Practice moving meditation. To lighten a heavy mood, “Imagine your chest as a window through which energy, fresh air, sunshine, even rain, can pour into and through you as you walk,” says Dreyer. To ground a scattered mind, she suggests focusing on connecting one’s feet with the Earth.


Creative Tips


Make fresh air a social affair. A group walk can boost performance levels of participants, says Dennis Michele, pres- ident of the American Volkssport As- sociation, which promotes fun, fitness and friendship through noncompetitive, year-round walking events. Horowitz suggests strolling with friends and sharing sensory discoveries. “A fresh perspective can help tune you into the great richness of ordinary envi- ronments often overlooked,” she says.


Ditch the distraction of electronic de- vices. Horowitz views walking texters as “hazards and obstacles, non-partic- ipants in the environment.” Australian researcher Siobhan Schabrun, Ph.D., re- veals the science behind the sentiment


Let your feet speak for an important cause and sign up for an awareness walk.


in her recent University of Queensland study. The brain, she found, prioritizes texting over walking, resulting in “slow- ing down, deviating from a straight line and walking like robots, with the arms, trunk and head in one rigid line, which makes falling more likely.”


Walking a dog brings mutual benefits. Dr. John Marshall, chief oncologist at Georgetown University Hospital, in Washington, D.C., prescribes dog walk- ing to his cancer patients, asserting it yields better outcomes than chemother- apy. For maximum enjoyment, strive to hit a stride, advises Carla Ferris, owner of Washington, D.C. dog-walking com- pany Wagamuffin.


Be a fanny pack fan. Fanny packs, unlike backpacks, which can disturb natural torso rotation, comfortably store identification, phone, keys and


water, says Svensson. Ferris agrees: “Walks are so much more enjoyable hands-free.”


Walk while you work. Much of the independent and collaborative work at Minneapolis finance company SALO emerges as employees walk slowly on ergonomic treadmill desks. “Being up, active and forward-moving on the treadmill benefits productivity,” says co-founder Amy Langer. Alterna- tively, consider investing in a cord- less headset or standing desk. “Most anything you can do sitting, you can do standing, and supporting your own body weight is almost as beneficial as walking,” she says. A study reported in the journal


Diabetologia suggests that sedentary time combined with periods of moder- ate-to-vigorous exercise poses a great- er health risk than being gently active throughout the day. Dreyer’s mantra? “The body is wise. Listen when it says, ‘Get up and walk a bit.’”


Lane Vail is a freelance writer in South Carolina. Connect at WriterLane.com.


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