5 Reasons I Love A Daily Walk
By: Mariam Naeem
Tags: Walking, Stress Management, Blog, Exercise, Lists

My Top 5

Image courtesy of Dmitry Schemelev on Unsplash

It’s 2020. It’s been a year of constant turmoil. We’ve all been thrown in the deep end without getting to grips with what has been going on. And I’ve found myself turning to daily walks. It was the one constant throughout the first lock-down and every day thereafter. I’d always gone for a walk before, I love them, ever since I was young. But this year, there are five main reasons I have loved going for a walk every day.

1: EXERCISE. It’s been a natural and sedate way of getting daily exercise. We had to suffer through gyms being closed and turning to daily walks and jogs as well as free weights indoors became my sole source of exercise. It’s left me refreshed every day and ready to tackle the monotony of lock-down. The gyms are open again for the moment, but it may only be a matter of time again before they’re shut. I’m still managing to keep up with the daily walks, or at the very least, 10,000 steps per day.

2: RELAXING. This is the complete opposite of me going out for exercise. Sometimes your day can get to be too much and you just need a moment to yourself, to take pleasure in the fact that you’re doing something to ease the stress you feel. A daily walk does that for me. My day indoors can be crazy and hectic sometimes and bad news this year has hit everybody day after day. Even if it hasn’t been my bad news, it still affects me. I feel for everybody during this and a walk, I’ve found, has been a great way for me to relieve a little stress and anxiety, usually accompanied with music, because let’s face it, we don’t always want to hear the world around us. Sometimes we have to shut ourselves off momentarily and for me, music during my walk helps with that.

3: IMPROVE THE THOUGHT PROCESS. Did you know we do some our best thinking when our bodies and minds are relaxed? That’s how we sometimes come up with brilliant ideas in the shower or just when our heads touch the pillow to go to sleep. A walk is no different. As we walk, we work through our thoughts unconsciously. As we try to relieve the stress our minds take to the task of untangling our thoughts and helping us to think clearer. Maybe it’s all the fresh air, or the constant unconscious movement as we walk, but whatever it is, a walk will always help to improve the thought process. As a young teen, my mind would often be a complete mess, due to the typical teenage angst as well as other pressures in my life and my natural escape to clear my head and regain clarity was a walk. It’s something that’s remained with me today and it’s not something I could ever get bored of, seeing as I know it helps me and my thoughts.

4: GET BACK TO NATURE. Sometimes you just want to escape the pressures of daily life and take a walk to enjoy what the world has to offer. I have a beautiful park a couple of minutes walk from my home and I make sure I take the time out to enjoy it as often as possible. Those are the moments without music, without thought and just done for the pure pleasure of it. Imagine it’s the most beautifully warm day; the sun is shining and the sky is clear and the trees are just moving in a gentle breeze and you can hear the birds. Pure peace. For those of you who understand, grounding is a way to let go of those emotions that you struggle with, it’s a way of reconnecting with the Earth and with being grateful for everything that you have been given. Sometimes getting back to nature is bigger than just an escape, it’s about appreciation of a world of natural beauty.

5: CONNECT WITH OTHERS. This one might seem a little out there, but you’d be surprised how many people you will find you can talk to on a walk. You’ll discover people you have something in common with. If you’re out walking your dog, there will always be someone stopping and wanting to pet the dog and speak to you, including other dog walkers. Sometimes you could just be sitting on the grass relaxing and you’ll find that someone will reach out to you, or you to them. I didn’t think I’d meet people and make friends on a walk, but I’ve seen some remarkable people. People I already knew. People I never knew existed, with brilliant life stories.

There are so many benefits to going on a daily walk that have yet to be discovered. I even use my daily walks as inspiration for my writing. There is so much to explore and really ‘see’. I could spend all my time outdoors, if it weren’t for the real world catching up with me and reminding me that this ‘time out’ from life is only temporary. I truly believe that a daily walk can do so much for you.

There are many who say that it’s pointless and it’s a waste of time to them because it isn’t productive or making them money. But in it’s own way, it is productive and has a magic of making you want to do more with yourself than just be ordinary. A walk makes us realize that we are all capable of so much more and inspires us to pursue those realizations. Maybe not everybody would contribute their success to a daily walk, but I would, as part of a routine meant to energize the spirit and motivate the mind, what could possibly work as well as a daily walk?