
triangle.
But I don't think it has to belike that.
I really do not think it has tobe like that.
I think we do ourselves, if Imay say so, and I think this is
a may sound a bit contentious,but I think we can invest a lot

(15:27):
of time, energy, worry and moneyinto thinking about our
wellness and what supplements wemay have, what latest class we
may do, and I would encourage usand challenge us to actually
think about something that is sosimple and is something that we

(15:47):
all do, but actually we can doit better by a process and
you're right, it does involve aprocess of retraining the brain
a little bit, but it's in itssimplest format, michelle.
Actually, all we're askingourselves to do is stop
something and start something.
That's all we're trying to do,which is like any decision we

(16:08):
have to stop a decision and movein a different direction and it
relates to four parts of thebody it relates to our feet, it
relates to our hips, it relatesto our head and shoulders and it
relates to our arms, and it's asimple, tried and tested format
of how we utilize those fourparts of our body to walk better
.

Michele Folan (16:26):
One thing I did want to point out, and the
reason I asked about as we age,does our gait shorten?
Because I've also noticed thatwhen people get older and when
I'm talking 70s, late 70s, 80s,70s, 80s that they tend to lose

(16:49):
that, that stride where theywalk with their like a step out
forward, and they tend to domore of this, more of a side
step, where I think part of thatmay be that need for stability.
They want to feel more stablein their gait, and so I wanted
you to know I did work on mygait and I she's clapping I

(17:11):
noticed a difference.
Yay, okay, I may not be doingit totally correctly, but I I
will.
I will say that I did notice adifference, and so I think it
would be really good for youjust to.
I know you can't show ustechnically, because this is not
video, but can you give us asense of what that would look

(17:34):
like for someone?
That is curious.

Joanna Hall (17:38):
Okay.
So, first of all, if, um, I'vegot a freebie little webinar,
but if we, if listeners, wouldlike to go, we'll, we'll give
the link afterwards so we canactually visualize this as well.
But hopefully, what I'm goingto try to do is paint some
pictures for people to see.
Okay, so they think, okay, thatcrazy English woman who's
telling us to walk better withthe walk actor method.
I know what she means.

(17:59):
I'm painting some pictures, solet me give you some pictures
that may work for you.
The first thing I would say andthis is where I need you to be
open with your mind is, if youare standing up and you are
looking at a path ahead of you,you think I'm going to walk down
that path.
We obviously think that we'rewalking from where we are right
now, which might be point A, andwe're going to walk to point B.

(18:20):
The number one mistake that thevast majority of people do
first of all is that we walkinto that space, we walk towards
that space, and that may soundwell.
Of course, we're going to walkforward Again.
That's where we need to go.
We're stepping forward, but inactual fact, the very action of
stepping forward into our spacewith our front leg means that we

(18:42):
stimulate and we set off asequence of muscle recruitment
pattern which doesn't serve ourposture.
It doesn't actually help ourbone joints, our joints, to
actually be correctly alignedand it also doesn't actually
allow us to utilize our glutesand improve our stride.
So the first thing, if I cangive people to kind of think
about and this is where it maysound a bit like whoa, that's a

(19:04):
bit like strange is I'd likepeople to not walk into their
space but to walk out of thespace.
Ok, so if we're standing and weare looking at that path, we're
completely still and imaginethat I'm actually standing
behind you, we're together,we're both looking at that path,
but I'm standing behind you andif you start to walk to help us

(19:28):
utilize the back chain, theposterior chain, which is going
to be our glutes, that's goingto improve our posture, it's
going to help open up the hipflexors.
I'd like you to think that youare walking away from me, okay.
So what that will do first ofall is, cognitively, it will
give you some stimulation aboutwhat is happening at the back of
our body, because everything inus and the way that we lead our

(19:49):
lives is about it's forward,it's there.
I've got to be here, okay.
And that means that our posturecomes forward, our shoulders
stoop a bit, our torso becomes abit more compressed, so our gut
health is compromised.
So the first thing we need tothink about is actually we're
walking out of our space.
So imagine I'm standing behindyou and you're going to walk

(20:10):
away from me.
Okay, you're going to walk awayfrom me.
That's the first little pictureI'm going to give you.
Second little picture isimagine I'm giving you a post-it
note Okay, a little post-itnote and everybody can pick up
their post-it note and on yourpost-it note I'd like you to
write a message saying I loveMichelle's podcast.
Okay, I love Michele's podcast.
So we've written that on thepost-it note.

