Walking for Health
W
alking is an integral part of our daily life. Though an everyday activity, it can be considered as an exercise. Especially for elderly, sick, or those who are not physically fit for rigorous exercise, walking is a useful and inexpensive alternative. If a person can regularly walk for 30 minutes every day, then the benefits of walking are enormous. It keeps both body and mind healthy and disease-free.
considered the most beneficial. The atmosphere has more oxygen during the morning, and the surroundings are also filled with positive vibrations. But if you want to walk in the form of an exercise, you can do it whenever you have the time. Thirty minutes is typically considered adequate for walking. If someone is unable to find the time, they can also split the exercise and do it in 10-minute durations too. If you are not in a position to step outside for a walk, you can choose to walk in the corridor or on the terrace. You can use a pedometer or count the steps to keep track of your exercise.
We tend to be indifferent to the benefits of walking and, more often than not, ignore that it offers to maintain a healthy body and mind. Walking directly impacts various parts of our body; firstly, it strengthens the muscles and bones of the legs, and it also exercises the knees. The blood circulation becomes better, the heart and lungs become more robust, the brain gets stimulated, the mind can concentrate better – these are just some of the advantages of walking. These directly result in significant benefits for those suffering from high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and poor memory.
In addition to walking at a regular time every day, there are many other ways in which you can incorporate exercise in your daily life. If your house or office is on a higher floor, then you can avoid the elevator and climb stairs to get the benefit of an exercise. When taking public transport to commute, you can choose to get down at an earlier station and walk the remaining distance. You can choose to walk within the campus instead of taking a vehicle. When running errands to nearby places or buying groceries from shops near home, prefer to walk instead of taking out your car. Another great way is taking a walk with your pets. So, depending on your lifestyle, you can figure out various ways in which you can exercise without taking out time for a dedicated workout.
Walking as an exercise can be done at any time, but the morning walk is
If you walk at a normal or slow pace, you will be able to reap ordinary benefits. But if you want to walk to attain a specific health goal, like losing weight or improving stamina, you can vary the duration and pace of walking. You can increase the period to more than half an hour and
An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day. – Henry David Thoreau Akhand Jyoti
47
JULY-AUG. 2020
