Welcome to Mend! I’m so happy you are here, friend. The Healing Power of Walking: How Movement Mends Body and SoulRecovering health, rediscovering wonder, and rebuilding rhythms through the simple act of walking.
I thought February would be the end of me. I couldn’t remember what it felt like to breathe freely or feel alive. After two long months of battling a virus that begun two weeks before Christmas, I began to wonder if I would ever find myself again. I had become a shell of my former self—the one who woke up each day ready to hit her to-do list, excited to get outside and enjoy the sunlight. I would feel better for a few days, and then the fever, chills, exhaustion would once again overtake me. For weeks I could not breathe out of my nose. making labored breathing my constant companion. There is a lot of information these days on the importance of nasal breathing, and perhaps a future post will dive deeper into this concept, but one of the main things I’ve learned is that nasal breathing actually calms your stress levels. Dr. Andrew P. Galante puts it this way,
So not only did my physical body feel horrible from a lack of nasal breathing but my cortisol levels began to rise and stress began to take over. Cocktails for building immunity do not include stress. And so I felt trapped in a vicious cycle. Sickness leading to stress which in turn, led to more sickness. Before I was sick, part of my daily rhythm was rucking —wearing a weighted backpack on a walk. (If you do not know anything about this activity, I recommend becoming acquainted). Every afternoon I would hit the greenway behind my house, head out into the woods, and breath in the fresh air. But this sickness had left me so weak and exhausted it began to feel like my afternoon walk was a thing of the past. And then one day, Tim looked at me and said, “Get up”. I had settled into my familiar spot on the couch, dreading another day of feeling like a wilted flower decimated by the heat. The sun was shining and he made me put on my shoes and walk with him around the neighborhood. Patiently, he waited as I lagged a few steps behind. But the sun warmed my spirits, the fresh air invigorated my thoughts, and before I knew it, I was keeping pace beside him. That one walk changed everything. I couldn’t wait to get out and do it the next day.
Walking is the Secret Weapon for Wellness and Longevity Weight training has become all the rage in our current culture, and for good reason. There are so many benefits to lifting weights. But even more than weight training, walking is the number one form of movement for longevity. Did you know on average we sit 6.5- 8 hours a day?² The average American only takes about 3,500 steps in a given day. Our movement patterns have drastically changed throughout the years. We do not move enough. But I’m learning it’s not just about figuring out how to do a 30- 40 minute ruck at the end of the day. It’s about learning how to actively build a regular rhythm of movement into our days. Studies show that if you take several short walks throughout the day, this increases your metabolic health even more than one hard workout does. As Dr. Casey Means recently shared in a podcast interview with Dr. Axe,
This signals your cells to take glucose and turn it into energy versus fat. We need to get up and implement movement throughout our days. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently showed data that those who walked 7,000 steps or more per day had a 50-70 % lower chance of dying than those who walked less than 7,000 steps. We’ve heard for years to get in 10,000 steps but JAMA shows that even 7,000 steps makes a huge difference in longevity.⁴ Walking decreases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, dementia, stress. It also increases your cognitive function, while lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.⁵ Trading Exhaustion for Energy: How I’m Rebuilding My Days with Movement Knowing what I do now about the power of walking, I am trying to revive my health with this simple exercise. I used to take one long ruck every day but now I am trying to walk after every meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Walking after eating helps with your digestion and reduces blood sugar spikes. What this looks like for me is after I cook Tim and I breakfast, we take a short 10-15 minute walk up to the neighborhood stop sign. It’s brisk enough to get my heart rate going but it doesn’t wear me out for the day ahead. Plus, morning sunlight helps reset your circadian rhythm, boosting your serotonin levels. In other words it helps improve your mood. If getting outside in the sun each morning is going to impact my overall sense of well-being, I’m here for it. After lunch, I’ve been trying