CURING WHAT AILS YOU

Years ago, before I was a walker, there was a woman who dressed up in a costume every day and walked on the busiest street in my neighborhood. She would stop at red lights and dance in circles. She would wave at every passing car. She danced, walked, hopped and generally had a good time. Was she crazy? No! She was getting healthy.

The local 'journal' newspaper took notice of this woman - who couldn't - and wrote an article about her. She identified herself only as 'Tiger', the most frequent of her many costumes. Her story was inspiring. She was an R.N. who had developed a 'terminal illness' and knew what the future held for her. Apparently, there was no cure for her illness and little available treatment.

She devised her own health regimen which centered around walking and eating well. She long outlived the physician's prognosis. She decided that she would enjoy every day as tho' it was her last day. She would walk and dance fearlessly. FEARLESSLY. That means 'without fear'.

Wow! I wanted to live that way. I wanted to have what she had. No, not her terminal illness. But her attitude.

She was unable to keep a full time job and I have since lost track of her as I moved away. But, Tiger's story remains with me. Her 'treatment' consisted of eating well and WALKING!! And, that allowed her to live, healthy and fearless, for long after she was predicted to by medical specialists.

Take heed. Imagine how we could improve our lives merely by walking and eating well. If Tiger could add years and quality to her life in the face of a terminal illness, what benefit might we attain if we need only to get off our posteriors and stop eating junk food? I became willing to learn what might be in store for me if I followed Tiger's lead.

So, fearlessly, I walk every day. Walk with me!!

YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!

Who's in charge of YOUR life? Kids, boss, husband, wife, mom, dad? Some days it feels like all of them, right?

I have discovered FREEDOM! I have discovered that when the world about me is going crazy, I can remove myself from it all - all the craziness, the insanity, the tension, the concerns, the politics, the arguments, the money problems, everything. How, you ask?

I put on my walking shoes and head out the door or into a bedroom and lock the door!

So simple but not always so easy. It took me many years to figure out that I was not only able to do this - but also that I didn't need anyone's permission to do it.

Now, everyone in my home and office accepts that there are times when I'll disappear or lock myself away for a while and they better not interfere. There's not much I can do to deter them from interfering. Mostly, I just ignore. When I get my mind set on going for a walk, for whatever reason, I just go.

What about YOU! Can you just remove yourself for 10-15 minutes from whatever is going on around you? Well, yeah.

Legally, we are allowed a 15 minute 'break' in every 4 hours of work (in the workplace - not at home!). We get a lunch 'hour' (an hour which is often just 15 minutes long).

Further, it is not written in granite that dinner must be on the table at 6:00 PM. 6:15 will work. I promise. Time to go to bed or arise in the morning are flexible for most people. Can you afford the 15 minutes each day? Walking just 15 minutes before going to bed is probably not a good idea. It is likely to rev you up a bit much rather than settle your body down. So, in the morning, arising 15 minutes early is likely to be a reasonable solution. Try it for a week or two, especially if you can really not find those 15 minutes at any other time in your day.

I'm NOT a 'morning person'. But even for me, arising 15 minutes earlier than I must would not be a hardship. Might not be my first choice - but not a hardship.

If I'm the boss of me, I get to determine when I take my walk. Even if I already walked my 15 minutes this morning, if the boss is getting to me, I'm likely to lace up my walking shoes and take my mind and body outside for an AA during my lunch 'hour'. Bonus - I get in 30 minutes rather than 15. Twice the bang for my buck!

This is a no lose situation. You just have to take the action. Here's one way to assure you can put the plan into action - ALWAYS HAVE YOUR WALKING SHOES HANDY. If you do most of your walking from home, put your old shoes in your trunk or desk drawer, along with a cushy pair of socks. As your walking increases, you'll find more ways to fit in your walk and your AA.
You can't go wrong with this plan. I promise.

WHO WALKS WHEN AND HOW LONG?

How will you know where you stand in the Walking Diva's Endurance Chart? The Walking Diva is ME! I have developed a category of walkers from my own experience and a bit of research. These are guidelines - just that. Not written in granite. Not handed down from the Mayo Clinic. Just guidelines.

Beginners - people who have no walking routine at all. People who walk no farther than from the sofa to the kitchen. People with arthritis, fibromyalgia, joint or muscle pain, heart disease, diabetes, or other physical impairment that slows them down, causes pain, or makes walking difficult, painful, or uncomfortable. The initial goal for these individuals is 10 minutes a day in increments of 60-90 seconds each. This will work for people who use scooters to get around. This will work for people who WILL NOT walk unless they absolutely must and only do so to meet their minimal activities of daily life (ADL).

