On 20 September Leah invited everyone to engage in dancing. But what happens if you have no music to dance to? I think we are then left with the humble activity of walking.

There is an indirect link as some popular songs refer to walking. For example:

Walking Back To Happiness - Helen Shapiro, 1961 

Walking On Sunshine - Katrina and The Waves, 1985

These are happy go lucky songs but a more poignant rendition is by Gerry and The Pacemakers released in 1963. It has been adopted as club anthems by Celtic and Liverpool Football clubs. It would also be appropriate for Moodscope:

“When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high

And don’t be afraid of the dark

At the end of a storm, there’s a golden sky

And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain

Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart

And you’ll never walk alone.”

As you must be aware, there are numerous benefits from walking both for our physical and mental health.

Stacy Clemes, a professor of active living and public health at Loughborough University, says walking is one of the best things we can do to improve our wellbeing. And researchers keep coming up with more scientific reasons for doing it more often.

Walking has several benefits: It can clear your mind and relieve stress in addition to the physical plusses. Clemes says “There is plenty of evidence that short walks outdoors have a potent effect on mood. It’s not just the activity itself that boosts mental health, but the location - being outdoors surrounded by nature is particularly helpful for lowering stress and anxiety”.   

There are several different types of walking, such as:

Mindful walking - This is conscious walking, meaning we are in the moment. Breathing, aware of the world around us and aware of our internal feelings. It has the following components:

1 Congratulate yourself on getting out.

2 Connect with the movement of your body.

3 Take your pain along on the walk.

4 Connect with your environment.

5 Manage the mind’s attention. 

(Courtesy of Angelica Attard)

Water walking - Water offers 12 times the resistance of air so pushing against it strengthens muscles.

Speed walking - Involves striding at or near your maximum speed without breaking into a jog.

Tai Chi walking - Focus on transferring weight from one foot to another and aligning your posture. Mentally heightened awareness of your actions and intentions leads to a meditative state. (Courtesy of Linda Wasmer Andrews)

I like to end with a touch of humour:

Q:   If slow old men use walking sticks, what do fast old men use?

 A:  Hurry canes!  

So, can you Walk Tall?  (Val Doonican 1964)

Teg

A Moodscope member