Ways To Support Your Body On Long Hikes or Pilgrimages
I just came back from walking the Camino to Santiago de Compostela which was an incredible experience. I'm not really an experienced hiker, I'm not unfit but walking day after day 20+ km was also a strain on my body. I did use some of my tool kit from Chinese Medicine to support my health, so I had the idea to put a blog on it together and hope it will support you on your hiking adventures.
There are multiple meridians involved in supporting us during exercises and in particular hiking:
The Bladder Meridian: it runs along our entire back, through the glutes and down the back of our legs to the pinky toe. It carries our posture and the weight of our backpack.
The Gallbladder Meridian: it runs down the sides of our bodies and is responsible for the stability of our hips and knees
The Stomach Meridian: running down on the front of our body across our knees to the toes. It helps us to climb stairs and rocks, it also provides the energy from our digestion.
The Spleen Meridian: travels from the big toe, up on the inner leg to the upper body. It govers our muscles and transforms fluids, it also provides energy from our digestion. Long pilgrimages exhaust the energy of the spleen.
The Kidney Meridian: originates at the sole of the foot and runs on the inside of the leg to the upper body. The kidneys house ous essence Jing, our root energy. Pushing ourselves over multiple days exhausts this energy reserve.
Keeping all of these meridians in mind here are some lifestyle and acupressure tips to help your body to keep on walking and later also recover.
Lifestyle
Nutrition
The intake of sufficient water is a no brainer but you also need to eat well to support your stomach and spleen. Eating well for those meridians means eating warm cooked blood nourishing meals. Avoid cold, sugary and raw foods, these are too hard to digest.
Blood nourishing foods are:
leafy greens and vegetables
eggs
tofu
bone broth
meat and seafood
soup, stews
beans and lentils
grains (oats or rice)
red and dark fruits
Along the Camino you will also find plenty of places that sell real fresh lemonade and orange juice which can be a quick energy boost. You should avoid though ice cold drinks and too much sugar.
Protecting Yourself from Cold
Ice-cold drinks, cold and raw foods are a strain on the stomach and spleen. Your kidney meridian also needs to be protected from cold, this means avoiding to sit on cold stones or having cold feet. You can carry with you a sit-pad and change into dry and warm socks regularly.
Rest & Recovery
During the hike make sure you rest frequently. Do not walk until you are completely exhausted. It's important to not just think of the arrival but to actually pace yourself and enjoy the walk.
When you arrive at your accommodation have a warm foot bath or soak entirely in a warm bathtub. Along the Camino are hot springs and I had the best recovery when I soaked my tired legs and feet into those springs, it was like heaven.
Massage your legs and stomach. You can have some warm oil or something like Tiger Balm to massage and stroke down on the outside and back of the legs and up on the inside of the legs (Spleen and Kidney Meridian). You can massage gently clockwise around your belly button and also draw circles and massage your lower back and kidney area.
Enough sleep is also really import.
Acupressure
This is a great way to support your body. Warm up your hands by rubbing them gently together and then hold those points gently for at least 2 minutes on both sides of the body.
BL-57 - Support the Mountain
location: in the middle of back of the lower leg, half way between the crease at the back of the knee and the ankle. It lies in a depression between the heads of the gastrocnemius muscle.
use for leg cramps, knee pain, calf pain
Stomach 36 - Leg Three Miles
location: three to four finger lengths below your kneecap and one finger length outside your shin bone. Find the small depression between the shin bone and muscle.
use for heavy legs, fatigue, to get an energy boost
Spleen 6 - Three Yin Intersection
location: on the inside of your lower leg, about four finger-widths above the highest peak of your inner ankle bone. It lies just behind the edge of the shinbone
use for aching feet, swollen ankles, in general for recovery
Pericardium 6 - Inner Gate
location: turn your palm upward. Measure three finger-widths down from your wrist crease, right between the two prominent tendons in the center of your forearm
use for high altitudes or mild nausea
Happy Hiking and Bon Camino.
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