Hi FitVista Friends,
I felt the need to write this blog post and hopefully offer a few words of comfort during these strange and unprecedented times. Please know that I am always here for you to vent, share, and listen. Never hesitate to drop a line to my email.
I'd love to hear from you.
It's certainly taken me time to wrap my head around everything and readjust our plans, especially around what the next few months will look like.
I have a tendency to be a control freak, especially around planning and timing, and this pandemic has forced us all to be flexible and creative in ways we've never before experienced.
In the midst of it all, Alex, the #7.5 month bump and I are doing well. We're social distancing, working out of our apartment and having groceries delivered. My only exception is going to doctors appointments for our baby-boy-on-the-way, who is healthy and growing. We feel blessed, but of course, we did not expect to navigate a global pandemic during the third trimester of our first pregnancy.
It’s scary.
What I keep telling myself is that no one has this all figured out. The external landscape and the "rules of the game" keep changing.
The #1 thing I've been doing to stay sane and keep anxiety at bay, is to get in 30-60 minutes of walking outside every day.
STAY SAFE + SOCIAL DISTANCE
It goes without saying, but of course, be smart and only go walking outside if you can safely stay distanced from others per CDC guidelines. We’re lucky to live along a breezy mile-long park along the waterfront in New York City and can easily walk and stay well over 6 feet from other exercisers.
WHY WALKING
I've always told my clients, and write in my book,
"When in Doubt, Go for a Walk"
And you'll feel better.
Let's talk a little history first.
“Solvitur ambulando” is an old Latin term which translates as “it is solved by walking.”
I know almost all of us are feeling anxious and stressed (and a lack of control) about the current state of affairs.
You know what you can control?
Going for a walk.
Have a problem that feels overwhelming? Go for a walk. Feel off and can’t figure out what’s bugging you? Go for a walk. Feel depleted and blah from all this time inside? Go for walk.
Walking is a proven meditative activity, and walking (aka meditating on the move) is a particularly efficient way to de-stress.
TYPES OF WALKS
Here are a few different "types of walks" to try in the next couple weeks (or months):
1. Friend Walk & Talks: Schedule a phone catch-up with a friend and both go on a walk together, virtually.
2. Business Walks: Monday through Friday, take yourself out for a 30 minute "business walk" and sort through your pressing items in your own head. I guarantee you'll come back with a clearer mind and shoot off those follow-up emails quickly.
3. Thinking / Feeling Walks: A lot of us are feeling A LOT right now. Worried about our relatives and health-care workers, concerned about at-risk populations, nervous about the economy, stressed about the kids at home, the list goes on. Going for a walk allows you to feel and sort through your own feelings, (rather than numbing them out with food or wine) and come up with a plan to cope.
Will you try this?
Let me know if this concept of walking and “solvitur ambulando" (translation :: it is solved by walking), works for you. Sending you big virtual air hugs and health during this hard time.