to take a longer walk in the woods. This is the time I use to catch up on audiobooks or podcasts I want to hear. I also use this time to Marvel. You can read more about this integral rhythm in my life here: How Marveling Can Draw You Closer to God. Marveling is looking hard at the world God created, slowing our pace, and seeing it, and turning that observation into worship. The effects of beauty encountered in the natural world–like silence, awe, terror-point to the Creator of it all. It should cause our souls to Marvel. I stumble across a mushroom on the path, and I am struck by the intricate patterns sketched across its top. There must be an Artist behind the design. Marveling lifts my gaze up off of myself and onto God. Tim writes in his book The Beauty Chasers,
Finally, after dinner I try to take another ten minute walk outside in my neighborhood. It’s usually twilight and I love watching the first stars appear in the night sky as the colors of the sunset fade. These three daily movements have been key for me in trying to reinvigorate my health and my spirits. I find that making it a point to move several times throughout the day reduces my stress levels and actually increases my energy. Walks get my creative juices flowing and I can’t wait to come back and work on new ideas or projects. How to Start Small and Build a Rhythm of Movement You may be thinking this sounds great but there is no way I have time to walk three times throughout the day. My work load is too heavy, my children need constant supervision—I just can’t make that part of my rhythm in this season of life. My encouragement to you is to start small. Find one time each day you can take a ten minutes walk. Consistency is key. Remember, walking regularly in shorter durations is more impactful than the inconsistent long walk. Also, try to ditch the “all or nothing” mentality. If you have a busy day, and don’t get a walk in, don’t throw in the towel. Commit the next day to start over and find ten minutes to walk. You will find over time that that ten minutes becomes a regular pattern, and you may even discover another ten additional minutes throughout your day. Finally, write it down. We know that writing down our goals provides a greater sense of accountability so that we actually achieve them. When you see it written down on your daily to-do list, you take actions to achieve your goal and find joy in crossing it off your list. Your Turn: Mending Together What’s one small way you can Mend your days with Movement? Is there an activity in your day where you can trade sitting for walking? Perhaps it’s making a phone call. Get outside and walk during the call. Or, maybe it’s listening to an audiobook on a walk rather than sitting down and reading. Name one thing you can exchange for walking. I’d love to hear in the comments what you decide on. Or, share some inspiration on how you personally incorporate movement in your day. Maybe the most sacred step we can take is simply the next one—into the sunlight, into the wind, into the presence of God who meets us on the trail. If this post encouraged you, share it with a friend who might need to hear this message today. Join Tim and I in our new course: MARVELING—A Guide to Be Present, Reduce Stress, and Cultivate Intimacy with God.
When you become a MARVELING participant, you get the “why.” Why does beauty matter in our personal lives and the home? Why should we nourish our imaginations and our children’s with the beautiful, good, and true? Why does wonder matter in a culture of chaos? Why should we cultivate intimacy with God? This new course by Tim and I is a guide to being present, reducing stress, and cultivating intimacy with God. What’s Included:
Each chapter of learning contains multiple lessons within and include: ✓ Printable Journal Prompts & Discussion Questions ✓ Premium Articles, Audio and Video Sessions ✓ Unlimited Access to Course Materials ✓ High Stoke & Inspiration Factor Newsletter Notes 1 “Benefits of Breathing Through Your Nose” https://www.drgalante.com/sleep-apnea/benefits-breathing-through-nose/ 2 https://www.wth.org/blog/the-dangers-of-sitting-too-much/#:~:text=For%20many%20of%20us%2C%20the%20average%20day,6.5%20to%208%20hours%20a%20day%20sitting. 4 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2783711 5 https://www.missionhealth.org/healthy-living/blog/seven-benefits-of-walking-daily If you enjoy this newsletter, I’d be honored if you would consider supporting my work by becoming a monthly or annual subscriber to Mend. Paid subscribers receive weekly devotionals that go a bit deeper and are more personal. It helps keep Mend going, and offers a private community where I pray you find respite for your soul.
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