648: How to walk to optimize your health | Courtney Conley, D.C.

"I want people to start thinking of walking as a physiological necessity, not simply as a form of exercise,” explains Courtney Conley, D.C.
Conley is a renowned foot and gait specialist, chiropractic physician, and founder of Gait Happens and Total Health Solutions clinic and Total Health Performance gym in Lakewood, She is a founding member of the Healthy Foot Alliance and coauthor of Walk, a new book about the power of walking.
0:00 - Walking is fundamental
03:34 - Debunking 10,000 steps
05:37 - The power of a microwalk
08:15 - Steps vs heart rate
09:46 - Weighted vests & step counters
13:26 - Walking to reset the nervous system
16:07 - The 15-minute post-meal walk
19:53 - How walking unlocks teenagers
22:41 - Why uneven terrain matters
26:55 - The mechanics of good walking
32:15 - Calluses are good for you
34:00 - Conley’s favorite footwear
37:08 - Why you should lift barefoot
Referenced in the episode:
Find Conley at her website: ⁠https://www.drcourtneyconley.com/⁠
Buy her book here: ⁠https://a.co/d/0eEvaiGi⁠
Study on how brisk walking reduces cancer risk (2025): ⁠https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12885-025-14258-x⁠
Study on how 5,000 steps a day reduces depression (2024): ⁠https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2828073⁠
We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on ⁠YouTube⁠! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: [email protected].
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices