THE WALK-RWD SYSTEM ENCOURAGES CREATIVE THINKING. PART I

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It has been demonstrated, over the years, that there is a relationship between walking – in addition to other physical exercises – and the functional processes of the brain, stimulating their development and abilities , in addition to preventing ailments and illnesses.

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I could not say that any type of exercise would have similar effects, because I have not experienced them and surely that intense or extreme sports, either, to put an excessive case, would not be examples to consider.

I will begin by briefly explaining some questions about the functional components of the human being. I consider that there are four its main functional divisions:

This post is oriented within the MENTAL component and will be aimed at the concept of creativity, leaving aside that of cognition (reasoning, thinking, decision-making, IQ) since this function – also of the component mental- I have analyzed it in the future post THE WALK-RWD SYSTEM AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE that deals with cognitive function in particular.

Within the mental component, the brain is the main organ of the Central Nervous System, coordinating and regulating most of the functions of the mind and body. These functions that it has under its control are of 4 types: a) Superior Functions, such as reasoning, thinking, memorizing, attention, speaking, creativity, imagination, perception, decision making, intellectual intelligence, emotional intelligence, behavior emotional; b) Vital functions, such as heart rate or rhythm, breathing, digestion; c) Essential Functions, such as sleeping, sexual arousal, sweating (Future Post WALKING AND SWEATING), hunger; and d) Secondary Functions, such as yawning, sneezing, etc.

The Superior Functions are developed in the brain itself, in its cerebral lobes that are an important part of the cerebral cortex; Of all of them, cognitive functions are the most important that are developed in the human brain. (Future post THE WALK-RWD SYSTEM AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE).

In general, cognitive functions allow us to react appropriately to stimuli and external agents, and all of them are interconnected. Thus, the brain performs, in an interrelated way, the various cognitive functions: reasoning (thinking, understanding, reflecting, meditating); memorizing (learning, repeating, remembering, forgetting); attention (curiosity, observation, analysis, interest, distraction, perception); speaking (talking, dialoguing, expressing, communicating, explaining, articulating, listening, responding, keeping quiet); and conduct (regulation and control of behavior, attitudes).

Although we will focus on what creativity implies, the rest of the functions that do not fall within the cognitive, have the same treatment that we will expose in this post, such as imagination, inventiveness, intuition and inspiration.

The coordinated movement that is generated in the walk causes the brain to produce various substances (ENDOCRINE SYSTEM) such as Endorphins, Catecholamines, Adrenaline, Enzymes, Pheromones, Glycogen, Immunoglobin, Interferons, Lymphocytes, Myoglobin, Neurotrophins, etc., (Future post THE WALK-RWD SYSTEM AND THE SELF-PRODUCTION OF ORGANIC SUBSTANCES), which in turn stimulate the development and full functioning of neurons, increasing considerably the number of connections between them and the functional areas of the brain itself.

In some of the previous posts I have mentioned what Nietzsche used to say about the walk, expressing: “Only good ideas arise when we are walking.” It would be abusive to create a theory based on an exergue or an aphorism of a person, even if it comes from a great thinker like Nietzsche himself; nevertheless, he surely experienced, on several recurring occasions and to a certain intensity, this truth that he declared with such care and so much certainty; in other words: For some reason he said it and we should guard with suspicion (much attention) that thought.

In this post we will refer -as we express- with greater emphasis to the functional section of creative thinking, to the function of imagining and creating ideas, which has been given the name of creativity, in a generic way. Creativity is a superior function, which is made up of mental operations such as: devising, imagining, idealizing, fantasizing, rambling, inventing, creating and speculating. However, all the development that I will expose on the concept of “being creative” can be used in the same way to positively impact the other brain functions.

Walking causes the brain to enter a need to “COMPENSATE” (STABILIZE- BALANCE- LEVEL- a physical imbalance) a state in motion, which in turn causes “unevenness” (instability) in its chemical elements (properties, attributes, particularities) and their neurotransmitters (Future Post BEING IN MOTION TO MOVE NEURONS). Before the cause of the movement an effect of necessity. Before the walk begins, the brain is in a state of “balance” in the body, a function that it develops along with other systems such as the vestibular, associated with the mechanical part of the inner and outer ear. All these systems together with the brain control both the static and the dynamic balance of the being. The static keep it in balance while the body is not moving; and the dynamic is controlled by the individual being in motion, walking or moving through any other type of mobility, whether moving or not.

During a walk, the brain permanently seeks to “COMPENSATE” (STABILIZE- BALANCE- LEVEL- a physical imbalance) that state in movement, in all possible ways, during the total time that this journey lasts.

