At the beginning of this week I decided it’s time for a new challenge: a walking challenge!
Habits and stress
Due to a quite turbulant period of time my body has mostly been in survival mode. The first things to go in turbulent times are good habits such as excercise, healthy eating and all the things that come with selfcare. Allthough these are most important it’s not uncommon for you to let these go first to save every bit of energy possible. A quite normal response, you’re trying to save yourself time, but unfortunately not the right one, since these habits help you eventually help you get that so much needed energy.
Also bad habit tend to return in times of stress. These are so called memories of habits that we’re usefull to you in stressful periods. That is why some people start smoking, drinking or *fill in your bad habit* again when difficult days appear. Unfortunately they’re all short-term solutions, while we’re all in need of long-term solutions.
Why walking
When your body is still used to survival mode and it’s difficult to start an activity or when it has been a while since you’ve exercised it is always a good idea to start small and rebuild as you go and feel what you can handle. Going into overdrive might discourage you, because it wasn’t fun at all or cause more serious problems such as injuries of any kind.
So that’s why I have decided to make it a walking challenge. No intense training, perfect for people with a small or no budget at all and a welcome plus is that walking can be relaxing as well. You can put on your favourite music, pick a spot that calms you down and it’s still exercise, which causes your brain to release a sorts of chemicals that make you happy (endorfines).
My walking challenge
For now I’ve agreed with myself to walk once a week for at least 60 minutes. Either alone or with someone. By writing it down in this post I put a bit of pressure on myself to finish my challenge. After some time I’ll update on the benefits (or not, who knows!) I’ve experienced and how it goes so far!
XO Mo