Really, walking outdoors is fun. It’s actually great. And if the weather outside is amazing, then one should take full advantage of it.
Yesterday evening, after many days, in fact months, I went on the terrace for my evening walk. The weather was great. The air was a bit breezy. And I had a good half an hour walk.
I enjoyed my walk a lot more than I usually enjoy my regular treadmill walks indoors. And the difference was really something big. I could feel my whole body moving differently and a bit more freely compared to my straight standing posture on the treadmill.
Sure, I do enjoy my treadmill walks, and I have been continuously walking on a treadmill for the past two months or so, almost every day. It’s great. It helps me to have the proper sweaty walk and great cardio. But the outdoors is also fun.
And I have decided that now winter has almost ended, so I am going to have a mix of both types of walk in my everyday life. I think it’s going to be more interesting, fun, and beautiful.
I am excited for my outdoor walks. What about you? Don’t wait too much. Spring is in its full charm right now. Go, have a walk outside. It’s good for your health and longevity. Don’t think too much now. Just put on those shoes and go. You will enjoy it.
Sometimes life surprises you not by sending you a gift, but by reminding you of a gift you once prayed for. You got it, and it has become so natural that you almost forgot it.
While scrolling on my phone, I saw a YouTube short. The theme was around heavy thigh girlies and their everyday dresses, clothing, and lifestyle choices centred around the theme.
You know what, after a few seconds, I remembered how my PCOD and unusual weight gain had made me a heavy, fatty thigh girl, and how, for the first time in my life, I felt my inner thighs rubbing against each other. And this was not a very happy feeling for me. This change was something very unusual that I faced in my late twenties, around two years ago.
And I remember the days when I wanted to get rid of the experience of my inner thighs rubbing against each other. I had PCOD, weight gain, tiredness, and a lot of unusual fatigue. And being a no-gym, no regular exercise girl made the change a bit more difficult on a personal level.
But I started doing one thing. I incorporated walking. Simple walk. Evening walks on my terrace — anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour, and I continued this religiously for several months. For several months, I used to wear my lower and a t-shirt, put on my shoes, and head on to my terrace with the smartwatch on my wrist.
No pressure. No specific goals. Just a decision to move my body. Preferably to walk, because I find it very easy, simple, and doable on most days.
And now, after the more or less regular walks, continuously for more than one and a half years, my slim-fit high waist jeans that once stuck around my thighs and I had left any hope of wearing that again, fitted me beautifully just like before.
I was surprised, and shocked at the same time! I kid you not when I am saying this. I wasn’t expecting this change at all. I had given up on my favourite jeans.
Results like these compel you to stick to your seemingly very simple habits every day. And it has made me more aware of the benefits of simple habits like this in our everyday lives.
Starting small, keeping it simple, making it fit in our schedule very easily, showing up with a lot of love and care we deserve from ourselves, and enjoying the process along the way. This mindset shift brings the desired transformation.
Getting properly in my old high-waisted jeans and not feeling the inner thighs rubbing at every step are only two visible changes. Walking has also made me positive, optimistic, creative, and reflective in beautiful ways.
Walking kept me alive. It keeps me alive.
Try walking. You will naturally start to feel the physical, mental, emotional, and your creative health and well-being only getting better and better without any noise, pressure, strict diets, gym workouts, and calorie counts.
Many people, even doctors, recommend walking a few steps for a few minutes after our meals. It has many benefits, including sugar control and weight loss in the long term. Ayurveda also talks about it.
For me, especially these days when I am taking medicines 3 times a day for many days, this walk is really helping me stay awake a little longer after my lunch time. The heavy doses of medicine sometimes make it very difficult to stay awake and do anything. And me being me, always prefers a body and mind well rested for any kind of work, so I sleep when my body asks for it.
But sleeping a day thrice, I mean, once after breakfast and medicines, then if you can’t control it after lunch, and then of course, the nighttime dose makes it too much. And I don’t want to see my puffy face and swollen eyes anymore. Rest is fine. Deep sleep is good. But sleeping three times, I didn’t feel so good. So, my post-lunch walk for around half an hour is saving me from falling asleep these days.
Can’t say much about what my metabolism, sugar, cholesterol, thyroid, and insulin levels are, but my sleeping and staying awake balance, with a short nap after breakfast, is right right now. And I am happy for that.
Tell me about yourself. Have you noticed any positive changes in your daytime or just general everyday life because of this simple act?
Walking is a gift to me. Always. It’s always been a gift to me.
I vividly remember my evening walks with my friends when I was in a hostel during my school days. We used to just roam around for hours on our campus. Those days, little did we know that something so simple as just going for a walk with your friend in the evening would someday feel like a luxury. And honestly, today I feel that this luxury has gotten really expensive.
That’s life. A timepass evening with your friend every day becomes the occasional video calls, and we realise what we had was a lot more precious than whatever we can earn and buy now.
After finishing my school, I came back to Delhi for further studies and started living with my parents there. I think those were the days when I started solo walks. It started slowly. I stuck to it. It helped me. It became my companion many times. Walking on my terrace became my everyday thing. Most of the times, me, my earphones plugged in and my walk – It continued like that for some time. Then I started going to parks for my morning and evening walks. This time, shoes were put on, but earphones were not always in. And this phase also continued for a good time.
Time passed. I got married. And I moved from Delhi to my current residence. But my walk continued. Evening walk on my terrace. Shoes put on, headphones on, and my smart watch perfectly counting my steps.
Today, I have a treadmill in my hall for having a good cardio, and I walk on my treadmill most of the days.
Today, I feel walking has saved me from many things. Maybe many, many things. Many times, many, many times, when I feel lost till day, those few minutes or hours of walking bring me back to my roots, to my values, to my aspirations, and, most importantly, to my love for this beautiful life.
Whenever I have felt lost, I have found myself. Whenever I have been overwhelmed, I have emptied myself. Whenever I feel stuck, it frees me up. It has been my remedy since the time I didn’t know it was the remedy I would need in my life.
Today, I walk to pause. I walk to rest. I walk to exhaust myself. I walk to start afresh. I walk to finish what I have started.
I walk to choose me, to choose faith, to choose faith in life, and to choose life every time.
Srishti Kumari 