Throughout this period of walking, the brain seeks to “stabilize itself”, giving instructions both to its own organic unit (cerebral convolutions and neurotransmitters), and to other systems, glands (Future Post ANOTHER ENIGMA: WALKING, GENDER AND PINEAL GLAND ) and organs, to achieve this “balance”, such as sight, touch (feet and hands), muscle, etc. Some vicariant parts of the brain will try to supply the insufficiency of some others that are affected by the loss of that “balanced and harmonic state”. Likewise, some organs, glands or systems, as a whole articulated, will try to support the needs that the brain is experiencing, including the vestibular system.

As we have already mentioned, this process directly influences the generation of substances throughout the body, as well as the development of functions of all kinds.

There are several fields -of activities- where you can see the implication or effect that is exerted by causing the gestation of substances and neural processes, and where we can obtain positive and effective results in human behavior. In the field of creativity (ideas, memory, inspiration, imagination, etc.) it is one of them and in the field of emotions it is another. We have already mentioned in post PRESERVING AND AFFIRMING HEALTH, CREATIVITY AND TRANQUILITY, several of those positive aspects that are generated through the application of the WALK-RWD system.

The vestibular is one of the first systems, and one of the most important, that is exercised (impacted, influenced, affected, disturbed, moved) with the movement of the walk; on the other hand, unfortunately we do not know which parts of the brain are “decompensated”, moving, when going through that state during the walk, nor what are the vicariant parts (cerebral convolutions or neurotransmitters) that enter into (functioning, movement, articulation) exercise (new and different functions, not the traditional ones known) to reactivate and level (compensate, restore and recover) the parts that intervene in the search and achievement of a stabilization (uncontrolled, disturbed) in order to supply them.

In other words, the brain also enters a process of counter-change (decompensation, imbalance) by the vestibular system itself, as it is forced to respond when the human body enters into motion (dynamic equilibrium). This organic process, which is generated in the vestibular system in a state of dynamic equilibrium, is a clear analogy regarding the way the brain must function in certain neural areas when we start to walk. Below I briefly describe how the vestibular system is composed and how it works.

Tiny constituent parts of the ear control the vestibular system, which in turn regulates static balance (the human body at rest) and dynamic balance (the human body in motion). Static balance maintains the orientation of the body and the head with respect to the ground and controls it stable with respect to its body weight. Dynamic balance controls the position of the body and the head, balancing the entire organism, responding to movement or movements made by the body (locomotion, gait, translation, increase or decrease in speed, speed, slowness and rotation) ; and when walking or making any movement, the balance of this system is broken, which immediately seeks to restore it by sending instructions to its different sections.

The following expression describes the sequence of the process:

                 “Walking-Imbalance” ▲ “Search for Compensation” ▲ “Brain”

                                   ▲ Thought ▲ Mind ▲ Ideas ▲ Emotions ▲

Let us keep in mind that ideas and emotions are vectors with their own energy and that they are in motion and that, therefore, they stimulate all areas of the body and fundamentally the brain.

When we walk, we provoke movements in the head and therefore we generate an ALERT SIGNALS (DECOMPENSATION-DESTABILIZATION- UNBALANCE- SLOWING) both in the area of the brain itself and in the other systems (sight, hearing, body, etc.), but fundamentally in the vestibular; which in turn sends sensory messages to the brain, reaching this and other organic parts that seek to reestablish (restore, recover and resume) harmony. Similarly, a high percentage of the messages that are sent from the organ of sight to the brain are to maintain balance, both in the body itself and in relation to the floor.

With the following diagram, I want to show that by moving we get the brain to use new neural circuits and perform new functions. Just by walking we achieve these effects.

This sensory-nervous type information reaches certain organs and systems throughout the body so that they participate according to their functions in order to preserve and restore balance. Let’s also keep in mind that constantly the brain, before the different movements that the body has, passes from a state of harmony and compensation to another state that is different from the one that preceded it.

To end this PART I of the post, I would like to highlight that walking is a natural activity of the human being and that its performance is perfectly balanced for its optimal functioning, since it is carried out in a harmonious and balanced way that gives the body the mind that medullary rhythm that is essential for the proper functioning of all its systems and organs.

There has been so much experience that walking promotes the harmonious functioning of the cerebral hemispheres, that there is no doubt about it. Walking is an exercise that causes effects on the 2 symmetrical parts of the human body, so any exercise that generates it, will have similar effects (Future post THE SYMMETRY OF THE BODY AND WALKING), as long as they are not gymnastics or sports that are too hard, nor exhausting or violent.

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