(20:31):
That post-it note I hopeeverybody's doing this at home
that post-it note is going to goon the sole of your shoe, on
the sole of your shoe.
So we're still walking downthat path.
I'm still behind you, but allof your listeners who've got
your wonderful post-it notessaying I love Michele's post-it
podcast, a podcast they areleaving their back foot behind

(20:54):
them so that I can see whatthey've written on that post-it
note on the back foot.
Does that make sense.
Yeah, yeah, it's all on thatback foot.
So what that will do is for youto be able to see it, you've
got to leave that back footthere behind you a little bit
longer.
Okay, now, this may feel alittle bit kind of odd, but this
is going to be so profound foryour posture.

(21:16):
It's really going to helpsafeguard your knees and
actually help open up tight hipflexors, which can be a
contributing factor toshortening of our gait, and it
will also importantly, help uscreate more zaza zoom for our
fore propulsion to walk fitter.
Okay, enhancing the stabilityfrom the foot up into the hip.

(21:39):
Okay, so we've got me walkingbehind you and you're walking
away from me.
That's my first picture.
My second picture is our littlepost-it note on the sole of
your foot and you're going toleave it behind you so we can
read that lovely message thatwe've written.
And then maybe a third picture,if I may, is actually thinking
about what we're feeling.

(22:00):
Okay, what we're feeling, so,if we take the palm of the hand
and we rest the palm of the handwith the fingertips pointing
down on our legs, so thefingertips are on top of our
thigh and the palm of the handis kind of on the hip bone.
Yeah, so if we take a stepforward, we'll feel how the

(22:20):
fingertips stay in contact withthe thigh, but as we leave that
back leg behind us walking awayfrom me.
That's my first picture.
Second picture we're leavingthat back foot behind us with
the post-it note.
What we're trying to get is afeeling of opening up the hips,
so the fingertips are actuallypointing a little bit backwards,

(22:41):
a little bit backwards incontact with the thigh.
So those three kind of simplethings to kind of maybe try to
incorporate.
Go and have a little play.
Maybe you're listening to thiswhen you're out and about
walking, maybe you're listeningto this in your home.
Have a little play.
And I'd encourage you, on allof us, to be curious.

(23:01):
Curious about building apositive connection with our
body, because if we can utilizethe posterior chain, that is
deeply powerful for our posture,for our breath, for our joints
and how we see the world.
Okay, which may sound a bit ofa big statement, but I was
taking a longer stride.
Yes, yes.

Michele Folan (23:46):
Because I was being more intentional about how
I was walking.

Joanna Hall (23:49):
So can I congratulate you on that, how I
was walking.
So can I congratulate you onthat, because one of the big
commits that many people make ifwe are going as midlife women
and we want to go out and wewant to improve our
cardiovascular fitness throughwalking, because maybe we're
concerned about our joints, wedon't want to run Okay, one of
the main mistakes that peoplemake is to improve and get

(24:10):
faster with our walk.
We think it's just purely abouthow quickly we move our legs so
the stride becomes shorter andthe legs become quicker, like
walk, walk, walk, walk, walk.
That is a big no-no.
That is going to compromise andexacerbate more knee discomfort
.
That's actually going tocontribute to more lower back
discomfort because we fire intothe hip flexors which are

(24:32):
attached to the lower spine.
So to actually walk fitter andto walk further and to walk
faster, we want to be thinkingabout what I call the pace
formula.
So number one is our techniqueshould always be our number one
priority.
Number two, we lengthen thestride from the back because we

(24:53):
utilize the posterior chain.
And number three then we startto think about speeding up our
legs, but it's not just our legs.
So if you're saying that younotice an improvement in your
gait and you slow down.
That's absolutely wonderful,wonderful, wonderful, wonderful
yeah.

Michele Folan (25:10):
I am not always the best student, joanna, but
hey, I do try to listen.
You are nailing this girl, youare nailing this, I am.
You are a walk activist, joanna.
We're going to take a quickbreak and when we get back I
want to talk a little bit aboutthe health and wellness impact
of the walk active method.
Are you chasing more than justa summer body?