Steppers - people who can comfortably walk around their homes and from their cars to the grocery store or other location. These are not people who will usually walk for other purposes but they are not physically limited from walking for 10 minutes a day. Their goal will be to walk 15 minutes a day in increments from 90 seconds to 3 minutes. Many will have jobs, full or part time, and may have other health issues but nothing that confines them to sofa or scooter.

Striders - people who are able to walk with no difficulty for 15 to 20 minutes each day in their ADL. Typically, these people participate in NO other form of physical activity, either for fun or health benefit. But, they suffer no physical impairment to walking.

Strutters - people who are easily able to walk for 20 or more minutes per day in their ADL and who maybe unmotivated to walk farther for their health.

Champions - people who easily walk for 30 or more minutes per day in their ADL, who have no physical impediment to walking longer, but who may be unmotivated to walk farther for their health.

So, where are you in this scheme? Maybe you don't fit exactly into any of these categories. That's fine. These are just guidelines and you should begin where you are comfortable. If you are confined, either by your physician or yourself, to your chair or scooter, this is the perfect plan for you. You have nothing to lose. It gets easier every day. You don't need a doctor's order (although you may feel free to consult your physician to reassure yourself).

Again, I guarantee you'll feel better in a couple of weeks.

I'M SO EXCITED!!

Why am I excited today?? It was sunny and not too cold, but I couldn't walk outside. I have any number of Leslie Sansone's Walking tapes/DVD's that I use on days when I can't walk outside. I have several that I haven't gotten around to viewing because I'm far more likely to walk outside or at the mall than I am to walk around my family room these days. But, today, the family room was the scene of my walk.

Nothing too exciting there. Here's what's exciting - Sansone's 'Walk 4 Miles' tape has a bunch of NEW steps on it!! Why did I wait so long to view this tape. Well, one reason is that it's a 4 mile walk -farther than I usually walk. Today, I reached for this one because I have loaned out several of my tapes and this one was at the top of the stack. It's a VHS version, so may not be readily available in that format. But, even if you can't find this exact tape/DVD, I feel sure another of her programs will incorporate these new steps.

In addition to new steps, there were new upper body movements!! I was so pumped. It can get boring if you watch or do the same thing over and over. Sansone is aware of that. She's a high energy, encouraging walker - but always speaks to the beginner who might be using her program. There's always the opportunity to back off her pace, work at a slower intensity, but keep up your heart rate - the key to aerobic training.

So, although I had no intention of walking 4 miles - and didn't walk that far - I learned a bunch of new maneuvers and was rejuvenated! Now, I can incorporate some of these new moves into my regular walks. So can you - even if you're still at the snippets stage - those few minutes of walking during TV commercials or your few minutes outdoors. No reason all of us, at every stage, can't take advantage of Sansone's experience and energetic approach.

Without giving away her 'secrets', let me tell you that she has incorporated some new footwork that includes new sidesteps, a 'jazz box', some punches, and double knee lifts. You might be able to learn these without viewing her program, but you'll make greater progress much more quickly if you let Sansone teach you the steps. This is not dance steps to memorize. She coaches you at, literally, every step of the way. Check it out!



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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

MORE LESLIE SANSONE

Lest you think I'm just an old lady who can't keep up, so I walk instead, let me tell you what happened today. Yesterday, I wrote about walking to a new to me Leslie Sansone tape. Well, today, by the time I returned home from work, it was too dark to walk outside, so I popped in the same Leslie Sansone tape, cued to the second section. My 24 year old son was in the kitchen, so I challenged him to walk along with me.

Now, this is not all walking, as I've described. My son and I had to follow Leslie's lead on the new section since there were even more new movements that I hadn't seen before. Everything was new to my son except the actual walking. My son is about 6'3" to my 5'2.5". There was a time when I was 5'4" but those days are gone too. More on that another day.

My son lived in Washington, DC til recently, so he was used to walking miles every day, using the subway system there to avoid having to use a car. Since moving back to St. Louis in late September, he has been fairly sedentary. So, it was funny to see him marching in place, doing knee lifts so high that they were up to my shoulder, and trying to figure out the side steps because they're doing them in reverse on the TV screen (not a problem for me). I laughed out loud at him.

