Why make rules for everything

In the fall of 2003, I was walking in the middle of the night through Stockholm, when I saw a lady walking with ski poles. My first reaction was to attribute it to an injury she might have had, but I noticed that she walked fast, with rhythmic movements, as if she was skiing. The obvious conclusion was: “This lady is crazy, how can she pretend that she is skiing in the city ”

Back in the hotel, I mentioned it to my editor and he said that the lady I saw on the streets was him. What I saw was “Nordic walking”. According to him, in addition to leg, arm and shoulder movements, the muscles of back are also used.

My idea of walking is to be able to reflect, think and look at the marvels around me. I thought my editor’s comment was interesting, but I didn’t pay attention to it.

One day, I was in a sports store to buy gears for my arrows, then I noticed new mountaineer poles. They were light, made of aluminium and adjustable. I recalled “Nordic walking” and thought of trying it. I bought two pairs, one for my wife and one for me. We adjusted the poles into a comfortable height and decided to use them the next day.

It was a fantastic discovery. We went up and down a mountain feeling that in reality our bodies were moving, balance was enhanced and tiredness reduced. We walked twice as much as we normally did within an hour. I remembered that I once wanted to explore a dry creek, but the difficulties with the rocks were so much that I gave up the idea. I thought that with the poles it would be much easier and I was right.

One afternoon, just for amusement, I decided to look up the Internet and see what they had on “Nordic walking”. I was shocked: there were pages and more pages, federations, groups, discussions, models and rules.

While I was reading about it, I was horrified. I was not doing it the right way. My poles need to be adjusted higher, they had to obey to a certain rhythm, be on a certain support angle, the shoulder movement was complicated, there were different ways of moving the elbow. Everything followed rigid, technical, exact precepts.

I printed all pages. The next day I tried to do exactly what the experts told. Walking became less interesting, I no longer saw the wonders around me, little did I talk to my wife; I could think of nothing but the rules. At the end of the week, I asked myself: Why am I learning all this

My goal isn’t to workout. I don’t believe that people, when they do their “Nordic walking” in the beginning are thinking of anything beyond the pleasure of walking, of improving their balance and moving their entire body. Intuitively, we knew what the ideal height of the pole was, just as we also could deduce intuitively that the closer they were to our bodies, the better and easier would the movement be. But now, because of the rules, I no longer concentrated on the things I like and was more concerned about losing calories, moving my muscles, using a certain part of my back to walk.

I decided to forget everything I learned about “Nordic walking”. Today we walk with our two poles, enjoying the world around us, feeling happy. And if I want a workout instead of a “moving meditation”, I’ll look for a gym. At the moment, I am pleased with my relaxed, instinctive “Nordic walking,” even if I may not be losing 46 per cent more calories.

I don’t know why the human being has this thing for making rules for everything.

Translated by Bettina Dungs