Walk it Off

I tend to be accused of overthinking nearly everything in my life. Okay, everything. But I find that when I simply dive headfirst into a situation, I tend to feel overwhelmed or out of touch. One of the things I love best about warmer weather months is the ability to do more on my own with loads of distractions.

If you find it increasingly hard to shut off, this is a perfect season to try to reclaim some of the mental real estate from fretting and worrying. As for me, I'm trying to not only walk more, but to make it mean something…or nothing at all.

A few weeks back I met with Dr. Jim Nicolai, author of Integrative Wellness Rules. Dr. Nicolai is a pretty exuberant human being, but he advocates a calm walking meditation technique called "Breath Walking." Four breaths in and four breaths out add a meditative or yogic quality to an ordinary afternoon walk. It's tempting to amp things up when the weather is warm, especially in your workout, but if your brain is overextended, you can still feel drained at the end of a workout. This summer, why not try to be more present in your workout? Even a simple walk in the park can become an opportunity to recharge and be more present and ready for whatever comes next!

Do you ever find yourself taking a recharge walk outside, or even mixing it in with your Bowflex TreadClimber or treadmill workouts? Let us know what you like to do in the comments below.