Walking towards Walking..
I have always been into sports, exercise, and after graduating from school and colleges, I was always consistent in my gym workouts and running. More than physical, my purpose for planned physical activity (‘exercise’) has been mental toughness and the sense of achievement post exercise.
Just to give a content, I am 32 years old and have a BMI of 20. I have been always healthy and felt great. But now I have started opening up to the an awareness that I have mostly brushed aside. Since I always workout in morning, I have to get up at 6:00 am in the mornings. And everyone knows that waking up in the morning is mentally very painful and taxing. I have never liked it, yet have got up every single day.
But lately, I have stopped enjoying the physical pain that even exercise provides, the burn in the muscles and fatigue after exercise. Thinking of it, after waking up in the morning, or going to bed thinking “Ok! Next morning I have to workout” has caused me stress. As a result I wake up sour, and I noticed it multiple times.
And in those times I have brushed that feeling aside and headed to workout, taxing my muscles and literally having a ‘killer workout’. But then I gave up. I definitely did not want to do that which I no longer enjoyed. All that pushing, twisting, forcing my body to engage in movements that tax me mentally, emotionally. I stopped feeling good about it.
Not only during the exercise, but also pre-exercise and while sleeping. Exercise planning can be a stress, and when you imagine th emoves you will do the next day, it can be stressful. At least with me I started noticing it. As a result, I would not go to sleep in peace, but with the stress of the next day’s morning exercise session. Until I decided, “ I do not want to feel like this”. If I do some exercise or fitness, my criteria now turned to fun! Something I enjoy and like and most importantly, “look forward to”.
Gym, running, jogging, calisthenics, all of which I have practiced so far, stopped being things I “look forward to”. I just could not bear any more the mental impact of these exercises and imagining about them, even before I started them. So, I decided I needed to change some decisions!
Fitness has always been my top priority and will remain, but if to become fit I was battling this mental stress, it was unacceptable to the 32 year old me. Moreover, I wanted to go to sleep in peace looking forward to the next day activity that would promote my fitness rather than be stressed about it. So, I decided that I would just walk.
A walk! The thought of it did not cause my any stress, mental pain or discomfort. As I decided to walk, I went to sleep in happy mood, relaxed and comforted. I started my day with calmness and mental peace. And again I would take walk after lunch, evening and if possible, at night.
I have been following this regime for 2 weeks now and I feel better. I am not piling up stress of exercise anymore. I would like to keep continuing this experiment.
Nowadays, I really listen to a podcast or a book on audible during my morning walks which are around 45–50 minutes long. And I do take 20 minutes out of these to walk barefoot on grass, while soaking Vitamin D from early morning sun. Due to these changes, which are motivated intrinsically, i.e. my desire to feel better and calmer, I feel much better and relaxed throughout the day.
Walking is sustainable also for long-term. And these days I am just exploring Walking experimentally, and scientifically by reading books on it. The bottomline for me is , “Do what you like, while you are doing it, before you start doing it and whenever you think of it”. I feel nice, relaxed and way less sore both in my body, mine, and psyche.
Here are some more pictures from my walks..