(25:33):
Because, let's be honest, thisstage of life isn't just about
fitting into the mother of thebride dress.
It's about feeling strong,mobile and confident today and
for years to come.
Yes, my clients are reachingtheir goals.
They're wearing clothes theyhaven't touched in years but,
more importantly, they'rebuilding lasting health.
They haven't touched in years,but, more importantly, they're

(25:55):
building lasting health,improving their lab work and
showing up in life with energyagain, because they've trusted
the process.
If you're ready to stopstarting over and finally feel
good in your body again, join mefor my six-week midlife
metabolism reset.
This is your time, click thelink in the show notes and I'll
be waiting for you.
Okay, we are back, and beforewe went on break I mentioned I

(26:22):
wanted to talk about the healthand wellness impact, but I'm
curious for you how has your ownhealth and wellness changed
since incorporating anddeveloping the walk active
method Significantly.

Joanna Hall (26:37):
I would say significantly.
First of all, I never reallyset out to create this
scientifically proven walkingsystem.
What happened?
If I may just kind of sharesomething with you, very
personal I don't really talkabout this as very much, but I
actually, when I was 11 weekspregnant with my daughter, who's
now 18, actually 19, actuallysorry she'll kill me and she's

(26:59):
19 now I had retrocecalappendicitis and I got rushed to
hospital and the surgeonoperated on me.
But as I was coming round, he'sstanding at the end of the bed,
bed speaking to my husbandsaying um, the operation was
actually a bit tricky.
We couldn't really find theappendix.
It was really inverted, it wasreally twisted and obviously

(27:21):
your wife is pregnant, bearingin mind we'd also had to find a
form that we could lose our baby.
So it was a bit kind ofstressful, but anyway, um, all
is well that ends well.
However, as I'm kind ofrecovering from having this deep
abdominal surgery where he wentin twice and had a good old
rummage and hopefully my bellywas going to grow with my

(27:41):
pregnancy, as a sports scientistand fitness educator, I knew
that I was going to leave myselfdeeply exposed for posture
problems, for joint problems, ata time when you want your body
to be physically healthy andfeel well and feel vibrant.
You're going through a lot ofchange physiologically, but also
you're going through a lot ofchange psychologically.

(28:03):
So I used my knowledge as asports scientist to apply that
to heal myself from this deepsurgery whilst I went through my
pregnancy.
So I share this with youbecause it wasn't something that
I set out to do.
It really came from personalspace of feeling really quite
scared, vulnerable at a pointwhere I was at transition in my

(28:26):
life of, you know, working,having a career and then having
my first child, getting married,having our family, all these
things that kind of go throughhow we're going to make this
work, which can make us feelvery vulnerable and exposed.
So the walk active method camefrom a very personal space where
I was seeking something, whereI wanted to feel positive about
my body.

(28:47):
I wanted my body to feel strong, I wanted to feel that it was
going to recover and I wanted tofeel something that could
actually fit with my life when Iwas going through significant
change.
So it really came from thatspace.
And then, as I was healing andgetting fitter and stronger, and
we had a baby girl you know,who's now 19,.
I then started to teach it toclients and clients were like

(29:10):
saying, wow, this is reallygreat and it's got a series of
drills that we do and taking thescience of what really works.
So it really grew organicallyto to where it is.
So, in a nutshell, I think thebenefits I have seen from
clients sharing with us it hasbeen really transformational for

(29:31):
them in terms of physicalconfidence.
I think it's been really quitetransformational in terms of
cardiovascular fitness At a timewhen we can be at a transition
in our life, when we feel weneed to make that investment in
our cardiovascular fitnessbecause of, obviously, the
health concerns we have forwomen with heart disease and
heart disease globally is thenumber one killer.

