The Japanese Step to Fitness

The 3x3 walking technique is yet another method of spreading the wellness footprint

- TANISHA SAXENA

Walking is the Sangral of exercise that is making many a Walk Guru on YouTube and Instagram. Shubhangi Srivastava, 29, a visa consultant in Delhi, knows its power. Her sedentary lifestyle imposed on her by office routine chained her to her desk. Determined to get revved up, she tried home workouts, gym workouts, and trendy fitness routines. "I'd put myself through a round of push-ups, and feel sore for days," she says with a wry smile. "I could never keep up." Until the day Srivastava stumbled on the 3x3 Japanese walking method on Instagram. "It felt too easy," she says. Within weeks of walking the Insta talk, she noticed a shift in her routine. "I wasn't slumping in my chair by mid-afternoon. I felt sharper, more alert, and actually wanted to move." For the rejuvenated visa consultant, the appeal of the Japanese walk wasn't just the science—it was the accessibility. "It fits into my life without taking over it." Sixty-year-old Rakesh Jha seconds Srivastava's belief. "I had no idea this technique came from Japan. My grandchild suggested I try it during my daily walks, so I gave it a shot. At first, I didn't notice much, but within two months, my diabetes was far better controlled. I think I'm simply burning more calories this way."

One of the oldest and most accessible forms of physical activity, it is being reimagined in Japan and across the world among fitness followers who are bombarded with a fad a day.