Walking and exercise provide benefits that go beyond the physical. Many people walk for emotional and spiritual well-being as well as physical exercise. How do you improve your mood by going for a walk? Can it assist you in dealing with life’s stresses? Can it assist you in resolving relationship issues? Is it possible to develop a more spiritual and religious life as a result of it? Yes, according to many.
Stress-Relieving Exercises
Walking can help you relax. Walking allows you to ponder as well as get away from worries. Getting out of a stressful situation, breathing in fresh air, and feeling your body move are all natural stress relievers. A 2018 study found that even a short bout of walking for 10 minutes can boost mood in young adults when compared to no movement at all. A brief period of meditation had the same effect, according to the researchers. Walking can also be used to relieve stress in the following ways:
- Take a Breather: Put physical and mental distance between yourself and the stressor. Get up and go for a 15-minute walk.
- Relax: Many people carry their stress by tensing their muscles. You untangle those muscles and put them to work by adopting proper walking posture and form. Try some shoulder rolls forward and back while walking to further relax your shoulders and neck, and then let your arms swing freely.
- Get Out of Your Head: Get away from your own concerns. Observe your surroundings; appreciate the trees, flowers, birds, gardens, sky, or window shop when walking by storefronts or in the mall.
- Reconnect With Your Physical Body: Consider how your body works from head to toe to carry you along. You might wish to work on your breathing techniques. You can, for example, match your steps to your breath (inhale for 4 steps, exhale for 4 steps, or whatever pattern works best for you). You can also practice your walking form or simply enjoy the sensations of the sun, breeze, mist, or rain on your skin.
- Burn Calories from Stress-Eating: When we are stressed, many of us turn to comfort food or high-calorie convenience foods. Walking is an excellent way to burn calories without changing into gym clothes. Get up and move around.
- Think Time: Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche reportedly stated, “All truly brilliant thoughts are conceived while walking.” When you go for a stroll, your blood flow to your brain increases. It allows you to think about various elements of your difficulties away from the distractions of your business or home. Ideas and solutions for problems may flow more effortlessly.
- Talk and Laugh: Take a delightful walking buddy who can distract you from the things that are stressing you out. Allow them to delight you and bring forth your cheerful side. Play on any playgrounds you come across. Don’t be silly. Have some fun.
- Vent: Choose a walking companion who is willing to listen to what is stressing you out and provide emotional support and suggestions. This can be beneficial if you can find someone who is knowledgeable in problem-solving and counseling.
- Broaden Your Vision: Stress can cause tunnel vision, limiting your view of the world to the immediate situation. Take a walk and pay attention to what’s going on around you. How are other people behaving? Is there a new neighbor on the way? Are your coworkers planning a party? What exactly are they constructing across the street? Where will this new walking trail lead? Consider the fact that there is more to life than your difficulties.
- Reduce Your Blood Pressure: Stress can contribute to high blood pressure. Walking has been found in studies to lower blood pressure and lessen the risk of heart disease.
- Take a Walk in the Park to Reduce Stress: Walking in a natural setting relieved stress more effectively than walking in an urban context, according to studies.
Cautions: If you are a natural worisome person, you run the risk of turning even your stress-relieving walk into a source of anxiety.
Walking improves mood and alleviates depression
Walking and other forms of exercise cause the release of endorphins, the body’s natural happy hormones. Walkers who walk at a faster heart rate pace will perceive this effect more than those who walk at a slower heart rate tempo. Even at a reduced pace, though, most people experience an increase in their mood.
Many doctors recommend incorporating frequent walking and exercise as a natural cure for depression. Depression is caused by changes in brain chemistry. By causing your brain to produce more happy chemicals, known as endorphins, you can achieve naturally what many prescription medicines and plants attempt to achieve artificially.
Depression can be a serious and life-threatening illness, so go to your doctor if your mood is causing problems in your life or if you have suicidal thoughts. Walking can be used as part of an effective treatment plan for mood disorders, which may include involve talk therapy and medication.
Walking in nature, according to research released in 2015, reduces rumination and anxiety.
Boost Mental Acuity
Walking, according to several studies, may aid improve cognitive performance, particularly in elderly persons. In one study, healthy older persons aged 60 to 72 years were recruited from a local community in Shanghai, China. They participated in both a Tai Chi and a walking fitness regimen. Participants improved on a Stroop exam, which measures cognitive function, after completing each program.
Another study found that even low-intensity walking boosted hippocampus volume in elderly persons. Hippocampal atrophy is linked to memory loss and dementia.
A 2011 study found that walking 40 minutes a day, three times a week, prevented the typical age-related shrinking of the brain’s hippocampus, which is where memory and emotions are processed. They increased their performance on spatial memory tasks after a year.
How to Use Walking to Strengthen Relationships
Walking for a half-hour or an hour together naturally leads to conversation, sharing, and the time it takes to eventually spit out what is on your mind. My husband and I enjoy going for pre-dinner walks to unwind from the worries of the day and to plan future adventures. Walking together can help you develop a walking habit. This is a fantastic method to keep yourself motivated to keep walking. I’ve seen couples who wouldn’t let each other “go ahead” of them in terms of the number of volkssport walks they accomplished.
Walk, Walk, Walk…
Take a walk with your children and grandchildren. Special hours spent alone with one parent and one child can form long-lasting relationships and memories, particularly for children who have always had to share their parents with other siblings. A long stroll is an excellent method to spend quality time together while avoiding distractions from pointless “entertainment.” On the path, making new friends is simple. You’ll frequently find yourself walking with a new and interesting individual or reconnecting with old ones. Walkers develop an instant community, and you’ll quickly make new acquaintances of all ages. Walkers have a love of walking as well as a desire to explore new locations and see what they can find
How to Incorporate Walking Into Your Spiritual Life
Walking allows you to delve deeper and explore fundamental concerns such as, “What is the purpose of life?” Is my life’s purpose being fulfilled? What did I do to make the world a better place? What should I do? Have I caused any harm that I now need to repair? What happens after death? What is the best method for me to spend the remainder of my life? These are questions that both believers and nonbelievers should consider. The time away from other concerns and pressures allows you to focus on these foundations. Positive thinkers and affirmation practitioners might use their walking time to develop or reinforce their affirmations.
Kim’s Final Thoughts….
Walking, like yoga and pilates can be used to clear the mind and bring you back to the present now, or as a warm-up for meditation. You may reconnect your mind and body and lose yourself in the ideal embodiment of rhythm, breathing, and movement.
Walking can also be used to connect believers with God. Some people utilize their walking time to pray and get spiritual inspiration on a regular basis. As I walk, I give thanks for the beauty I see around me, both in nature and in the individuals I pass by or walk with. Praise comes naturally to me, and if I’m alone, I’ll break out into worship music. The rhythm of walking and the connection of body and thought frees you up to communicate with God, uninhibited by extraneous distractions. Monks have used walking as a prayer instrument for ages, and walking a labyrinth is an ancient technique for prayer and meditation.