(29:53):
In the US it's the number onekiller, yep, and in the UK it's
number two killer after dementiaand also at a time where we're
thinking it can be a time tocome together socially and get
out more in nature, when we cansometimes feel very enclosed
with thoughts that can sometimeserode us.
Yeah, okay, and we want to buildourselves up and we want to

(30:17):
create the best environment thatmakes us feel really, really
good right now but also,importantly, make us feel good
next week, next month, next yearand next decade.
And that's where I really feelthe walk active method is unique
in that and I know that maysound a bit ballsy, but I really
feel that, having been inindustry globally for, you know,

(30:39):
for three decades, I really dothink it can.
It can transform your body,your mind and your brain, but,
importantly, you can transferthose benefits across all
aspects of your life and that'swhat gives you the positivity.
It's not about being perfectand you made that point because
you said I don't think I'vequite got it perfect yet.

(31:00):
I think it's great because alittle more captive goes an
awful long way.
It really does.
And in today's society, when wecan often feel that we are less
than I think, walk active makesus feel I am more than yeah,
yeah, I know I think that'swonderful.

Michele Folan (31:19):
Can you share an actual success story about
someone that you've worked withwith the walk active method?

Joanna Hall (31:27):
So I've worked with a variety of people, including
members of the Royal family,which has been really wonderful
and sort of numbers ofcelebrities, but I suppose just
to give sort of two extremes.
So one is a lady who was reallysuper fit and she was a runner
and she loved that and stufflike that.
She had a very demanding joband then she went through a very
challenging situation.

(31:48):
She lost her physicalconfidence, she lost her job and
she was then going to take shekind of took early retirement,
but it made her feel very smalland made her feel very
vulnerable and she was looking,she wanted to get back into
running, but that you know, bythis time she felt very
concerned about her joints andso forth.
So I taught her the walk actormethod and what that did for her

(32:12):
was it allowed her to reclaim apositive connection with her
body.
It also, importantly, actuallyreclaimed her physical fitness
at a time when she never thoughtshe would do that.
And, importantly, she said tome I never, ever felt I was
going to get that run as high,which I just loved, and why?
She said I was feelingdepressed and I was physically

(32:32):
grieving.
And I think this is animportant thing we can
experience grief in the classicformat, but if we have been
active in a past life and wedon't have that physicality now,
we can experience physicalgrief.
She was experiencing physicalgrief, and Walk Active gave her
back that joy.
She said I never thought I wasgoing to get that buzz again.
So that would be one kind ofstory I would share.

(32:54):
That's wonderful, yeah, reallywonderful.
And then another one would be alady who had actually had she'd
lost her mum and she was primarycarer for her sister, actually,
who had a number of healthconsiderations and she had three
young boys and a very lovinghusband.
But basically all roads led toher, which is not uncommon, and

(33:21):
I'm sure we have many people whofeel that a lot of roads are
leading to them and in thatsituation it can make us feel
very less than this created aclustering of scenarios where
her blood pressure was going up,she didn't really feel like
exercising, she lost a lot ofphysical confidence, she put on
weight and it escalated to sucha point that her GP told her

(33:45):
that she had a very fatty liverand that she really needed to
start exercising and doingsomething, because she was in a
very, very vulnerable healthposition and she hated exercise.
She absolutely hated exercise.
It was something that shedidn't do.
She was actually a professionalsinger.
She was had an amazing voice,so she had physical confidence
in that sense.
But to actually put herself outphysically didn't really work

(34:06):
for her.
So she actually enrolled on oneof our eight-week personally
mental programs.
We were on two we called whatone which is called reclaim you
and another one which is calledwalk to wow, and she actually
lost a stone and a half on oursix-week program.
Her fatty liver markers cameright down from being very high

(34:27):
and her GP and GP beingconsiderably alarmed to actually
being in the healthy bracket.
So she was amazed by that.
Over the six-week period sheregained her physical confidence
.
Her relationship with herhusband got better.
She felt she had moreresilience and she said I
actually feel that I want to goout and do this and it makes my

(34:47):
body feel good, rather than Ineed to do this because I need
to make this investment in myhealth.
So those kind of softerbenefits and I know probably the
soundbite there is.
Well, she lost a stone and ahalf.
Yeah, she did through the walkactive method because it's all
about how we utilize the coreand the whole fascia and utilize

(35:07):
the body so the body becomesneat and effective.
But actually it's the softerthings there that I think are
far more profound in our life interms of the quality of our
relationships.
Feeling more resilient,actually feeling like I want to
get out there and do it, that'swhat creates the momentum in our
life.
And to have something that canbe a blueprint that allows us to

(35:30):
fit with our life, so that Ican do it rather than having to
find more time to do it, I thinkfor me that I find that very
humbling and I feel quitehonored in some of the things
that we've had in that sense.

