Walking - A Natural Therapy

Walking is a delectable madness, very good for sanity

COLIN FLETCHER

Walking helps you take control of your life and put some fun back in it. You start saying no to the things that get you down and you get out on the road and walk and smile at the world. Your body is not built for sitting around all day; built for movement, especially walking, your body functions best when it’s walking rhythmically at 3.5-4 miles per hour.

       A main theme of this book has been the idea of rhythm and is power to heal. The healing power of rhythm unlocks destructive emotions and creates harmony out of disorder. When you walk you rediscover a sense of rhythm – your sense of rhythm, a rhythm which moves through every fibre of your body energizing you.

   Walking recharges your physical and mental batteries, a good walk refreshes your body and mind, and is the best antidote to tension. Even a short, aerobic walk can drain away tensions before they turn into headaches, back aches, high blood pressure and insomnia.  Aerobic walking is a powerful therapeutic tool:

·        Aerobic walking can reduce tension, anxiety and mood swings

·        Aerobic walking can reduce headaches, back aches and muscle tension

·        Aerobic walking can reduce depression

·        Aerobic walking can reduce emotional fatigue

·        Aerobic walking can reduce boredom

·        Aerobic walking can reduce insomnia

And aerobic walking will improve or increase your

·        Self-confidence

·        Self-image

·        Feelings of independence

·        Optimism

·        Relaxation

·        Creative energy

·        Immune system

·        Control over your life

Walking uses up stress hormones which otherwise stay in the blood, keeping us tense. Aerobic  walking works by decreasing the stress hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) and increasing relaxation hormones in the brain (beta-endorphins) these hormones help to elevate your mood and give you a sense of well being – a sort of ‘walker’s high’.

    You will feel the tranquillising effect of walking not just in your mind, but in your body due to the improved oxygen supply and the reduction of carbon dioxide in the blood. Increased oxygen supply improves memory, thinking ability and concentration. Away from pressure and stress, you give your mind a holiday – a mini-vacation.

   It is the continuous, vigorous, rhythmic motion of aerobic walking which breaks down the pattern of stress and puts you in a new frame of mind. No other game, sport or activity can give you the benefits that aerobic walking can give you. Away from the television, telephone and nagging domestic and pro-fessional worries, your problems become a thing of the past.

stress buster

Take Control of your Life

To all who feel overwhelmed and work weary, the exhilarating exercise of walking offer both a stimulus and sedative

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

From the moment we rise in the morning to the moment we go to bed life grinds us down. Physically, the force of gravity grinds us down – at the end of the day we are up to three-quarters of an inch shorter due to the compression of cartilages in our spine. And mentally, we all experience the increasing pace and pressure of life which can leave us feeling tense, tired and listless. In simple words – we feel stressed.

Ninety million working days are lost in the UK each year through undue stress in the workplace – that’s 30 times more than time lost through strikes – and the total cost to industry has been estimated at 7.5 billion a year .Doctor estimate that 75 to 90 per cent of people visiting them suffer from stress-related problems.

 But what is stress?

Stress is the disease of the 20^th century. We all suffer from it, but it’s not so much the amount of stress in our lives which is the problem, but our ability to cope with it.

We feel stressed when everything simply gets too much for us- we feel tense, anxious or depressed. The increasing pace of life, social change, work, financial worries, divorce, retirement and bereavement all contribute to stress. Even some types of exercise can be stressful. With the average woman now work – ing up to 15 hours a week longer than a man, juggling the demands of a home, children and job, is it any wonder that in the end mind and body cannot take any more.

Although there are many causes of stress, one of the major causes is physical inactivity. Sitting for much of the day in one from of chair or another – domestic chairs, office chairs, cars, buses, trains and taxies- we drag our sedentary, over – stimulated, over-stressed bodies back home in the evening where many of us then spend another three hours a night sitting in chair watching  television.

  A recent report by the British heart Foundation said that lack of exercise a day, having high blood pressure of high levels of cholesterol. And one of its main recommendations was for people to walk quickly.

In the USA the problem of physical inactivity is now so serious that the America heart association recently changed the status of physical inactivity from a ‘contributory factor’ for heart, blood vessel diseases and stoke to a ‘risk factor’. This puts a sedentary lifestyle on a par with high bold cholesterol, high blood pressure and cigarette smoking.

 Throughout the western world a sedentary lifestyle (inactivity) is now recognized as a major cause of ill health. Inactivity slows down your metabolism. You feel tried and lethargic. By the evening all you want to do is slump in a chair and go to sleep.

