A Walk: Exercise for the Soul

Walking has been a big topic for me lately. I love walking for exercise and have felt disappointed about how cold it is and how little time I want to spend outside, just counting down the months till it's warm and conducive to walking again regularly. And then the other day, my life coach, Joy, sent me and our teleclass a wonderful e-mail with a short and inspiring article about walking which I will put at the end of this post.

Walking, for me (as it might be for you, too), is about more than simply getting somewhere or for exercise of my body. It allows me the time and opportunity to enjoy nature (even though I am in hypersuburbia) and to either empty my mind or allow it to process feelings I have been having. I find I often work out a decision or issue that was bothering me at the same time I work out my legs! Today I went for a brisk walk in the bitter cold when the sun was at its highest and warmest. There were lots of crows and other birds up and all around and they were delightful. I took off my sunglasses to allow the rays right into my eyes so as to receive the most benefit of the vitamin D from the sun. I noticed that I started getting a bit pre-occupied about a matter in my life right now, and made a conscious decision to simply walk and make this time about taking a break from everything else. That is how I feel I am in the present moment, that moment you hear so much about!

Sometimes we need to take a break, a real break, so allow space for who we really are, simply us. Walking is like a mini-vacation. You get out into the world, your immediate world, to see what's going on in your neighborhood and be reminded there is a natural world out there. I feel somehow more connected to peace this way. Instead of stressful excursions, walking for the sake of walking is a way I find that peace is possible. You bring so little to walking, just comfortable shoes and layers of clothing, and nothing in your hands. Simplicity is freedom! With all the very challenging and dangerous things going on in the world today, it's important to take a break now and then and be reminded that peace in this world starts with each of us. As the wise Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Naht Hahn, says, "Peace is every step." I hope it's warm enough for me to walk again tomorrow!

Here is the article. Thank you, Joy, for sharing it with me!

"IT IS SOLVED BY WALKING
by Clarence Thomson

We have several ways of making any changes we want. One is by trying to change our feelings. The assumption is that if we can change our thinking, we'll change our feelings and then we will behave in new ways.

This belief reigns supreme in all talking therapies; it under girds nagging, preaching and cheerleading: think better, feel better and you'll behave better.

There is another tradition. An older spiritual tradition, newly embraced by brief therapy and in some practices of NLP says that if you change the way act, your emotions will follow. The medieval principle was "solvitur ambulando" ("it is solved by walking").

An example: if you came to me with depression, I would not try to talk you out of your misery. Instead I would ask you to change the way you sit, stand and walk. You cannot stay depressed standing up straight, breathing deeply and walking briskly. So go for a brisk walk and see what happens.

I learned this working in a high school. I was not given an office, so when students or faculty came to my office, we would discuss their problems while walking. I got a reputation for being able to help with depression. I assumed it was my brilliant conversation, but gradually came to realize it was the walk that helped, not my counsel."