Walking Shoes - Walking and Other Exercise

[Guest_1055]

Hey to anyone reading this.

Last night I had an idea about starting a new thread about exercise especially walking. I am aware that walking is very beneficial for our mental, emotional and physical well being. And by actually doing it....well it can make a huge difference to how we cope with the storms that we face in life.

OK, I am not real good at disciplining myself to walk, and have to really push myself to do it. And sometimes it is even hard to leave this bedroom. Anyway I am not a beginner walker, as I have stuck to sort of a plan before. So I know that it does make me feel somewhat better. But I only stayed on the plan for a couple of months, then gave up.....for whatever reason. So here I am again wanting desperately to not fail this time.

So I guess this thread is for anyone that does walk, anyone that is struggling to walk because of depression or anxiety issues. And anyone else really......

I am unsure of the outcome of all this. But my ideas included: Sharing about things we have found out about exercise especially about walking. Writing down the reasons that one would chose to walk ( like something to help motivate). Being accountable in same way. Sharing about the places where we actually do walk, like the beach, gym, around the block, with the dog, out to the clothesline and back. And any other useful tips that could help others. So here we go......

[Eagle Ray]

Hello Shell,

Yes, the rock is the same one I often lay on for warmth. There is also a rocky hill I do the same with by the ocean. The bench yesterday was a different one to the one I have mostly been lying on. It's higher up with a view over the river.

The wing foil thing is very interesting, isn't it. It looks like some kind of magic, sort of floating over the water. Somehow it's like the wind gets under it and holds it up. I think another word for it is hydrofoil. I think you are right about the other part being a rudder.

I'm doing ok. Feeling a bit sad because a neighbour is very unwell. I am just very sensitive and feel everything. I know you are sensitive too. But I think that's also why we enjoy our walks so much, because we pick up all the little things and really sense the environment.

I only walked to the supermarket today to get a few things. Sometimes when I go to the supermarket a kangaroo hops across the road or sometimes kangaroos are feeding on bushes at the back of the supermarket. Today there were noisy roadworks and no kangaroos around. It was really perfect weather and it's still very peaceful now with a very gentle breeze coming through the window. I can hear the ocean in the distance.

I hope all is well with you.

[Shell4]

Thankyou for sharing your walk to the supermarket, kangaroos at the back of a supermarket, you just would not see that here I don't think.

And about the hydrofoil. I found out that isn't a rudder at all, the bit underneath. The rider is the one who steers the board by moving around sort of thing. The bit underneath acts a bit like the wings of an aeroplane. I got all that from co pilot AI thing. Still a little confusing but I understand more then I did before.

I am sorry about your neighbour. And you right I tend to be sensitive. I pick up people's feelings a lot. I am learning though I can still feel for them...a bit like compassion. But I need to keep practicing not to carry there feelings. Surrendering them to God. He loves them far more then I do. And me carrying there feelings and emotions well it is simply too heavy and overwhelming. That is what I am learning there anyway.

[Shell4]

Today I visited my little nephew and his mumma. They live on a property which recently had a very long driveway/ private road put in by tractors and stuff. The road was smooth dirt. We walked up it. There is dense bush on one side which is crown land and it has a fire trail or something. On the other side is cleared land now with trees in spots. It is still quite bushy though. We walked through that towards a neat  dam. The people that did the road made the dam nice and neat. Since a lot of bush was cleared, cleared for two homes there were a few piled of random items plus p

[Shell4]

Items like old tires, a white bookcase, bits or rusted metal and wire. Also there were a couple of piles of logs, branches and leaves. On this walk I happened to look down on the dirt road and noticed the biggest ant. It was rearing its front legs towards us. A wallaby went jumping along into the bush. Then another one was jumping near their clothes line. 

[Eagle Ray]

That is lovely that you visited your little nephew and his mumma. We get some very big ants here that may be the same type. The ones here also rear their front legs. They are a mixture of a reddish brown colour and black. I think they are a type of bull ant. I was once in the front yard of my childhood home and didn't realise I was standing near a nest of them. One crawled up my pants and I got bitten on the leg. It hurt a lot! I ran around the back of the house and took my pants off. It all seems quite funny now. It's nice you saw the wallabies.

I did a walk yesterday morning down by the river which was really nice. I saw one of my neighbours walking his dog and had a brief chat. It was fairly early and there were quite a few people out enjoying the morning. At one stage there were Wood Ducks waddling in front of me on the path. It was like I was herding ducks. I walked to the river mouth, sat down for a while and watched the water flowing past. It has a lot of energy in that area and sometimes swirls around where the river meets the sea. On the way back I have to walk up a big hill towards the end. That is good exercise for me. I hadn't been down that way for a while as I've been visiting a different section of the river lately. I think I really do better for the rest of the day when I do my walk first thing in the morning.

This afternoon I did a brief walk in the woodland across the road. The sunlight was filtering through the trees as the sun got lower. I could smell what was like rain in the air even though it wasn't raining. I'm not sure if it was that it was going to rain or whether somehow the plants and trees were releasing that fresh scent into the air. It was a nice, short walk.

[Shell4]

Oh the sensation of herding a group of waddling ducks. That is absolutely lovely, I am glad you experienced that. Was the water darker and muddy were the river meets the sea? No pressure to answer ,just attempting to picture it better. The water is like that up here where the port meets the sea. The port is a river. And you got your early walk in. It definitely feels better going earlier on in the morning. It sort of feels encouraging. 

