Stress is like a dangerous stranger. When it approaches us, our pulse quickens, our muscle tense, and we go into defensive mode. Instinct has instilled inside us the intuition of "fight or flight." While there are some of us who would stand and fight, our best course of action is to walk away before stress can do us any harm.
There are several ways you can approach walking. You can invite a friend or two or go off on your own. Walking alone gives you the opportunity to allow your mind to sort out thoughts and resolve lingering feelings held back from stressful situations. However, walking with a friend or two provides motivation and socialization.
In the United States, over 60 % of us don't get the level of exercise recommended for a healthy lifestyle and 25% of us have given up entirely. Why? For many of us, developing the habit of walking each day becomes our biggest drawback without an accountability partner. So find a friend or two and lace up those walking shoes.
When you're planning on walking it is a good idea to make sure you wear comfortable shoes. You want to keep your footwear low to the pavement with a rounded heel. Try for a flexible sole that will bend with your foot as you walk heel to toe. You want to keep your footwear lightweight and give your feet an opportunity to breath, least wise you may find yourself out of breath by simply taking your shoes off.
Focus on your breathing while you walk. Don't allow bits and pieces of past conversations or futuristic chores to flood your mind. Instead keep yourself motivated by a little self pep talk along your route.
Cardiologist Herbert Benson, Co-founder of the Mind & Body Medical Institute affiliated with Harvard Medical School, discovered that the repetition of a word, sound, or rhythmic physical movement such as walking causes what he calls, "the relaxation response." Benson found that by adding affirmations, such as saying, "left, right", "in, out", or other spiritual significant sounds helps sustain focus while walking. These walkers also benefit from having a quicker time releasing tensions from their body.
Walking ranks as the national favored fitness activity. You can set your own pace. Allow your mind and body to travel the same route and you can simply take it, "one step at a time." If you're not up to walking long distances, you can work your way up from ten minutes to sixty, with thirty being recommended daily.
Adding a few minutes of walking into your daily schedule cost you nothing, but your health. Walking can reduce the production of the hormones that produce stress, prevent diseases such as heart disease, build muscle, and lower your risk for developing high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer.
Next time stress approaches, relax. You've got your walking shoes on don't you?