Michele Folan (35:44):
So, yeah, it's wonderful yeah, it's amazing
what movement and getting out innature and a sense of
accomplishment can do for youroverall psyche.
And I see this with my ownclients, joanna, where I have a
client right now.
She's 67, had always beenathletic, had run in her earlier

(36:08):
years.
Husband retired, she kind ofpulled back the reins on her own
self-care and fitness to justhang with him and, you know, for
her to lose major inches andweight and to feel good about
herself, that was all themomentum she really needed to

(36:32):
keep going.
Right, you mentioned somethingabout fascia.
Now I have covered fascia onthe show, but can you bring some
clarity around how fascia isinvolved in your walk active
method?

Joanna Hall (36:46):
Yes, with pleasure.
So I believe I'm coming back tothis idea that we want to
utilize the way the body shouldmove, as opposed to leaning into
how we have learned to move andhow lifestyle creates incorrect
movement pattern.
So the fascia allows us reallyto have three things happening

(37:08):
in the body.
The fascia, I believe, allowsus to have stability, it allows
us to have space around thejoints and it also allows us to
have strength in the body.
And it's a bit like thisexternal framework.
I like to think about it almostlike spandex and because of the
actual physical structure offascia, which is kind of like

(37:32):
three-dimensional net all layers.
It has multi-layers, which I'msure lots of you really isn't
how you train your trainers andyour clients.
It has multi-layers and itcrisscrosses over.
What we're wanting to do withthe fascia is actually stretch
the fascia across all itsdimensions.
And when we stretch the fasciaacross all its dimensions, that

(37:54):
will mean that we get more spacearound the joints.
The length of the musclesaround the joints then creates
the stability super importantfor posture and super important
for our balance and then thatalso gives us an element of
strength.
So obviously that's importantfor posture and super important
for our balance, and then thatalso gives us an element of
strength.
So obviously that's importantfor bone density, but in a way
that allows our body to besupported.
And what the walk active methoddoes is it actually allows the

(38:17):
fascia to be stimulated withevery single step we take, so it
allows us to have a grace toour movement pattern.
It allows us then also to havea fluidity to our movement
pattern.
So if you're listening to thisand thinking, okay, this must be
looking like power walking andyou've got your weights and
you're pumping your arms forwardand back, I would say it really

(38:39):
isn't like that.
It is about like that.
That Mo Farah, that amazingrunner, you know, we see them.
They just look like they're sograceful, okay, and absolutely
anybody and everybody can walkbetter.
So the fascia is reallyallowing that alignment in our
body so that it can create thatelastic quality, that propulsion

(39:00):
, that zip.
And if we think about a youngchild and we see them kind of
coming out of the house, they'reall springy and bouncy and
they've got the vitality andit's yeah let's go, let's go but
what happens to us as we get abit older?
it's like, okay, everything is,everything hurt, you know, and
it feels arduous.
But when we learn, walk active,really what we're doing is we

(39:23):
are pre-stretching that fascia.
So it's giving us that likezaza, zoom every single step.
And so many clients say, say,it really makes me feel like,
yeah, I've got some energy, itmakes me feel, I feel my space,
it makes me show up better.
Um, and it translates across allaspects of your life and I
think one of the if I may justshare one of the analogies I

(39:46):
give is because of therotational quality.
It's a bit like this beautifulspider's web that we may see
glistening, you know, in thesummer, in the morning dew.
It looks beautiful, it's allsymmetrical, but unfortunately,
if a fly flies into thatspider's web, that web will
still stay in contact but itwill get a lot of knot around

(40:06):
that fly.
That fly is caught and ourlifestyle of muscular imbalances
and our lifestyle of maybesitting down or having
asymmetrical movement, of maybecaring for somebody, or the way
we drive our car or something,together with our physical
imbalances, means that we stillhave this fascia, but our fascia
is not looking like thisbeautiful spider's web,

(40:28):
glistening in the dawn and beingbeautifully symmetrical in its
pattern.
It kind of actually looks likeit's got loads of kind of pop
marks, the spiders all caught init, and that's what makes us
create an inappropriate movementpattern.
That's what can creatediscomfort, that creates poor
posture and it takes away thefluidity of our movement so our

(40:48):
walking feels more arduous.
And with Walk Active we trainyou to actually through very
simple drills and exercise withaudio coaching and the video
exercises to really build on itsequentially with just 10
minutes a day to have thatpositive connection to train
your fascia through your body soyou feel more comfortable.

