Walking On Through

It's been HOT here lately.  No rain.  Just sun, heat, and humidity.  No relief in site.

So, what's a walker to do?  Go to the mall?  Yes, some days.  But, I've found it better to wait til about 7:30 in the evening to get out.  My friend Kris and I have been walking at the local high school track on these hot evenings.

The track is easy on the body and the lack of hills gives us a bit of relief from the unremitting heat.  We get in our 3 miles without the extra burden of hills.  It's not cheating!  Just finding a way to continue walking when we'd rather chill.  So, a few days or weeks without walking hills won't detract from the benefit of our walks.

Patty, a regular reader, has shared with me that she has been using her Leslie Sansone tapes to keep her moving when it's too hot outside.  She's up to TWO MILES now!  That's an amazing transformation for someone who was basically sedentary a year ago!

I say, take it any way you can.  If the mall or Walmart offers a walking area for you so that you don't give up on it, then use that.    If Leslie Sansone TV walking does it for you, as it often does for me, then go for it!  If heading to the gym, dance studio, or pool are options for you, then use those. 

Whatever you do, take it easy if you're trying to keep up the pace in the heat.  Give yourself a break without losing your momentum.  And, if you have other ideas, please share them with us.  Variety makes things easier too!



*************************** 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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

Who Do You Want To Be?

I finally finished Eat, Pray, Love last night.  The present book is the third copy of the book I've owned.  It keeps disappearing.  I began to feel as if the Universe didn't want me to read this book.  But, I had my way with the Universe.......or something.  Anyway, at the very end of the book, Liz comes to understand that the person she is was inside her all the time - all the years she had struggled in her spiritual journey led her to the sure and certain knowledge that the person she became was always meant to be.

This is very Zen.  I'm certainly no philosopher and there is way more philosophy I have not read than I have read.  Does that make sense?  Anyway, what does this have to do with walking?

Here's what.  Are you the person you are supposed to be?  Are you working on becoming that person.  Is the person you are today out of sync with what you thought you would be at this date and time - at this point in your life - at this moment?

When I was a child, I certainly had no plan to marry a man from India (from a city as far away on the glove as one can get from St. Louis).  I never planned to be overweight.  I had no idea where I'd be living - except a general idea that it would probably be somewhere in the St. Louis area.  I thought I would be a grandmother by now - when I thought about that at all!!

The me who exists now is pretty happy with her life.  I'm generally healthy, have a wonderful husband and three smart, accomplished, good looking kids.  I have great relationships with my mother and my mother in law.  I'm a pretty lucky person.

Was this all destined to be?  Was I destined to be a person who would come to thoroughly enjoy walking, would have walking and dancing as key parts of my daily life, would be writing a blog about that?  Who ever heard of a blog when I was a kid?!  No such thing existed.  Ok, except for that, one might have looked at me dispassionately at some point and predicted that I would be married, be a mother, have a job, own a house, have hobbies I loved (yes, there are a few besides walking and dancing), pay my bills, enjoy reasonably good health, etc.  None of that is particularly unusual.

But, am I the person I would LIKE to be?  I think I'm very fortunate to answer yes to that question. With equal parts perspiration and good luck, most people could have the life I seem to have.  But, I'm happy - HAPPY!  I see myself a bit differently than many people I know in that regard.  I know so many people who don't appreciate the lives they have, don't value the journey, don't like who they are.

I'm not one of them.  And, I must tell you that my walking (and dancing) are responsible, in some part, for my happiness.  To quote my mom, "You can't sit in front of the TV all day and be happy or healthy.  You have to move."  She'll soon be 90 and enjoys remarkably good health.

Was this all preordained?  Was the person I am now always inside of me, waiting only for time and circumstances to produce the me of today?  I'll let you answer that for yourself. 




*************************** 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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

Does It Work?

Is good health and wellbeing only a walk away?  Does this little idea of mine really work? Well, it seems as if there is some new science that might contradict previous studies and our intuition.

