How to Take a Walk for Maximum Self-Care

If you’re like me, you walk when you need to decompress. So I was especially grateful that California’s ‘Shelter in Place’ order included a provision for walks and hikes. Because if there was ever a moment when I need to get out and take a break, that would be now. So I walk.

I keep my distance from others, of course, because in a pandemic it’s the prudent thing to do. When someone comes up the sidewalk towards me, I head into the street if no cars are coming. Or I even scramble up on a bank. It’s my one rule.

I live in a neighborhood in Oakland with a lot of steep hills, and after a day of sitting at my desk, I take off on its empty backstreets and staircases with abandon. Maybe I have Spotify in my earbuds, and it’s playing a favorite upbeat playlist like ‘Ready for the Day’. Or maybe I just want to enjoy the sun, the gardens, the passing show. Sometimes I even head into the local parks.

Here’s a picture from yesterday’s walk in an open preserve near The Oakland Zoo. You can see for miles from the top—even as far as the Golden Gate Bridge visible here on the far left, stretching from San Francisco to the Marin Headlands.

Studies say that walking is hugely beneficial for all of us. That’s why the US Department of Health and Human Services has decreed we all need to walk (or exercise moderately) at least 150 minutes per week.

Consumer Reports tells me that walking will lower my body mass index and my weight, and give me lower blood pressure and cholesterol, a lower risk of diabetes, a better memory, a happier mood, and even a longer life. But to get there I need to walk closer to 180 minutes a week.

But hey, that’s not a lot. Not these days. It’s just thirty minutes six times a week. And if you simply make it a habit at the same time every day, it’s imminently doable.

I tuck my smart phone into my back pocket, and set off, curious to see how far I’ll go. The key is to allow myself to wander, but with alacrity. If I get lost, I can map my way back home using GPS. Turns out there is a lot to explore in this city I barely know.

There is a strange air of normalcy, even though our world is in chaos at the moment. I see people tending their gardens, and children’s hopscotch games chalked on the sidewalk, as if not a thing is wrong. I see spring pushing forth in the blooming trees of pink and white, and beds of impeccable tulips in the wealthier parts of town. I see dogs sniffing, babies napping in strollers, and neighbors chatting at an admirable distance.

The world goes on one step at a time, as it ever has. Even though we are experiencing a massive global crisis, the likes of which has not been seen in my lifetime or most likely yours, on some level life goes on.

All we can do is keep on as we have been each day, determined to find a new, better way to manage our lives. For perhaps that is the unspoken silver lining to a global pandemic. Suddenly we find satisfaction in the simplest of activities. When once I needed a shortbread from the bakery, a new read from the library and perhaps even a lunch out, now just a walk will do. It’s remarkable how quickly my interest in superficial fun faded away.

If there was ever a time for reflection, for self-improvement, for returning to gratitude and simplicity, this is it, friends. We can use this time to go within, to journal, to think about changes we’d like to make in our lives. Or even for ways to express our gratitude or give back to the world. And yes, we can build in self-care like we never have before. Such times may even demand it.

May you find your way through the coronavirus crisis to a new level of understanding about yourself and the world. May you stay healthy and strong, yes … but may you also rediscover what is truly wonderful about this life.

Right now, that is our golden opportunity.

 

 

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