Inactivity breeds inactivity and it breeds tension: your muscles are wound up, your mind is wound up, you have a stiff neck and a stiff back, and to make matters worse your body burns less calories so you put on weight. In time, your muscles and bones begin to atrophy so you get old before your time.

To cope with stress and inactivity you need to take control of your life. When you feel stressed, you are out of control – circumstances are controlling you. Research from the US shows that the feeling of having no control is the major source of stress for women. Although there may be many circumstances that you cannot change, one area of your life that you can change is your level of activity.

Normally, when the body cries out for a break from tension and stress there are two types of response. One is to ply the body with coffee, snacks, alcohol or cigarettes – which only make matters worse; the other is to relax, become more active and ease away the stress naturally. And the easiest way to do this is to walk.

The simple pleasure of getting out of the house or the office and using your legs give you the feeling of being in control. Walking is more effective than a gin and tonic and is less demanding than jogging or a game of squash. Walking gets you away from the the world of competitive work and competitive sport, and gives you the peace and quiet to relax naturally. Walking is the natural way to cope with stress.

5 Steps to a longer life

The best way to lengthen out days is to walk steadily and with a purpose.

 

CHARLES DICKENS

 

         i.      CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR

If you have been inactive for some time, or have a diagnosed medical problem which may inhibit you talking exercise, or are unsure about your current state of health, then check with your doctor first. Show him this book and seek his advice before staring out with a vigorous walk-ing programme.

    2.  BUILD SLOWLY

              Even if you are reasonably fit and active, you will still need to start slowly and ease yourself gently into a regular walking programme. Doctors agree that there are no risks with regular exercise as long as you warm-up first and gently.

       So put on a comfortable pair of walking shoes and do the warm-up exercises in Part 1. Then start out with a 10-minute walk and gradually increase your walk to 20 minutes over two weeks. At this point you are not concerned with distance, speed or target heart rates – simply walk – ing and building a regular habit.

  As you increase your stride and get into a good rhythm, walk at a speed that feels comfortable. Listen to your body-it’s the best judge of how you feel. When you’ve finished your walk you should feel relaxed and refreshed. If you feel tired, you are going too fast. Conversational walking pace is a good guide: you should be able to hold a conversation without getting out of breath.

            Since some of you are likely to be using muscles that you haven’t used for years, you can expect some soreness as part of the natural process of strengthening muscles, but too much is unhealthy. If you experience this, then give your- self a few days rest before walking again.

        After two weeks you should be able to walk for 20 minutes comfortably without straning yourself, but for those of you who still find this difficult, then continue walking foe as many weeks as you need before moving on to the more vigorous walking workouts in Chapter 1.

3. WATCH YOUR WEIGHT

 You will feel better and have more stamina and energy if you attain your ideal weight. One of the best ways to lose weight is regular aerobic walking. For every 30 minutes walking you lose around 200 calories on average, and if you com-bine this with The Wall Slim Diet, then you will 

 Burn off extra calories and easily be able to get back to and maintain your correct weight.

         The average woman in her 20s has about 27 per cent body fat. But the time she’s 50 that has increased to a whopping 42 per cent! For men, 18 per cent grow to 30-35 per cent for men, 18 per cent can grow to 30-35 per cent by the age of 50. As muscle is replaced with fat and metabolic rate tends to slow down with increase- ing age, then it is even more important to exer- cise and eat healthily.

4. WALK WITH OTHERS

The historian, G. M. Trevelyan, who was a great walker, said: ‘Walking is a land of many paths and no paths, where everyone goes his own way and is right, ’Some people will want to walk alone; like Trevelyan they find a sense of independence in the great outdoors. But many people will prefer company, and walking with a friend, spouse or the family is an excellent way to get mptivated and build a habit to last a lifetime.

       You may want to organize your own walking club in the area where you live, or at work. Some people form walking clubs to walk during their lunch hour or after work.

5. KEEP IT UP

At least 25 per cent of people who start exercise programmes give up in the first week. So don’t exercise too hard and then give up through boredom or injury. Take it slowly, keep motivated and keep walking. You will soon start to see results, and as you discover for yourself how easy it is to walk regularly, you will find that you want to get out as often as possible and knock up all those aerobic miles.

