Walking as a Form of Mindfulness and Relief
Why I am addicted to walking and the benefits I gain from it
Twelve years ago I worked my ass off for 8 months to train for my first triathlon. Hell, I even managed to quit smoking for the only time in my life to do it.
The thing is, I came in dead last out of hundreds of people — and I couldn’t have been prouder of myself.
The reason for that, unfortunately, is that my knee decided that 15 years of soccer and 5 years of yo-yo weight gain/loss was too much for its 23-year-old self.
And it decided to make this choice right before the last leg of the triathlon, a 10km running portion.
A few months later I had knee surgery, it fixed the constant pain that I was feeling after. But I have been morbidly afraid of jogging and running ever since.
A new habit forms
Having a cast on for 6 weeks, and months of knee pain prevented me from continuing my jogging, biking, and swimming daily habits that I had built up.
It sucked.
But it did lead to one of the best life habits I’ve managed to retain in all the years since — walking.
I walk a lot.
If you ever saw me, you wouldn’t think this is the case. But it is the case, my Fitbit can attest to it! In the last 10 months, I’ve walked an average of 9km a day.
Not a huge number to some people, but for me it is. That number also includes a hell of a lot of down-days — flights, hangovers, and life get in the way sometimes.
But I know myself, if I’ve missed a day or two of walking, I have a nagging need to get out there again. It’s my only healthy addiction in life so far, and one that I hope I’ll keep for the rest of my life.
What’s so good about walking anyway?
There’s a crazy amount of research out there on the interwebs about the benefits of walking. Generally, they all reflect around the following:
- Promotes weight loss
- Reduces and protects joints from inflammation and arthritis
- Boosts your immune system
- Helps combat stress eating and improves insulin regulation
- Improves the mood and general mental health
Walking as a mood booster
Point number 5 above is my favorite in that list, by far. I also think it’s the reason behind my healthy addiction and love for walking in itself.
When you start that practice of walking on most days for an hour, on your own, encompassed in your thoughts, a sense of peaceful calmness starts occurring.
For me, it’s the time at the end of the day to reflect on everything that’s gone on, both good and bad. It’s that chance for me to look at what happens during a busy day from a different light. It’s that opportunity for me to think about family and friends and fun memories from distant lands and times.
A lot of what I’m referring to now is my version of what some people call R.A.I.N. — Recognize — Accept — Investigate — Non-identify. Here’s a good article on the subject from author Mike Sturm:
The above is a formalized method of mindfulness practice, a way to separate your problems of the day from becoming you.
We are what we repeatedly do, after all.
If your day is stressed (as all of ours are), people can slowly start identifying with that stress. The stress and triggers can become the person — and that’s just not cool.
Go walk, be mindful, and learn to relax
When I go for my usual walks in the evening, I don’t make it formal, I don’t set out to specifically attack a problem I’m dealing with. I just let the flow of the walk guide me.
I often listen to music or podcasts as a way to get into a state of thought. Sometimes I’m super into the story of the podcasts, other times I don’t listen to a single word that was said in the whole hour.
The music and podcasts are just a trigger and a motivation for me to set out on the walk in the first place. I highly recommend it if you’re new to daily walking as an exercise.
I cannot stress how big a part of my general mental happiness is due to the long walks that I’ve incorporated into my life over these years.
The peace, calmness, and self-reflection that it allows me to do have had an incredible effect on my life and I strongly encourage anyone reading this to try it themselves.
Just try it for 1 month, you only need 30 minutes 5 times a week to gain most of the benefits in the list above.
Believe me, after doing it for a while you won’t view it as a chore — it will be something to look forward to at the end of the day and a hell of a way to recharge yourself to kick the next day’s ass!
‘Rant’ over.
Have a wonderful day and check out some of my other stuff here.