[Shell4]

I have done a bit of walking today and yesterday. I am up at mums. Today we and little sniffer runner dog walked on a very long beach. Not the whole length though , I am uncertain how long it actually is but we couldn't see the end of it. 

After we walked down the concrete driveway to the sand we let sniffer dog off the lead. She loved being from from it. She looked happy. And was soon off while keeping an eye on mum. Off to investigate turned up shells, and whatever else her nose could smell. 

We walked down to the waters edge where the sand felt harder , so it was easier to walk along. We chatted as we walked . The water felt refreshingly cold as I walked in it every now and then. Sniffer dog would see seagulls just standing peaceful on the sand and run after them. She never really got close to them, they were good flyers and flew off. Looking down there were shells , mostly half pippy shells. Times when we were walking in the shallow water we stood there and watched the waves roll back into the ocean. We were watching for the pippys going out with the wave. There were so many I watched one more closely and as the wave just left it it appeared to use little front feet. ( Not sure exactly what they were) but two small little bits from the pippy would somehow flip itself over and use these little feet things to almost dig itself and it's shell into the sand. So it was buried as if it didn't want to see the sunlight at all. It is a challenge to describe but I have never seen that before. It was delightful in a way to watch this. And I have pleasant child hood memories of going to the beach and digging for pippys for my dad. I never witnessed them digging themselves into the sand before though. Mum seemed to enjoy the pippys too.

We walked along more then sat a while on a small sand dune . Sat there and looked out at the waves. Noticed the hills on the left with a few houses on them. It was beautiful too seeing some flat patches of green grass in sections where no houses were. Patches of green grass next to blue sky and white fluffy clouds.

We played that game with sniffer dog though know she has turned into runner doggie. Run from mum to me then back again to mum and back to me. I lost count of how many times that little dog bolted with her tiny little legs. She is so very cute and loves to run.

After resting a while on this sand dune we head back. Looking down again and noticing jelly blubbers in the very shallow water. I felt so much better after this walk. There is something about how the sun feels healing to me. Not super hot sun that burns but a warmth that my body soaks up and it feels healing to me. As well as the ocean air and being in that. Think the ocean and the surroundings of one is a happy place for me.

[Eagle Ray]

No, the water was not darker and muddier where it meets the sea. I think this is because there is an estuary that is sort of ocean-like already. But occasionally it does get darker after rain washes a lot of tannin from vegetation further up the river downstream. The water often swirls in a circular fashion at the river mouth. Dolphins often swim around there and catch fish. The fish can be quite abundant which seems to make the dolphins happy who sometimes do flips in the air. Yes, I find walking early is different. I find it does change my whole day and you are right, it is encouraging.

Your walking with your mum and little sniffer dog sounds so lovely. I could easily imagine her investigating turned up shells and other objects on the beach. Dogs love to chase seagulls don't they. That's fascinating about the pippy shells. I don't think I have seen them before. I was able to imagine the houses, patches of green, the fluffy clouds and the blue sky that you described. It sounds like a beautiful scene. I loved hearing about sniffer dog running between you and your mum. She sounds so cute and happy 🐶💖 I really agree that the gentle warmth of the sun and the ocean air are truly healing.

I don't have a walk to report from today. I did walk to the bakery and the supermarket, but they were brief walks. I did get outside to prune the rose bushes at the front though. That way I got some time in the late afternoon sun. One rose bush did still have a couple of deep red flowers on it. They had a really rich scent. It's funny how the different colours actually smell different from one another. There are several colours including pink, yellow and a sort of coral pink, plus some speckled ones with white and pink. I found a large spider had made a nest by sealing two leaves of one of the rose bushes together. She had a nest of baby spiders in there. I made a point of not pruning off the part she was on so she and the babies still have a home. It's amazing what you see when you look more closely at a garden.

[Shell4]

Roses you have many colours there ER. I use to have one called love potion a few years ago, it had such a beautiful scent. But it didn't live. Yeah it is funny how different coloured roses have different scents now that you mentioned that. I do like smelling them. It is good you got some sunlight there too. 

Thankyou for sharing about what the  the water looks like ER. Swirling. 

[Shell4]

I went walking out on the breakwall today. It was beautiful out there. I also walked up lighthouse hill,part of the road was covered by sand. Properly from all the high winds a few days back. Once I got to the top , I headed for the cottages and peered in the windows. All I saw was a desk and a chair in each window I peered into to. Some had rugs under the chair. I really like the old timber floorboards in each room. All well taken care of. I went through a white picket gate by unlatching it, it basically opens up to like a little courtyard. It is here I leaned over the rail and looked at the ocean out and below. The reason it was out is because there were shrubs on the other side of the fence. I walked around a little up on  the hill, then headed back down. Headed back down I could see such a view of the port, the section where the ships go in ( industrial bit) a beach, a small mountain and the ocean. Every thing just seemed so clear. Almost like everything has been washed. Once I got to the bottom of the hill, I turned a sharp right to keep walking further on the breakwall. I noticed a surfer in the port. I walked  almost to the end , but I was mindful of the waves splashing well over the end part. Upon walking back I felt tiny droplets of water, just very light sprays. The feeling of it helped me feel alive. I am thankful I walked.

The day before I walked around the neighbourhood