But, we got in 1.5 miles. I was happy. My son insisted that he could have walked 3 miles in the same time span. Well, sure. When you're legs are as long as my whole body for pities sake!! But, he enjoyed it! It was the first real exercise he had done since returning home. Today, he walked the dog a couple of miles at the park. Shhh. Don't tell. I think we have a new convert.


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

GET AN ATTITUDE

When I re-entered the workforce after 13 years at home raising kids, I was met with a new to me phrase 'to get an attitude with someone'. I had no idea what that meant. Well, I quickly found out that it was a negative thing. You had a verbal confrontation with the clerk at the store and 'she got an attitude with me'. Okay. Everyone has an attitude. But, an attitude does not have to be negative.

In fact, we're here to improve your attitude. Was it Abe Lincoln who said something like 'I think people feel just about as good as they want to'? Something like that. He was onto something. Of course, there are those sad people who have intrinsic depression, overwhelming health or emotional problems, deep financial woes. But, most of us do okay most days. On occasion, we find ourselves sinking into a mildly negative mindset because our lives are not like those we see on TV shows - you know - fancy homes, nice clothes, great cars, kids with neat haircuts, plenty of money, plenty of time to gossip with the neighbors, and no evidence of having to pay bills or go talk to the principal about a recalcitrant 5th grader. Yeah, right. This is not reality - no matter how much they try to sell us on 'Reality Shows'. If you see it on network TV, it ain't real!

We all fall into that pit of judging our insides by other people's outsides. It's a bad plan. But, what do we do about it? We get an attitude adjustment (AA). We strive for an Attitude of Gratitude (AOG). Here's how:

One part of a healthy life is good health. One way to attain or maintain good health is to keep our bodies moving so that our body's natural attitude adjustors (endorphins) can do their jobs. They must be released into our bloodstream to aid us. How does this happen. Well, I'm no scientist, but I can tell you that there are a couple of ways:

Improve your face value with a smile.
Celebrate something - anything.
Laugh, Hug, Touch.
Move your body.

Smiling sounds easy. But, some days we all find it hard. Celebrating is fine if we have something to celebrate. If we celebrate every little thing, then celebrating becomes nothing special. Birthdays come only once a year for a reason. No matter how old I become, I believe I will always look forward to celebrating my birthday - a day just for me - a cake, cards and/or gifts, kind words. It doesn't take much.

Laugh, Hug, Touch. If you live alone, the hugging and touching part become very difficult. After my Dad died, my Mom said the thing she missed most was just being touched. We were never a huggy family, but I began giving my mom a hug every time I see her. Endorphins are released.

Laugh - find something funny on TV, read a column in the paper or a magazine that makes you laugh, call a friend and ask for a joke, keep a joke book on hand and read it. Think back over good times. Take out a photo album of your kids as toddlers, yourself as a teen jock, your wedding, you mom or dad.

Walk. Simple. It releases those endorphins. You get 'high' on life. Nature's 'high'. People pay a lot of money and risk prison to get the kind of high from drugs that you can obtain from walking. Who knew?? Try it, it works.

In addition to all of the above, get a small notebook and write down one or two things each day for which you are grateful. Read it aloud to yourself if there's no one else to share it with. Little things, big things, strange things. Maybe you're grateful that you could get the lid off the vanilla extract today. Maybe you saw a host of butterflies. Maybe those first big snowflakes of the season were beautiful. Maybe the feel of the mist on your face on a bleary day felt fresh. Maybe you're just grateful that you could walk your 10 minutes today. Write it down. When you're feeling low, take out your notebook and remind yourself what you were grateful for yesteday and last week. It'll fill you up.

Then, walk a bit.

WRITE AND WRONG

Here's your assignment today. Write down one thing you like about yourself. JUST one thing.
There must be something!! ( I bet you didn't know there'd be homework, did you?)

Every day after your walk, write down one thing you like about yourself. No repeats. Your beautiful blue eyes are no more beautiful a week from now than now. You can only list them once.

One hundred days from today - mark that date on your calendar - sit down and read the entire list.
Read it to yourself silently.

Now, you can repeat if you need to. But, you have a new habit. There is nothing wrong about feeling right about yourself. The wrong is that we forget to let ourselves know how special we are.

If you'd like to know more about this topic, read the teeny tiny little book by Og Mandino titled:
The Greatest Miracle In The World.

Now that you feel so good about yourself, stop writing and start walking. You can't go wrong with the three W's - Wread, Write, Walk. Okay, I have a degree in English but I can take some liberties.