by Shaz Slaughter

Created on: January 10, 2009   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

We all know that walking is good exercise and can help you live a healthier life. Many people however overlook the fact that a brisk walk can help you relieve stress. Obviously when you do any sort of exercise your body releases endorphins which produce a feeling of well being. In other words the releasing of endorphins in your body help you feel better.

With walking however, as opposed to any other exercise, you are afforded the luxury of allowing your mind to wander and concentrate on other things. This is where the stress relief comes into play.

With other exercises you ignore your stress during your exercise session and probably forget about it for awhile, until it comes back. The beauty of walking is you get to exercise and work out, pardon the pun, your problems.

The first thing you do once you have started walking is to think about your pace, focus on setting a pace you can maintain for a while. Now that you have achieved a reasonable pace start taking deep breaths in through you nose and out through you mouth, again focus on your breathing until you start to feel relaxed. It should only take a few minutes of walking before your breathing starts feeling easy and calm, remember do not try to force or rush your breaths.

After spending time focused on your breathing allow your mind to slowly wander into what you believe is stressing you, it may overwhelm you at first but do not worry. If you find yourself focusing only on the problem at hand go back to focusing on your breathing, once again deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Every now and again feel free to take a look at the scenery and enjoy it. Take a look around at your surroundings and try to notice the little things. It does not matter if you spend the entire time just looking at the scenery in fact that is a good thing if it helps you relax.

The more relaxed you feel the better you will be able to deal with and work through problems in your mind and before you know it they will not feel like the enormous problem it once did. Of course one walking session will not get rid of all the stress in your life but it is a step in the right direction.

By just taking some time to walk and process some of your thoughts you are on your way to living a less stressful life.

Remember to concentrate on taking deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth, allow your mind to work the problems out without over thinking the problem and to take a look at your surrounds and notice the small things.

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