(41:08):
So I think fascia is reallyinteresting but it relates to
how we utilize all of our bodyin a really nice, positive way.

Michele Folan (41:16):
Yeah, and one thing that I didn't know until
that show that I did with thefascia expert is that we have
fascia around our organs.
I mean it's our largest organ.
I mean it is everywhere in thebody and accessing it is
possible.
It just takes some training andexperts to show you how to do

(41:39):
that.
I had a thought here, as youwere talking about fascia what
role do the arms play in all ofthis?

Joanna Hall (41:48):
Great question.
So the arms are the fourth partof the walkout technique.
What we want to.
If I start with, what do wewant to stop?
Because if we stop the wrongmovement pattern, it allows
everybody to work effectively.
So the arms are the fourth part.
So we try to get the feet right, then the hips, then the head
and shoulders, but with the armswe want to stop either.
Having mechanical arms wherewe're punching them forward and
back, you know, like powerwalking.

(42:09):
We want to stop that because,even though we may think that
will give us more cardiovascularbenefit, it compromises the
correct positioning of thehumerus, the top of the arm,
going into the shoulder girdle,and will give us more stiffness
in the back.
Okay, the other thing that wewant to stop is actually not
using the arms at all, becauseoften when our posture is bad,
the arms just hang loose, limply.

(42:30):
What we want to try to do isallow the arm just have a
natural swing.
Okay, that's the first thing.
When we start walking, we buildit up in the body.
First of all, are the armshaving a natural swing?
So that's not, I'm not makingthem swing.
Is there a natural swing?
The second thing I wouldencourage us to think about is
I'm just turning my back to youand unfortunately we can't see
that, but we've got that littlelittle video webinar for people

(42:52):
to access if they want is thatyou want the movement to come
here from the back of theshoulder girdle, so when the arm
moves back, the back swing isbigger than the front swing, and
if the back swing bigger, youget an improvement with your
posture because we open up thefront of the arm here, and then
that will also give us moremobility in the upper back,

(43:12):
which in turn then actuallystarts to utilize the obliques,
which also then gives this spacein the diaphragm, and that's
what starts to stimulate theinternal fascia, which is what
you were just talking about.
So the art it all linkstogether.
Oh my God, you're giving eachother a script.
Michele, we're on fire, girl.

Michele Folan (43:29):
I know, right.
I mean, this is, we're in aflow.
We're in a flow here, Joanna.
Okay, that was a greatexplanation, because I see
people in my neighborhood doingthe power walk thing with their
fists up, right, no, stop, stopstop, stop and I know people are
going what that's surely doingme some good?

Joanna Hall (43:51):
Please stop doing that.
That is complete and utterfalse economy, because you'll be
putting more strain on yourupper shoulders.
You will be reducing the actionof the thoracic spine to
improve the mobility of yourspine.
If your spine becomes stiff,there is a relationship between
a stiff spine and incorrectmovement of the hips, which then

(44:14):
comes back to the stride lengthand it will shorten the stride,
which is then related tocognitive decline.
So the whole body and how wewalk can be really beneficial.
So we don't want to walk likethat, we just want to have
beautiful, graceful arms.

Michele Folan (44:30):
Okay, and I worked on that too.
So, just so you know I amworking on this.
I work in progress.
This is more of a personalquestion.
What is one of your ownpersonal self-care?
Non-negotiables, something thatkeeps you grounded and
energized every day?

