---submitted by Manisha Shah as part of ISWU Writing Project

My Morning Walks

I walk all the time, but my morning walks are special to me. After good night’s sleep, my mind is rested and calm. Morning walk fills up energy in my body and mind to make me ready to be positive and prepares me for the day ahead. Also, dedicated walks are medically proven to help the body live a healthy life. It improves physical health and sharpens minds.

Most of the time, I walk in places that are quiet—my peaceful neighborhood, by the lake, or through a park. Occasionally I walk in noisy areas, and there also I love to see morning hustle bustle from a spectator’s point of view as a change.

I find many benefits of walking, and I would like to mention some below.

• It is a low impact exercise as compared to other exercises like aerobics, yoga stretches etc.
• It strengthens your heart and lungs, improves circulation, lowers your blood pressure, reduces chance to get type 2 diabetes,
• It also has mental and cognitive benefits like reducing stress, enhancing mood, and improving sleep
• It gives me 'Me' time for self-care. It is proven fact that this downtime directly leads to reduced stress, better concentration, and a lower risk of burnout.
• It gives me chance to feel the nature surrounding me and enjoy birds chirping.
• Many times, it gives me a chance to organize my thought process about how to handle different things that I need to accomplish and prioritize them.
• During my walks, I love to hum some songs that I like and at that point I feel like a singer.
• Morning walk prepares me to be ready for busy day ahead.
• When I walk with a friend or a family member, I spend quality time with that person one on one, and I feel closeness with that person.
• It helps me cultivate good virtues because it gives me the space to reflect on my thoughts, recognize my shortcomings, and work on improving them.
• When something upsets me, thinking through during my walks helps me calm down. It also gives me a fresh perspective on what happened, so I can shift toward a more positive mindset instead of staying stuck in negative feelings.
• Sometimes, while walking, I get to meet and talk to different people and get to learn some new things. Summer walking works out well to catch up with my neighbors. Yesterday, while on my morning walk, I met my 81-year-old neighbor who was working in her garden. We talked for more than 10 minutes, and she gave me details of some plants, flowers and about health issues that she experienced in last 8 months. I am so glad that I took some time to spend with her and that she shared her story with me.
• Just a couple of days ago, I was feeling a bit low—my hip was hurting, and my mood wasn’t great. After a few hours of sitting with that feeling, I finally pushed myself to step outside for a walk and some fresh air. It worked like magic. In few minutes, my mood lifted, the pain eased for a while, and the rest of the day felt lighter and much more enjoyable.

These are some of the advantages that I see for my walks, especially morning walks. I usually like to walk for more than an hour. Sometimes, if morning walk is not possible, I walk at any other time during the day. If I am very busy with some other things, I still try to steal few minutes to walk somehow at any time during the day.

Walking has become an essential part of my life, and I genuinely think everyone could benefit from setting aside just 10 minutes a day for a simple, intentional walk.