Walking: It’s Free

Happy New Year everyone and welcome to 2011!  After all of the cookies, candy and gifting, I thought it would be nice to talk about walking.  Yup, that’s right, walking.

Sounds kinda silly, doesn’t it?  Walking?  What does that have to do with recipes?  Well, for me, walking has been one of the key recipes to recovering my health.  Just a few years ago, a walk around the block was less exhilarating than exhausting.  Everything was for that matter.

Over the past few years I’ve slowly built up my stamina.  I remember being overjoyed one day when I was emptying the dishwasher and found that the process did not induce fatigue, relief surging through my veins, that I could again perform the most simple of chores without feeling tired!

The secret?  Walking.  I walked everyday.  I started out just walking for 10 minutes once per day.  Then, a few months later, I added in an additional 5 minute walk.  Three months after that, I was walking 10 minutes twice a day.  A couple of years later, I am now at the point where I can walk for more than an hour straight and feel great afterward.

Walking to me is like gardening.  I walk almost the same path everyday, taking in the changes in various trees, bushes and flowers around me.  I mentally garden my way through my neighborhood.  It’s oh so peaceful and calming and just one more way that I stay in touch with the outdoors and the seasons.

Walking is free.  Walking is healthy.  Walking is anti-inflammatory (that’s right, it ultimately decreases inflammation in the body, according to my Dad).  Walking calms my mind.  Walking allows emptiness to fill me as I move through something much bigger than myself –the world, mother nature.

So, if you’re looking for another New Year’s resolution, here’s one you just might try.  It’s free –in so many ways.  It’s walking.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?  Leave a comment and let’s have a conversation about healthy living to kick off 2011.