DON'T
HAVE
TIME TO
WALK AND
MEDITATE?
TRY THEM
TOGETHER
T
BPT
he mental and physical merits of walking are well • If your mind wanders, try to push out extraneous
established, from helping ward off depression to
thoughts and focus on your breathing or the sights
and sounds of your surroundings.
preventing heart disease. Meditation, likewise, can help
reduce anxiety symptoms and improve sleep quality.
Have you considered combining these seemingly very • Pause for a breath, turn around and start again.
different activities?
Why meditate in the first place? Meditation may help
Walking meditation, which doesn’t take much of an cancer patients by relieving their stress and fatigue. It
investment in time or money, can be a good way to reap may reduce blood pressure and alleviate some symptoms
multiple benefits.
of menopause and IBS. There is also evidence that it
improves the quality of life for female patients struggling
Walking meditation isn’t a stroll in the park or an hour with fibromyalgia by helping them deal with depression
in the lotus position, rather something in between. The and conflict, according to the National Institutes of Health.
goal is to be self-focused and mindful of your body in
motion. To get started, consider these steps from UC Meditation can be good for people of all ages. A Journal
Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center:
of Alzheimer’s Disease study found that meditation may
help slow the cognitive decline that leads to Alzheimer’s
• Find a place that’s relatively free of distractions and and dementia. When college students added meditation
where other people won’t make you self-conscious. to walking, they had lower levels of anxiety than when
Your path - whether it’s a hiking trail or a little-used they merely walked for exercise, according to a study in
hallway - doesn’t have to be long; the whole point is the American Journal of Health Promotion.
to go nowhere, slowly - and safely.
As you take a moment to slow down and practice walking
• Relax your hands and arms, stand up straight and take meditation, keep in mind that the results can also be slow.
a few deep breaths. Take 10 to 15 small, deliberate Studies have shown benefits after as little as 10 minutes
steps, counting them in your head. Be mindful of the per session, but most were based on practicing four to
way your feet feel as they rise and land on the ground, six days per week for several weeks.
weight shifting from heel to toes.
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WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE
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OCTOBER 2018