These Boots are made for Walking…
Ok, now that everyone is humming the great tune, know that this blog has nothing to do with walking all over a man who cheated me! It is, however, about how once again realizing that our bodies are meant for walking. As those who follow me know, I decided to take off the summer from my shows and Blog to focus on my health. I have been walking everyday since Sept 18th 2020 and have increased my steps from 6000 to on average 22000/23000 (the higher average began on the Solstice week – and twice now I have gone over 30000 steps – 19.5 kms or just over 12 miles) with regular swims in the Lake. What I didn’t realize is what this increase would do for my health. It has been incredible – it has improved my digestion, my sleep, my metabolism and my resting heart rate. Plus I have figured out what hasn’t been working well. It also has helped not only physically but also mentally, emotionally and Spiritually (this may even become a book?).
Several years ago (c. 2006), a great teacher (Armand Dupuis is a Personal Trainer, Lecturer, Teacher, & Permanent Weight Loss Specialist, who has been a serious Researcher into Human Consciousness for 6 Decades) showed me that walking would aid in weight loss – but I forgot – then in 2013 I began working on it again with Armand’s help – but it didn’t go as well because by this time I had already experienced some dis-ease within my body (heavy metal poisoning and frozen shoulders). However, this time, I decided to work through my discomfort – from being forced by buy new Asics stability shoes, to toe tubes, compression socks and gel for plantar fasciitis, elbow sleeve and trying to figure out how to heal Meralgia Paresthetica (where a compressed nerve causes burning, pins and needles and numbness from thigh to knee) – what do they say “no pain, no gain”? Yeah, I don’t like that saying and only recently have focused on the Healing vs the Pain; which can be challenging yet exactly necessary.
What I learned from taking 3.5 months to focus on healing my body has been completely eye opening for me. I actually want to walk and have increased my daily minutes to over 200 per day. I begin with a 10 km walk in the morning (since we began this summer we have had some heat waves that are pretty sweltering – add in the hot flashes – yeah I learned that my body has never actually been able to regulate and balance heat – but humidity and hot flashes… YIKES). For a time I had runner or dancer feet with blisters on almost all of my toes until I discovered toe tubes which are highly recommended! This past winter I discovered Meralgia Paresthetica – when I thought my thighs were going numb from the freezing cold – instead I researched it and remembered this numbness from a few years earlier. However, I haven’t yet figured out how to fix it – except by shifting my focus (more below). But other than the discomfort – the gains have been incredible.
Now I know that most people aren’t going to want to walk over 3 hours per day – but if you have digestion issues due to our diets being one of the biggest problems we are facing in recent times – you will discover that as you increase your walking – some of the discomforts we have with poor digestion, even if we continue to eat foods that we are intolerant to, will start to shift and we can digest again. The bloating, the belly fat, the poor elimination – everything begins to balance out.
Healing vs Pain – This was HUGE! When you change your walking from a mere 6000 steps which is approximately an hour – to almost 3.5 hours – well things get in the way. Some were easy to fix like the blisters, plantar fasciitis and comfortable shoes – but add in Meralgia Paresthetica and humidity with Hot Flashes and well that discomfort is hard to refocus. Pain and discomfort is hard to shift while experiencing it. But when there is little that can be done, it feels overwhelming. Until I began connecting with a deeper part of myself and tapping into the Collective Consciousness and I realized that as we focus on pain and discomfort that focus only heightens our awareness to it.
So how do you shift your awareness – there are a few ways – but what I found most effective was focusing on my Breathing and Healing. Breathing allows you to BE present and shifting focus to Healing can only be done in the Present Moment. Putting all of my focus onto Breathing and moving energy into the pain and discomfort allowed me to be more aware that my body temperature regulation has been surprisingly unhealthy for most of my life. Add in the pain created by burning pins and needles in my thighs – it allowed for significant discovery. For example: I discovered that focusing on my breath also allowed for my blood to circulate better and oxygen to move into my outer layer of thigh muscle and once I have completed my walk, a knee brace would assist with what felt like tiny muscles tearing in my thighs surrounding my knee. So this focus of Healing has felt like one of the Biggest “A-ha” moments I have had in a long time. Too often we focus on what we don’t want; and pain has always been something that debilitates my attention. Now I know the power of Breathing and Healing!
Love and Appreciation/Gratitude: Sure we all know that Love and Appreciation is powerful. But on days where the heat and humidity are over 40 degrees Celsius (104+F)? My Love and Appreciation found trees offering shade and breezes, found clouds covering the worst of the afternoon sun, and found rain lightly showering me with my overwhelming Gratitude. Sometimes it felt that even when I couldn’t breathe with the sweltering heat and smoke pollution – the Universe found ways to support my need for total Health and Well-being. The more I focused on expressing Love, Appreciation and Gratitude – the more I felt supported by the Universe finding me little Gifts of LOVE to contend with the humidity. I continue to KNOW that the Universe supports us when we have powerful and positive intentions.
What I recommend for this Journey – acknowledging that each journey is different: I believe that if your determination is to improve your health, digestion, sleep, resting heart rate or metabolism then knowing how many steps you take, your resting heart rate, and your sleeping patterns are pretty well essential and then a smartwatch or tracker will become your best friend. I have a pretty sedentary life style – having my FitBit remind me to walk every hour and all the wonderful information you can receive from their app – has shown me exactly how much I have benefitted from my new walking. Do you know what I didn’t mention as a tool? The typical scale and measuring tape – other than the 1st time when I noticed that my waist was getting slimmer and measured at the tipping point of 31.5 inches and then a few weeks ago when my waist was 30 and my hips 37 – I have no reason to look at these tools, we all know when we are feeling and looking better! The best part of this is that it still allows me to read, write, work and doesn’t interfere with my walking. In fact it has improved my motivation for everything. Setting your intention is also important. What is the true intent for your new changes? The Universe wants to support you… especially if it has to do with Health and Well-Being. If you are focusing on what you don’t want – yeah, not so much!
Although, this isn’t my typical Blog, I felt it was very important from a learning perspective and Healing our bodies is crucial during a time when Fear is still pushing at us from every angle. Healing is very much a part of what I do and I learned some great examples of how we can shift our focus and truly overcome some of our physical problems debilitating our society. The walking has even healed my low grade inflammation problems. Our bodies are truly meant to walk! We thrive when we can move, dance, and play more. For those of us who are self-employed or working from home – we need to get away from our screens and MOVE! I hope this has inspired you to consider walking for your Health. If you have any questions – contact me and I will be more than happy to share my results. With Love and an Open Heart, Laurie