It seems that for African-American women, the benefits of exercise are less than they are for the other women studied - that would be White women of European heritage.  I find this to be terribly counterintuitive.  And, I suspect it's just plain wrong in the long run.

We have known for a long time that the adverse health effects of high blood pressure (hypertension) are worse among American Blacks than Whites.  Whether this is something intrinsic in our racial differences or something cultural (dietary, say) is up for grabs.

What I do know from the many African-American women I dance with every week is that exercise makes them feel as good as it does me!  I can't believe that's not beneficial.  Maybe it doesn't take off the pounds in Black women the way it's supposed to in Whites.  Maybe the benefits of such exercise are less for Blacks than for Whites - but it's still beneficial!

I still think the jury is out on any perceived differences in these benefits between races.  I think our bodies all work pretty much the same.  Plus, there is this whole thing in the US about the melting pot.  We have very few 'pure' anything in this country.  Purely White?  Purely Black?  Mostly not.  Mostly we are a hodgepodge of ethnic heritages.  but, whatever your or my ethnicity is, I still think we all benefit equally from the benefits of such mood elevating activities as walking and dancing.

So, walk on! 




*************************** 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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

Ginger

Ginger wrote this comment in response to a recent article:

I am a 60 year old female overweight 5"5" 200 lbs. I have knee pain and ankle pain and occasional hip pain (because of the bad knee). I have been walking three miles for eight weeks on a daily basis. I haven't lost weight but I feel so much better. Some walks are nearly pain free and some are painful each step, yet I keep going because the act of walking improves my mood significantly. I think I am getting stronger and I know I feel better. So I am not letting joint pain keep me down! Thank you for this blog. Ginger on More On Feeling Better

GINGER - Thank you so much for writing.  It's so pleasing to learn of another person who has proved the benefit of a simple walk.  Your three mile daily walks have improved your well being!   Isn't it amazing how something so simple and normal can be a fantastic tool for making our lives better?! 

Since some of your walks are nearly pain free but others are painful, I'm interested to learn what the difference is those days.  Is it where you walk (hills vs. flat), your shoes, your speed, the weather, or some other factor? 

You state that you're getting stronger and that you are not letting joint pain keep you down.  Hooray for you!  You are proof that this simple mechanism for improving our lives works.

Please keep us posted on your progress.  Eight weeks is a wonderful start.  You are no longer a beginner!  You are a seasoned walker who makes it a priority in your life.  Good for you!














*************************** 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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

Today Or Not?

Did you walk today?  Do you plan to walk today?  If not, why?  This is a great day to walk!

Well, it might be rainy or too hot.  It may be gloomy or too cold. You might have too many chores to complete.  Your kids may need tending to.  Your husband might want dinner on the table tonight.  The phone keeps ringing.  The bills keep coming.  So does the stress.

Amidst all the bills and bad weather, the kids, job, and To Do List, there must be some time for you!

If you don't put yourself on the list, who will?  Do you really think your kid will say, "Hey, head on out for your walk.  Everything here will be fine.  I'll even empty the trash while you're gone."  Yeah, right....No, the chores and bills and phone calls and kids and dinner plans and sink full of dishes will still be there when you return.

Remember my Mamaw.  We can go out.  No one will do our chores while we're gone.  They'll all be here when we return.  Then, out the door we would head - to fish, pick berries, visit a neighbor, or walk along the train tracks looking for spent fusees (sp??).  My Mamaw's house was not tidy.  Her To Do List never got finished.  She didn't give a whit about wearing the latest fashions.  But, she had fun.  She was a happy person - and that is infectious.  So, my Gran was never critical of her lack of housekeeping acumen.  She made him happy and that's what counted.

I often quote her - aloud or just in my head - when I grab the dog's leash and head out for a walk.  I'm not walking away from anything (except a lot of stress).  I'm walking toward a good day, better health, and a much improved disposition.

