January is here! The beginning of the year and the aftermath of the holidays bring about an energy for positive change. However, we become overwhelmed with the new diet, exercise plan, budgeting, organizing, etc. … Your expectations for a “better you” this year begin to cause stress and overwhelm. As this begins to happen, enjoy the weather and take a walk.

Walking is considered one of the most effective exercises. It is touted as a form of cardio that is also gentle for joints. A brisk walk can burn calories and tone the muscles. The benefits of walking for exercise are plenty, but this is about stressful situations. 

Consider your current habit when you become stressed. Stress relievers come in various forms, and you may be unaware of your current stress response. Grabbing your phone to scroll or eating extra chocolate or sweets are common coping responses. Criticizing yourself or others, chewing your nails, or avoiding family and friends are considered negative coping responses. Some positive responses include listening to music, doing yoga and gardening.

Awareness of feeling stressed is key. Where do you feel the stress in your body? Describe it to yourself as if you were describing it to a 4-year-old child. “I feel it in my head” is not descriptive enough. Identifying where you feel stress and how it feels in your body allows you to become more aware of when stress is beginning to bubble up. 

As the awareness builds, and the stress builds, consider incorporating a walk as a positive coping response. Since stress is felt in the body, walking or moving the body allows stress to flow through. It gives stress a place to “play.” Walking, and moving the body in general, allows the stress energy to be moved and released. 

Walking for exercise is normally fast paced, but walking for stress can be fast or slow. Walking promotes the release of endorphins that stimulate relaxation and improve mood. A fast-paced walk can be very liberating, while a slow-paced walk can become contemplative. Fast or slow, walking has many benefits.

Walking lubricates the joints, and studies have shown that walking 5-6 miles a week reduces arthritis-related pain and can even prevent arthritis. Stress causes a stiffening of the body, while walking creates an opening or active stretching of the body.   

Additionally, walking reduces your sweet tooth. You may be working on a healthy diet or trying to avoid last year’s sugar cookies. According to another study, a brief 15-minute walk can curb the desire to eat sweets and can reduce cravings and intake of sugary treats.

A slow, meditative walk becomes much more mindful and focused. Noticing how you step or the natural tendencies in your body allows for more awareness and brings about a different form of stress relief. Thich Nhat Hahn writes, walking meditation is really to enjoy the walking, not to arrive, but to just walk…be in the present moment, aware of our breathing, and to enjoy each step. 

Walking and synchronizing our breathing can also be very meditative. Repeating in your mind, “in and out,” with each step lets you focus on the breath and the steps. Being aware of the contact between your feet and the earth also brings grounding and a contemplation for something bigger than us. The awareness of walking and the earth brings us into the present moment, and that creates a great amount of inner peace.

Fast or slow, exercise or meditative, walking is a super way to relieve stress in the moment. Awareness of stress is fundamental. Walking routinely will provide the benefits of relieving stress as well as engaging the body. Do it now, get up, go for a walk!