        Don’t be disheartened if there are days when you don’t want, when your enthusiasm fails you. Another day will come around and you will be bursting to get outside in the open air and clock up more miles. As your aerobic fitness increases, the feeling of increased stamina, energy and vitality will be enough to get you out and about.  

Special Considerations

It has been estimated that 50 per cent of the decline in biological functions between the ages of 30 and 70 is due to disuse. The so-called ‘diseases of physical inactivity. The following conditions can all be relieved by walking regularly, but this advice is not a substitute for expert medical advice. If you suffer from one of these conditions you should consult your doctor before starting a walking programme.

Can walking help my back pain?

Four out of five people experience back pain at some time in their lives. Back pain accounts for 6.5 per cent of all visits to the doctor, and it causes the loss of 67 million working days a years in Britain at a cost of &3 billion

Year of inactivity – too much time spent sitting and too little time spent exercising – causes back problems due to bad posture which weakens back muscles. Back pain can be alleviated by building strength and flexibility in the muscles that support your spine, particularly the hamstrings, quadric- ceps, abdominals, lower back and laterals.

‘Taking a walk regularly is one of the best things you can do for your back,’ says Dr John Regan, a surgeon at the Texas Back Institute. ‘it promotes muscular development and increases circulation.’

Walking, which is a low-stress, low-impact activity, will help strengthen your back and help tone stretch your back muscles. And regular walking promotes weight control and good posture and helps reduce muscle tension – key factors in maintaining a healthy back. Carrying around excess weight streains back muscles bad posture and increase compression of the spinal discs. Remember, always warm up before walking and cool down after your walking session.

If you have a back problem, you may actually feel better walking than sitting. According to Swedish back expert Dr Alf Nachemson, walking puts less strain on the spine than does unsupported sitting. Walking strengthens the muscles in the pelvis and lower back and the forward movement of the body reduces the force of gravity on your back.

To develop whole body whole fitness and full mobility in the back, you should follow the simple stretching and strengthen-ing exercises in The Whole – Body Workout.

Can walking help my arthritis?

Doctor used to advise arthritic patients against exercising but it is now more common for doctors to prescribe exercise. Walking helps to strengthen the muscles around joints, relieves pain when rub together and can prevent joint inflammation.

It’s important to take it gently, rest frequently and don’t walk through pain. Warm-up thoroughly first, walk only as far as feels comfortable and increase the length of your walk gradually. Discuss the problem with your doctor. You may need to do some additional strengthening and stertcging exercises of the type shown in The Whole –Body Workout.

Because arthritis often causes depression leading to lethargy and inactivity, walking helps because it is a natural mood elevator, releasing beta-endorphins (relaxation hormones) in the brain which increase your sense of well being. 

Can walking help prevent osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis (thinning of the bones) is a condition that gradually robs bones of their strength, leaving them so brittle that an action as simple as tying a shoelace can result in a fracture. As we age, the mineral content of our bones decreases, their texture become thinner and there is a gradual decrease in skeletal strength. Osteoporosis affects many post- menopausal women due to the decrease of the decrease of the hormone oestrogen and it affects women more than men – 1 in 40 men but 1 in 4 women suffer from this condition.

The following are risk factors that can all be modified:

·         Being sedentary

·         Inadequate calcium intake

·         Cigarette smoking

·         Being underweight

·         A deficiency of vitamin D

Bones are similar to muscles that they shrink from inactivity and benefit from exercise. Walking, as a weight-bearing exercise, can help your bones maintain and also gain strength and density. The force of gravity, and the physical act of walking, causes your muscles to pull on your bones which stimulates the bone to take in more strengthening calcium.

Calcium and exercise are the main keys in the prevention of osteoporosis. A good calcium diet nourishes and maintains bones and regular exercise helps to maintain a strong skeleton. Sources of calcium are milk and milk products, green, leafy vegetables, citrus fruits and shellfish.

Some experts think that a reduction in regular physical activity is the major reason for a rise in osteoporosis in the past 30 years. William Evans, PhD, of Tufts University in the USA, has studied the effects of walking for the treatment of osteoporosis and he says: ‘from what we see, exercise may be one of the best ways to stop or prevent age-related bone loss,’ body’s sensitivity to insulin and increases the uptake of blood sugar (glucose) by the muscles.

And walking can actually reduce your chance of developing diabetes. That’s (the lancet, September 1991). One group of nurses exercised regularly – brisk walking, jogging, cycling, etc. the other group took no exercise and twice as many of them developed diabetes.