Joanna Hall (44:52):
So I really like this question.
I also think it's a trickyquestion.
And I think it's a trickyquestion because you and I and
fellow health professionals, wedo what we do because we're
driven by passion and sometimesthere is a trade-off that we
kind of we give so much.
But it's where do we find thatkind of balance to make sure

(45:14):
there is who's looking after thehealth professional, who's
looking after, you know, theperson, who's feeding our energy
and vitality?
And this is something that Iwill say I wrangle with, you
know, and I think it's sometimesvery easy.
When we listen to healthprofessionals and think, oh, you
know, it's easy, they've gotthe mindset, it's easy for them,
the first thing I would say isit's not easy, I have to kind of

(45:38):
wrangle with it.
But I know that the pain of nottaking some of these simple
things for myself is bigger thanthe joy I get out of it.
Okay, so what I mean by that is, if I find myself not taking
that self-care, I can getovertired.
I find I get a bit ratty, I'mnot very good about putting
things in perspective andeverything kind of comes

(45:58):
crashing down.
So I know that's a kind of apain point for me and I'm better
to like okay, I really need toinvest in my self-care because
I'm I find that a strongermotivator to move away from that
pain, rather maybe like oh, thejoy of getting up and doing it
every day, because I do enjoy it, without a doubt.
But what I'm trying to say isit's it, and I hope this

(46:20):
resonates people.
It's not always simple, okay,it's not always like, yeah, easy
, I'm doing really easily.
So one of my non-negotiables isevery morning I do start with
an element of positivity and Ihave this little kind of
battered up book in fact I'llshow you I've got it here.
Look how battered this is likeit's a mess, it's a mess, it's a
mess and it's sort of a promiseof a new day and it's like

(46:42):
every day this is like a little.
There's a positive quote, alittle bit of paragraph and
explanation and then a takeawaymessage and I tend to get up in
the morning.
My utopia would be get up in themorning.
I put the kettle on, I get mycafeteria of coffee, I have a
glass of hot water, I bring itupstairs, I pull back the
curtains, I do a bit of fascialmobility, which takes like three

(47:04):
minutes, and have a bit of anosy about what's going on the
neighborhood, because you know,we all like to be a bit nosy.
That's all cool and see thelight, and then the cafeteria is
ready, and then I'll pourmyself some cafeteria hopefully
I would have done some mobility,uh, which just makes me feel
good, and then I will sit downand I will have a little bit of
positivity.
Yeah, and I really just I justsit quietly and I just think

(47:27):
about what is it telling me?
And it's amazing, likesometimes I read it and it's
like, oh, my god, I reallyneeded to hear that today.
Other times it's like, oh,that's good.
But yeah, I think that'sprobably the most consistent
thing and I think thatpositivity for me frames my
outlook, it changes my narrativein my head, it shifts my

(47:52):
perspective and my outlook andit creates a floodgate of energy
for, hopefully, other thingsthat are positive for my
wellbeing and for my loved ones.

Michele Folan (48:01):
Okay.
So what you just said reallyresonated.
And again, this is somethingthat I think gets missed so
often is that if women don'ttake that time for them whether
it's fitness, whether it's somemindset work, whether it's just

(48:22):
simply being out in the sunshinein the morning, it's just
simply being out in the sunshinein the morning that if we don't
show up for ourselves, it issuper difficult to show up for
those around us.
So it's not just your family,it's your clients and your
business associates and allthose other responsibilities
that you have.
Show up for yourself first, sothat you can impact the people

(48:48):
around you.

Joanna Hall (48:49):
Yeah, so right, and it's not easy.
You have to kind of carve outwhat feels right for you.
So I really appreciate youasking me that question, but I
don't want people to think thatI've got it sorted.
I do seek out light, I do seekout being in the fresh air, but
I find it doesn't need to belike an hour and a half of

(49:12):
self-care.
I can kind of get it down toeven just like five minutes.
But that's my time, you know.
I just it has to be good coffee.
You know, it's the three thingsit's positivity, it's posture
and it's coffee.
It may not always be in thatorder, but it's those three
things.
Okay, and let's keep it real.
But for me that kind of createsa framework that allows me to

(49:36):
rest and play and be easy and toshow up for myself and
hopefully show up for my lovedones and to show up for clients
and business and conversationslike this.
Yeah, and be authentic.
Because it is about beingauthentic.
It's easy to try to maybe sharethings that people want to hear

(49:58):
, and especially in today'ssociety when it's we're very
outcome orientated but to to tryto be, you know, authentic and
actually not be perfect when,especially as women, we often
have that we've got to do thingsperfectly mindset, which can be
quite corrosive and erosive.

