by Charles Liu
While many practice Tai Chi or square dancing, some elderly Chinese are known to engage in a number of strange physical exercises such as walking backwards or clapping their hands while jogging. However, the newest fitness “craze” to take China by storm takes things a step further as adults crawl on their hands and feet as a way to keep fit.
As seen in pictures taken on October 19, walking like an animal on four legs is a morning ritual practiced by some 30 to 40 people daily in a historical park located in a shopping district of Zhejiang, Henan.
The crawlers explained there are a number of health benefits that come from the exercise. One person said, “Crawling like this has cured my cervical spondylosis (a deterioration of the spine related to old age). Making two circuits everyday on this sidewalk has made my body more limber,” while another said, “After crawling for half a year, not only has my neck stopped being so stiff, my blood pressure has dropped!”
Claims that walking on your hands and feet is good for your body are indeed backed up by a medical professional, albeit one in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Deputy Director of the Chinese Traditional Medicine Preventative Treatment Center Lu Peiwan said this exercise is a total body workout that uses muscles that are often under-utilized, thereby improving muscles, ligaments, and bones throughout your body.
Furthermore, Lu said the crawling exercise is rooted in traditional Chinese culture. According to Lu, it originates from famous Han Dynasty doctor Hua Tuo’s “Five-Animal Exercise” in which people can improve their health by copying animal behaviors.
One of the participants explained that although crawling is a recent phenomenon for many of them in Zhengzhou, it has deep roots attached to it:
Among us here, the person who started doing this is a Mr Duan who has been doing this for five or six years now. Mr Duan is now 90 years-old, and is in excellent health. After watching him crawl all day long, we’ve taken after him.
Despite being called “outlandish” by the People’s Daily Online, Chinese have been practicing this tradition for years, just as Mr Duan has been doing. Here’s a photo from back in January 2015:
From November last year in Changsha:
This one is from September 2012:
This one is from April 2011:
And this one also from 2011, as seen in a CCTV report:
In 2013, the World Health Organization listed China as the country with the 65th highest life expectancy at 75 years. Japan came in first with an average life expectancy of 85.
The post Newest Fitness Craze to Hit China: Walking on Your Hands and Feet appeared first on The Nanfang.
https://thenanfang.com/newest-fitness-craze-hit-china-walking-hands-feet/