So, take a line from my late great Mamaw and go for a walk.  All your work will still be waiting for you when you return - but you'll have a better attitude about doing it - and more energy to complete those 1001 things you need to get done!




*************************** 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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

Hidden Gems

If the word gets out among your friends and family that you are a regular walker, people start telling you great places to walk!  Recently, I learned of a new (to me) park which is a stunning gem, hidden in a little valley, surrounded by a huge church on one side and a couple of subdivisions on the other sides.  One of the subdivisions is itself a beautiful place to walk!

This little gem is Twin Oaks Park.  It contains a paved walking trail that wanders around the park, including a lovely little pond with a small spillway, a gazebo, a bridge, and lots of koi waiting to be fed.  There is also a playground, bathrooms, picnic tables, and tennis courts.

 On two sides of the park are gates that offer access to the surrounding subdivisions.  One of them has narrow streets and no sidewalks so not a good place to walk. The other opens onto a paved trail that winds through a wooded area between some backyards and leads to some lovely, shady residential streets that are wide and hilly and without noticeable traffic.

This is a marvelous place to walk.  I look forward to visiting it again.  It will be lots more fun in the Spring and Summer than in colder weather as the hills might become treacherous in bad weather.  But, I'm willing to chance it so I can visit this serene little area again.


*************************** 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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

Who Walks More?

Who walks more? 
A) the person who enjoys walking
B) the person who has to walk the dog
C) the person who has walking friends
D) the person who makes time in his/her schedule for this every day
E) all of the above

Or is there another answer?  Maybe you don't have a dog but you walk anyway.  Maybe you don't really enjoy walking but know it's good for you so you do it.  Maybe you live in a place without ready access to a safe walking area (refer to earlier articles if this is a problem for you).

Whatever the reason, the person who can answer E is fortunate.  The person who can choose only one of the options is still fortunate - if s/he walks regularly.

So, what's your reason for walking?  We all need more motivation and more ideas to keep us motivated, so please share!



*************************** 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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

Close Encounters

 The other day, a neighbor and I were walking our dogs, minding our own business, chatting away, when suddenly she began shrieking.  Well, shrieking may be too strong a word.  She jumped and shouted - and got my immediate attention.  I looked around, trying to identify the source of her woe.

There, on the sidewalk, was a rather large black snake, just hanging out.  Turns out, her dog, Casey, had stepped on the snake.  The snake seemed unconcerned.  I feared it might be dead so I gently poked at it with a twig.  Out flicked its tongue so I knew it was okay.  We watched it for a few minutes, then it regally turned and slithered into the grass beneath a pine tree.  We watched in awe as we saw its body stretched out - to about 4.5 feet!  That's a pretty large snake for the 'burbs!

If you've never seen a snake move up close, you should.  The move very gracefully (except for the sidewinders) and can disappear (and reappear) in a wink.  This guy, once back in the grass, lifted up its head about a foot in the air to reach one of the low hanging pine boughs and slithered up the slenderest of them.  We watched, hypnotized, as the snake quickly climbed the tree!

I'm a suburban gal but I've spent a lot of time in rural Arkansas as a child and teen.  My Mamaw liked her king snakes and black snakes as they kept down the rodent population in the barn and shed (and, ick, probably the house too!).  So, I've never feared them.  But, any animal can surprise me with its sudden appearance in my path - or in my house as happened once years ago.

Since I typically walk outdoors with my four-legged buddy by my side, I am seldom surprised with the presence of wild life up close.  I see lots of birds, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, deer, red tail hawks, and the occasional fox.  If you life in the suburbs and you walk at dusk, there is wild life around you even if you are not aware.  Deer, especially, will quietly appear in a field or a yard.  The dog usually alerts me to their presence long before I would see them on my own as they are well camouflaged.

I'd far rather see deer than snakes, but our snake encounter was pretty cool.


*************************** 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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.