- Beyond Blue Forums
- Caring for myself and others
- Staying well
- Walking Shoes - Walking and Other Exercise
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Mark Topic as New
- Mark Topic as Read
- Pin this Topic for Current User
- Follow
- Printer Friendly Page
Walking Shoes - Walking and Other Exercise
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
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......
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
Dear Richju,
Thank you for sharing your infectious enthusiasm. It’s so nice to read. I love that you love both walking and your writing group. For a while I belonged to a writing group in the city. It was such a nice thing to participate in and everyone was so supportive of one another. The facilitator was a writer herself and also a professional storyteller, performing at arts events. I too found it a good place to learn to be vulnerable in a group. It can be a bit scary at first sharing your writing with others. But people were so kind and enthusiastic about one another’s writing.
I too couldn’t sleep last night with a strong wind going the whole night. I woke up about 2:45am and never got back to sleep. I enjoyed reading about the spectacular sunrise. I agree that it’s a beautiful time to be out walking. Dools who writes in this thread often describes the colours and scenes she sees at sunrise. I sometimes get up to photograph it and feel I should do it more often.
Thanks again for sharing with us.
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
Dear Eagle Ray and everyone else in this enthusiastic group,
This enthusiasm is just what I need for my mental health. I have spent so many years looking at life through the dirty window of my own neurosis, totally ignoring the beauty around me. I was hurt by others without realising that they looked at life in the same way as I did.
Now I want to look at the beauty in life with the help of wonderful people like you.
I hope the enthusiasn of this group continues to grow and clean up all the negativity that is so destructive to our lives.
Please continue to share!!!
Love to all,
Richju xxxxx
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
Hi Richju, Shell Eagle Ray and all,
Yesterday I had a walk with my sister. The weather here was ranging from bursts of sunshine, then rain, hail and wind. It was rather cold, thankfully we did not have too much rain while walking.
On one side of the road was a bright yellow crop of canola. My sinus is that blocked I couldn't smell a thing, my sister said the smell was very strong! We saw and heard a few birds, some seemed to be searching for insects in the canola flowers.
We followed a track in amongst some sparse trees, part of the sky was blue, then the dark clouds would race over and the brighter colours would go from the crops in the paddocks. We saw a couple of kangaroos and some hares.
This morning it is zero degrees outside so I am not at all interested about going for a walk this morning.
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
Hey Doolhof,
It sounds as if you need to replace your walking shoes with some nice warm slippers as it's so cold.
You could love yourself by cuddling up in a warm blanket with a hot water bottle, if you have one.
I hope the weather improves soon and you can resume your interesting walks.
Warmest regards to help raise the temperature
Richju xx
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
Hello Richju, Dools and Shell,
Richju, there is so much beauty in the world isn’t there. About 10 months ago I was in a very bad way and out on a walk, trying to feel better. It started to rain so I sheltered in a grove of trees and bushes. While I was there I started hearing these little chirps. Then I noticed two small birds darting about. I realised I was right next to a nest. I was able to look into it and see these tiny baby birds. The two birds close by would have been the parents. It gave me such a sense of hope seeing these tiny chicks chirping away. The nest was a clever structure that protected them from the elements by opening away from where the weather comes from. It was covered at the top as well so had a side entrance. I then left so the parent birds didn’t get freaked out by the big human.
Yesterday I was walking in the same location and I saw the parent birds have come back to the nest which has been vacated for several months. They are no doubt rearing the next lot of chicks. No chirps yet so they are probably still in their eggs. Somehow the way nature keeps going gives me a sense of hope and that there are constant life cycles and processes of renewal.
I saw lots of wildflowers on my walk yesterday and I’m really looking forward to photographing some of them on a less windy day when it’s easier to do so. I also met a friendly man on my walk and said hello to his dog.
I hope you all have a lovely Sunday.
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
Hi Shelly and everyone else on this thread,
Slow and steady wins the race! The main thing is that we're out there. There's no need to compete - just enjoy!
I'm heartened by the enthusiasm of all these posts. They inspire me.
Thank you all.
Richju xxxxx
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
Dear Eagle Ray,
Thank you for your excellent post. I think we forget that we are part of nature because we get so involved in our thoughts, which are generally negative.
You have inspired me to be more mindful of the natural environment as I walk, especially as it's Spring.
My granddaughter and I put some herb seeds in last week and they have come up already. She was so very excited! We have much to learn from kids.
Thank you again Eagle Ray and everyone else in this inspiring thread. I wish you all continued happy experiences through your senses.
Richju xxxxx
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
Went for a walk yesterday at dawn. Saw some ducks rise up out of a small dam, they flew low above the canola crop where the flowers are starting to loose their vibrancy. There was a faint glow of pink and purple in the grey sky before sunrise.
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
Today I have been for a coastal walk. I chose a spot that would have some shelter from the strong wind which was somewhat blocked by hills. The weather was coming from the other side of those hills. I've had trouble with my breathing today so I hoped the walk would help with that and it did a bit.
I heard and saw emu wrens at the very beginning of the walk. The flit across the path so quickly it is hard to fully visually process that you've seen them. They are like little magical beings that seem to almost levitate across the path. The fairy wrens are similar and I heard some of them as well. I saw gulls and oystercatchers, as well as two gannets out to sea which are recognisable by their distinctive slender bodies and long, slender wings.
After a while the path ends and it becomes a dirt road where you have to look out for the occasional vehicle. I walked to the end of the road where there is a jetty people often fish from. I stood on the granite rocks and enjoyed watching the water swirl about them. I saw something that looked like one of those weedy or leafy seadragons, but was probably just seaweed, though you never know as they so convincingly look like seaweed. Nearby a couple were happily enjoying time with their toddler and dog which is always so nice to see.
On my way back I could tell weather was coming up over the hill with the grey clouds swirling. Towards the end of the walk it started to rain. I decided to run the last part with the intention of pushing my breathing to then try and normalise it. Sometimes this helps to regulate it, by kind of stressing the system more which in turn helps it come back to some kind of balance. It has helped even if it hasn't totally solved the breathing issue.
As I arrived home in my car the sun was emerging again. It was like that this morning, pouring with rain one minute and bright sunshine the next. It was good to get out in the weather that's a bit wild today.
- Mark as New
- Follow Post
- Mute
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Post
Hi Everyone,
It has been a while since I dropped in here to say hello.
One of my walks recently was along a narrow dirt road. I ended up parking outside a farm house so I could get my car off the road. Five minutes into my walk, a man in his ute drove up to me, stopped and asked if I was okay. I explained how I like to go for a walk in different places and enjoy the scenery. He told me he was off to water his sheep.
The region is rather dry, has shorter stubby mallee gum trees and sparse undercover. The ground was very stony and I wondered how anyone made a living in that country.
The sun was shining and the breeze was cool. I heard different birds, saw some beautiful parrots and listened to the haunting sound of the white winged choughs. It was nice to go walking in an area almost free of man made sounds.
As I was walking back to the car, I heard bees and noted they had a hive in the base of one of the trees, some of them are quite hollow. I gave them a wider berth and continued n my way back to my car.
Yesterday I had a walk along what is generally a place I don't see anyone. A man was taking his dog for a run and then I met another couple walking their two dogs. I had seen some kangaroos over the fence so hoped the dogs were behaved enough to not chase the kangaroos as the dogs were not on leads.
I'm visiting a family member today so will leave earlier so I can have a walk in a nice place along the way.