Michele Folan (50:19):
Thank you for saying that my pleasure.
Yeah, because it is what.
What people see is not alwaysthe reality.
And yeah, I think we need togive ourselves a break sometimes
.
Joanna, what resources or toolsdo you provide for someone
brand new to walk active,because I want to talk a little

(50:40):
bit about the app and whatpeople can expect to find there.

Joanna Hall (50:44):
Oh, thank you.
So we have, within our learningportal, on our app, we have our
learn the walk active method.
Now this would be.
If anybody's thinking, oh, I'minterested, I'd like to learn
the walk active, this is where Iwould roam up.
This is the place to start.
It's a 14 day program and I askyou to walk three times a day

(51:06):
for 10 minutes just 10 minutes.
But each day has a particularfocus and you watch a little
educational video, no more than10 minutes, and then every
alternate day, I'm your walkoutcoach in your ear guiding you
through.
So we layer on the differentparts of the walkout technique
to improve your posture, reduceyour joint strain and to help

(51:26):
you walk better and over theweek.
So week one is all about theposture and technique, and then
week two, we actually start tolook at pace and what does the
brisk pace mean?
And then we have some walk tothe beat sessions where you walk
to different music beats andI'm your coach and it's like
really lifts your spirits andthen you can find the pace that
is right for you to reallyimprove your walking fitness.

(51:49):
So that really gives you thebuilding blocks to the walk
active method and that's yoursfor life.
That's the one off price.
It's yours for life.
But we also support that as soonas you start to buy any of our
programs or come to our liveevents.
We also support that with ourweekly community live coaching,
which is all part of supportingpeople, and we also have our

(52:13):
walk with walk active withJoanna posture and pace classes.
So you tune in wherever you are.
It's a live stream class and wewalk active together and I
teach you in real time.
It's raw, it's authentic, butit's just a great way to really
help build walk active into yourdaily life as you learn it and
wherever you want to follow itwith various programs.

(52:35):
So our learn the walk activemethod is our where to start and
then, once you've done that,you can actually maybe follow
our walk to wow, which isfocusing on our core.
That's our six week program.
And then we also have asix-week program called Stroll
to Stride 5K, which is about ourcardiovascular fitness and
that's actually the program thatwe're running in New York and

(52:55):
doing a really interesting studywith the cardiologist unit in
New York looking at inflammationand the walk-active method and
how beneficial it is formanaging inflammation.

Michele Folan (53:05):
Oh, this is wonderful.
That's right up my alley too.

Joanna Hall (53:07):
Yeah.

Michele Folan (53:09):
Oh, that's awesome and I think you know
what.
As a side benefit of this,you're building community and I
love that.
All right, Joanna Hall.
One last question when canlisteners learn more about the
WalkA ctive method and find you?
Oh, thank you so much.

Joanna Hall (53:28):
So we are on Instagram and Facebook, but the
main protocol really is ourwebsite, which is walkactivecom,
and you can have a littlehyphen between the walk and
active.
That would be great.
So you can find all informationthere about our online courses,
our private personal mentoring,as well as, obviously, the
learn the walk active method.
But what we would love also,michelle, um, is that we have a

(53:50):
free resource which is going tobe exclusive for you guys, um.
So if you just put walkoutcomand then put backslash michelle,
there is a free, actual walkactive webinar.
So all the things that maybeI've spoken about, people will
be able to see kind of visuallyand kind of put that in context
as well.
So the post-it note, some tipsto put it in practice so you can

(54:11):
really feel that difference inone session.
So if you go to our website soit's walkactivecom, backslash
Michele, it is there, and if youcan't find it, just send us an
email.
It is there and we will sendthat to you.

Michele Folan (54:24):
Perfect, and I will put all that in the show
notes.
Joanna Hall, this was a lot offun.
Thank you for being here today.

Joanna Hall (54:30):
Oh, michelle, thank you so much.
I've really really enjoyed ourconversation and thank you so
much for having me on yourwonderful podcast.
I really appreciate it.

Michele Folan (54:39):
Hey, thanks for tuning in.
Please rate and review the showwhere you listen to the podcast
.
And did you know that Askingfor a Friend is available now to
listen on YouTube?
You can subscribe to thepodcast there as well.
Your support is appreciated andit helps others find the show.
Thank you.