Why Walk? For the Joy

"Now shall I walk or shall I ride? 

'Ride,' Pleasure said; 

'Walk,' Joy replied." 

W.H. Davis

My sister in law and I spent the weekend in Chattanooga at the  Choo Choo hotel. This hotel is located in the original train terminal and you can even sleep in an restored Pullman train car.  We stayed in a regular room  because the Pullman cars only have a queen bed. We like each other but not that much!!! And to be truthful we got a pretty cheap Groupon deal on a regular room.

This  the front of the old terminal. It now serves as the hotel lobby.

Anyway the neat thing about this city is that they have FREE public transportation. The bus comes by every 5 minutes and you can hop on and hop off anywhere you like. Even so we decided to use our feet and walk the city.

We got lost along the way and had a heck of a time finding the visitor's center. The funny thing is if we'd had taken the bus like everyone else it would have dropped us off right at the visitor's center.  But what fun is that?

The nice thing about walking is that you get to see things that you might not see from the window of a bus. You really get an up close look at the city.

A few of the things we saw that we wouldn't have seen from the bus...

This was a neat little shop that was off the main street AND we found a geocache with a travel bug hidden here.

As we were walking we saw this sign for the Murder Mystery Dinner Show and decided to come back for the 7 o'clock show. BTW the food was delicious but I have to say the show was corny. Funny but corny.

We could have seen this fountain with the fireman on the top from the bus...

But we wouldn't have been able to read the sign explaining what it was for.

And we got a good laugh at this.  If only the shop had been open we could have walked in and bought some memory. Maybe it would have helped us not to get lost...

And finally the real joy that comes from walking. 

We split this and since we walked about 7 miles each day we didn't even feel bad about it.

Well, we didn't feel bad about the first piece of cake but the second piece, the cupcakes and the almond horns from the German bakery now that's another story...Not sure how far we'd need to walk to make up those calories. 

Next time you're in a new city, get off the bus and use your feet! You may be surprised at what you find.

Why Walk? Pain Relief

I'm always interested in reading about ways walking can and does improve the quality of life.

Headache Relief: Six Tricks to Ease the Pain by Megan Johnson appeared  in US News & World Report, One of the six tricks they listed for headache relief was moderate exercise such as walking and biking. 

"Thirty minutes of walking, biking, or other moderate physical activity at least three times a week is good for managing headaches, says Richard Lipton, a neurologist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. Exactly how exercise helps isn't clear, he says. It may reduce stress, a recognized cause of headaches"

An article by Patrick J. Skerrett in Harvard Health Publications had this to say about walking and arthritis pain:

"Taking a walk on most days of the week can actually ease arthritis pain and improve other symptoms. It’s also good for the heart, brain, and every other part of the body."

Finally something many of us may have experienced first hand. Walking helps to ease pain during labor. I certainly remember walking the halls with each of my children praying they'd soon make their appearance!

From the book Easing Labor Pain: The Complete Guide to a More Comfortable and Rewarding Birth, the author, Adrienne B. Lieberman, states:

"A British study comparing mothers who walked during labor to mothers who stayed in bed demonstrated that walking not only shortened labor but also reduced pain and the need for medication."


These are just a few examples about how adding moderate exercise like walking can reduce pain or at least make it more bearable. 

Next time I have a headache I'm going to  reach for my sneakers and try a 30 minute walk!

Why Lace Up and Walk?

"A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action"

We can talk about getting more exercise. We can read about the importance of adding movement to our day. We can dream and talk about going places and enjoying new foods. We can even pray about meeting new people and having new cultural experiences.

But as they say talk is cheap, dreams are just dreams and sometimes God expects us to step out of our comfort zone!

"The distance between your dreams and reality is called action." 

So that's my attitude. Just put on my shoes, lace them up and go. It doesn't matter if it's out my front door for a 20 minute walk around my neighborhood or to grab a bag and take a trip  to walk somewhere I've never been.

Our talk and dreams only become reality when we get up and go.

So take the first step today. Lace up your sneakers and take a walk. You won't know what your missing until you take that first step!

Where will your feet take you today?