Good morning!- As fitness enthusiasts we focus heavily on our bodies but many of us lose focus on our emotional, spiritual and mental wellbeing. Of course exercise and diet play MAJOR roles in emotional and mental health. However, for many of us they are just welcomed side effects and not the ultimate goal. This is a mistake in my opinion. The most successful people in any endeavour, did well because they made emotional and mental performance priorities. One of the reasons wh...y I do long steady state cardio into my routine as well as 'walking meditation' when out is because it is an excellent way to meditate or stretch my brain. I am either listening to an audiobook or internally focussing. It wasn't always this way, I used to separate fitness from emotional and mental performance. Since understanding that they are a part of an interconnected system my overall wellbeing and performance in all areas improved. This is something I focus on with my clients and something I incorporate into their programs
I feel like everyone will benefit from walking meditation. All those who feel they have no time for exercise, try going for a long walk after dinner, in order to help achieve autonomic nervous system balance and elevate the parasympathetic tone (you can find more about this on my website). You will want to walk no faster than if you have eaten a full dinner. As you walk, your goal is to free the ...mind of all potential stressors, such as schedules, challenges, worries and to either completely empty the mind or engage in positive affirmations. As you walk your breathing must be timed to your steps. For example inhale for four steps, hold for one step and exhale for four steps. Adjust your effort so that you do not have to keep changing your breathing. It is a good idea to count your steps and breathing to enable you to empty your mind and it has become innate. You can walk anything from 15mins to an hour and is best to walk in nature so find a park or forest. Be safe and have fun with it. "Take the time to dew you"
