Out of the Loop: Take a Walk

Activity 4: What a better way to get out of your head than to go outside

Hey all!

Sorry not sorry if Passion Pit’s song is now stuck in your head 😅 it might be a good soundtrack to get you out though!

The series is quickly establishing itself as a weekly-ish reminder, but isn’t that just the reality of life? We will fall out of routine, lose a streak, then start again! And again!

If you are already familiar with the series, jump straight to This week’s activity section.

And if not, welcome to your first Out of the Loop!

The main idea of this series is to have a small activity to start off your week with a win, and possibly build a new helpful habit. The activities are aimed at reducing overwhelm, grounding us, and having us try something new every now and then. With the added benefit of the community and someone to hold us accountable, so that we actually do what we’ve said we would!

If you’d like to know more about how the idea came to be, have a read of the first post in the series 👇

Out of the Loop: Let's begin with the breath

Now, without further ado, let’s get right into it!

This week’s activity

Is already clear from the title, I bet!

That being said, I’m no stranger to how difficult it can be to get yourself out, for a variety of reasons, like fatigue and having to make yourself sort of presentable for the public. My couch has seen its usage spike in such scenarios, as the hours roll by and I inevitably end up saying, “I’ll just go out tomorrow”. Yep, sure.

Sometimes the key is to just keep lowering the goal until the resistance evaporates. Start small.

2-3 minutes is enough for today’s activity.

I know it might seem like nothing or even pointless, but first - you are more likely to walk more than that once you are out of the door, and second - this is building up the foundations to go for a longer walk tomorrow or the day after.

To lay it even thicker with the cliches - steady wins the race.

If going out or even getting up from the couch or the bed is currently not accessible to you, you can take a mental walk. Just close your eyes, and imagine a peaceful, beautiful location or your favourite route, and you walking along. You can meet people, animals or even fantastic creatures, I suppose (as long as they are friendly and help you relax!) You are the director of the scene!

The Stretch

A familiar and simple stretch is to try to incorporate this activity into your week. Walking to and from places for other purposes still counts. You can try to do it before work, during lunch break or after work. Pick the time when you’d be most likely to stick to the plan.

A few more ideas here:

• go a new route

• go to a green space

• smell the flowers along the way!

Of course, if you are a seasoned walker, you may opt to go for a (challenging) hike or choose walking in place of transportation if you have the extra time and the route is nice.

Why it works

The benefits are all over the media; you might even be tired of hearing them.

Just to give you the highlights - movement is known to help with both physical and mental health, plus the change of your surroundings can also help with problem-solving, creativity and focus.

If you are out during the day and in a nice green area away from city traffic, you can also reap the benefits of fresh, cleaner air and collect some vitamin D from the sun (which is important for the immune system, bone health, and mood regulation).

You can have a read on more benefits here.

And how about the mental walk? While physical benefits and vitamin D can’t be reaped through it, the mood and mental health benefits are definitely still there. It can help you reduce stress and perhaps give you some mental clarity. It can also serve as a visualisation technique to get you motivated to take a walk when the time is right.

Your turn!

It’s actually been my goal to be more physically active these past few weeks, so I’ve been taking short walks more frequently, mainly around the neighbourhood during lunch break. This will also be my aim today, a 10-15-minute walk around the block.

I’d be keen to read about your experience with this week’s activity. Whether big or small, share it in the comments below!

I’d also love to hear any tips you might have or activities you’d like to see in future posts.

Hope this was helpful and that I’ll see you in the discussions and on the next instalment!

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“Walking is man's best medicine.”
― Hippocrates