In Praise of Walking

A New Scientific Exploration

By: Shane O'Mara

Narrated by: Liam Gerrard

A hymn to walking, the mechanical magic at the core of our humanity.

In this captivating book, neuroscientist Shane O'Mara invites us to marvel at the benefits walking confers on our bodies and brains, and to appreciate the advantages of this uniquely human skill. From walking's evolutionary origins, traced back millions of years to life forms on the ocean floor, to new findings from cutting-edge research, he reveals how the brain and nervous system give us the ability to balance, weave through a crowded city, and run our "inner GPS" system. Walking is good for our muscles and posture; it helps to protect and repair organs, and can slow or turn back the aging of our brains. With our minds in motion we think more creatively, our mood improves, and stress levels fall. Walking together to achieve a shared purpose is also a social glue that has contributed to our survival as a species.

As our lives become increasingly sedentary, O'Mara makes the case that we must start walking again-whether it's up a mountain, down to the park, or simply to school and work. In Praise of Walking illuminates the joys, health benefits, and mechanics of walking, and reminds us to get out of our chairs and discover a happier, healthier, more creative self.

©2019 Shane O'Mara (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Get moving and walk!

I always knew walking was good for the body, mind and soul, but now you have scientific proof as to just how important it is to get moving and walk! Some of the scientific data was a bit over my head and so for that reason I gave it a 4 and not a 5, but it's fascinating to hear the history of walking for all species.

Pretty Good, but

I’ve read several books on the science and cultural meaning of walking, and this one is a bit windy and vague compared to the others. It includes a few insights I had not come across before. But many chapters are dry and uninteresting because of the vague content and scarcity of storytelling in the writing. The reader is pleasant enough, but has an insistent tone that doesn’t really appeal to me.

Excellent scientific read on walking

He confirmed much of what I believed already. But it was nice to read scientific evidence of it.

Great book!

Enlightening. Encouraging & Exciting! If you ignore the evolutionary trappings, you can see how amazingly complex God created us. This book is exceptionally encouraging to listen to..as you WALK!

Thoroughly Enjoyed This Book

Loved the narration of this book and the thought provoking content. Intriguing look at the neuro-anatomy of walking from evolution to the brain/foot connection. Really an enjoyable listen from beginning to end. Will be looking into more books by O’Mara.

Walk for your physical and mental health!

Fantastic summary of the wide and deep effects of such a basic part of life!

Fun to listen to, during a walk

Interesting. As a fan of walking myself, I enjoyed this short audiobook. Fun to listen to, during a walk.

Interesting & Informative

This book, In Praise of Walking by Shane O'Mara, was not what I expected. It was more technical and scientific than entertaining, but I learned a lot about the good walking does for our bodies and minds.
Some of the experiments done in all areas was particularly eye-opening. One had a person walk 1,000 kilometers as a wandering tribal man to see all the bodily benefits it manifested. Another was having people lie immobile between two waterbed mats to see how detrimental to health and muscles this would change in three days. Wow! Another compared navigational shills when walking and human "GPS" between sighted, recently blind and blind from birth people.
Anyway, this might not be your cup of tea, but if you like to occasionally read to learn stuff, you might enjoy this book.

walking

narrator's voice was acceptable, there were chapters better than others, the big takeaways were historical perspective and the present day needs to get up and enjoy a simple excercise, just do it!

Inspiring!

Don't know which I enjoyed more, the text or the narrator. Both inspired me to get up, go out, and start walking.