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.
Alchemille says
Walking is healing is many ways ;).
I’ve been enjoying a daily 30 min walk myself…
Lynn Krukowski says
Happy Healthy New Year – Everyone.
I was feeling so rough in November (so/plus looking for comfort food and broke my gluten free diet) the Cancer clinic asked me to talk to one of the counselors about my health. I told him how I wanted to get the energy to walk our Bernese Mountain dog to get the mail each afternoon but the thought of getting up and walking in the rainy dark weather was like climbing Mt Everest. He suggested that as a first step set a goal of just to get changed (dressing in wet raingear) and going out on our deck with the dog, next was walk down the driveway (a mini Everest) and then the mail run (once/week, then twice/week).I discovered your site at that time and stopped all grains for just almond flour and agave AND… I walked to the mail box yesterday and today. I feel so much better about myself and really thank you for the great comfort food recipes and nice visits with everyone and great advice. One step at a time does it.
Thanks for your wisdom,
Lynn
Yulia says
Elana,
This is beautiful.
Thank you so much for sharing. And it was wonderful to read these comments as well.
Happy New Year to all!
R Saling says
Good post. Great exercise. It’s the one thing that helps me recover from most all of my health problems. Even if I have to start by walking across the room at first. I do agree that it helps tremendously with the fatigue. It also helps the joints, and my breathing. I’ll walk anywhere, when I’m able. And in any weather.
Hope that you all had a great Christmas and New Years.
Take care.
Teryl says
I agree. I have been doing whatever free moves I want right in my own home, trying different things and doing things like tabatas (4 minutes and your done working out but booooooooooooy is it INTENSE- just look em up on youtube to see how their done or checkout workoutmuse) or the longer than 4minute but still effective and bang for your buck interval walking cardio holding light weights with Leslie Sansone’s walk away the pounds dvds. Cheers to a Happy New Year and Happy New You Everybody-^_^-!
Katrina says
Great post! I love walking, too!
Natalie says
I loved this post. GREAT reminder of how nice walking can be! I will have to start even more slowly than you did because of health issues, but am excited to start. I’m so glad to hear it has given you stamina in other areas of your life. I get exhausted by the smallest things now (showers, emptying the dishwasher, laundry, etc.) and I am hoping to slowly build stamina – how wonderful would that be?!! I used to jog 4 xs a week, and miss it so much. Thanks for the motivation to start small and increase slowly.
Cassi Friz says
We do a family walk 5 evenings a week, almost regardless of weather. There’s a little grocery store down the street and we walk down to see the lobsters there (where my son watches them, my daughter says ‘ew, i don’t yike dose!’), and maybe buy a sparkling water. it’s really about the walk. and sometimes we brave the path in the woods that looks similar to the picture above- but with a 5, 3, and 1 year old, that is a more ambitious route.
especially in late pregnancy, this walk keeps us together, allows me to stretch my legs and breathe, and stay in good enough shape to recover well and keep my energy up. I love walking. altogether it’s a little over a mile, not much, but long enough, and in nicer weather we stretch it out wandering over to parks, into the woods, around just one more block.
walking- my favorite exercise (except dance, but i can’t do that with everyone nearly as joyfully)
Elizabeth says
Not a resolution, just a continuation of my raw and living foods lifestyle, that is how I plan to remain healthy. Plus I will increase my “walking” on the Elliptical, I love it! Just have to do it more now that the baby is getting older and more self reliant and not attached to my front side, if you know what I mean. Suddenly I feel liberated and free! Wow, amazing…considering I have five kids that I homeschool, can I really say that?
Peace & Raw Health,
Elizabeth
Laura says
Wow – your words bring back so many memories before I was diagnosed with Celiac… I spent years in a fog – the thought of getting out of bed and getting dressed to walk my dog around the block was overwhelming. One year after being GF I participated in a 3 day distance walk for charity and completed another 2 day event in 2010. My pooch and I enjoy walks every chance we can get! Thanks for your fantastic recipes and encouragement.