Widows Quest » walking http://www.blisstree.com/widowsquest Redefine Yourself and Rediscover Life after a Loss Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:54:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Remember The Power of The Walk http://www.blisstree.com/widowsquest/remember-the-power-of-the-walk/ http://www.blisstree.com/widowsquest/remember-the-power-of-the-walk/#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:13:19 +0000 Anna Farmery http://www.widowsquest.com/?p=1360 Post from: Widows Quest

]]> I often write how walking has helped me with my grief. Just being with nature helps, achieving the goal each day helps, the air on my face helps and also I meet people whilst I am out walking…

But I have just read this article that your Memory is Improved by 20% by Walking. Now I am not sure that some parts of my memory I want back….you know the ones that I mean – the pain, the loss etc but in terms of our future life then walking is a great health protector. It says that the study

“The results showed that people’s performance on the test improved by almost 20% after wandering amongst the trees. By comparison those subjected to a busy street did not reliably improve on the test.

In the second study participants weren’t even allowed to leave the lab but instead some stared at pictures of natural scenes while others looked at urban environments. The improvements weren’t quite as impressive as the first study, but, once again, the trees and fields beat the roads and lampposts.”

I suppose I am even more interested as Dad died of dementia and as everyone always says I am his double, I am already working on preventing dementia..

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]]> http://www.blisstree.com/widowsquest/remember-the-power-of-the-walk/feed/ 0 A Walk A Day Keeps the Depression at Bay http://www.blisstree.com/widowsquest/a-walk-a-day-keeps-the-depression-at-bay/ http://www.blisstree.com/widowsquest/a-walk-a-day-keeps-the-depression-at-bay/#comments Mon, 12 May 2008 18:57:31 +0000 Anna Farmery http://www.widowsquest.com/a-walk-a-day-keeps-the-depression-at-bay/ Post from: Widows Quest

]]> The last couple of weeks have been hard, very hard. My health has not been great and when that happens, depression seems to descend over me. It just shows how important our health is, in the grief recovery process.

The last couple of days I have forced myself to get out into the sunshine. I have walked for  countryside.JPG about 5 miles each day. Although I live on the edge of a city, I am fortunate to live near a canal and also on the edge of some wonderful countryside.

During those walks I have put my iPod on, played my favourite music and watched the natural world around me. I have seen the lambs bounding across the fields with joy, and smiled.

Walking has done 3 things

  1. It has made me get out of the house, which is full of memories and see that life goes on.
  2. It has got my heart pumping and made me feel healthier and more alive.
  3. It has relaxed me and helped me put life into perspective.

Sometimes life can be so frantic we  just need some space to relax, think and  reenergise ourselves. I now know that a walk a day keeps the depression at bay…. if you are feeling down, try walking in the fresh air and feeling that heart beat inside of you.

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