Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Taking a Walk


Walking is man's best medicine.
                 -- Hippocrates

Hi! This is a picture of  my dog, Sardis (not Hippocrates :-) and he is my walking partner!  For a couple of years we were walking every day for at least two miles around the neighborhood.  We visited with neighbors, admired gardens and flowers, spoke to other dogs, and just walked along enjoying the breeze! It was wonderful! Sardis pulled on his leash the whole way and I looked up into the trees and around and thought about nothing.

Few people know how to take a walk.  The qualifications
 are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for
 nature,  good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, 
good silence and nothing too much.
                                                             -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Then,  I started having some health issues not related to walking, but I stopped walking anyway. ( I was a wimp!)  My health became worse and I knew I needed to go back to walking.  

The most common objection that I hear to walking 
as exercise is that it's too easy, that only sweaty,
 strenuous activity offers real benefits.  But there 
is abundance evidence that regular, brisk walking
 is  associated with better health, including lower 
blood pressure, better moods  and improved  
                                      cholesterol  ratios.                                                                                             -- Andrew Weil

Sardis and I went back to walking together, but only for a half a mile at a time.  Some days we felt good enough to walk morning and evening. I was amazed at how good I felt each day.  Then I went out-of-town for a week and got out of the habit. I began to feel miserable all over again.

That leads me to the purpose for this post.  Today I got out of  the recliner and put on my walking shoes!  Sardis ran to the door and like a good boy, waited for me to attach his leash.  We had a wonderful walk and visited with neighbors, admired other yards and talked to neighborhood dogs as we passed. I felt the wind blowing across my skin.  And I felt better than I did all week!  If you have been reading emails or blogs all day (or even for an hour), get up out of that chair and take a walk.  You will feel so much better!
 

Walking is the best possible exercise.  Habituate 
yourself to walk very fast.
                                                                                                   -- Thomas Jefferson

I better work on "habituating myself" to walk a little faster. ;-)

Thank you for visiting today!  What do you do for exercise?
Love,
Lottie
 

6 comments:

  1. That is a great picture of Sardis.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a wonderful walking partner you have! I walk about miles every morning with my husband...we love it...it starts out the day just right!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lottie, I feel the same way. I miss walking with Mandy and she has been gone along time now. I want to get back to walking and I make too many excuses and that has to stop. Thanks for the post. I will start my walking back up again. Sardis is a very cute companion.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great word---Habituate!

    I need to do this too.

    Keep it up.

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a wonderful walking buddy to have

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Lottie,

    Good for you!!! I love walking, especially with my daughter who delights in walks as much as I. I think it is the best thing you can do.

    :) Hope

    ReplyDelete