52 Take Your Busy Mind for a Walking Meditation

Hi, welcome to RxChill Pill, the podcast where you strengthen your resilience every time you listen. I'm Dr. Juna Bobby MD, I'm a physician and mom specializing in mind-body and lifestyle medicine. I hope you're doing well today. I know we're all kind of sitting on the edge of our seats, and I have to admit, the old me would have been unable to focus on anything else really. Except for waiting for the election results and just maybe chewing my fingers. I used to chew my cuticles until they bled. But I have a new habit now. So when we went into quarantine back in the spring, I started walking every single day. Then I had my husband join me. So we've been walking every single day, rain or shine. In the morning before he goes to work, sometimes at the crack of dawn, sometimes later. And we really haven't missed a day. We usually walk around 2.22 miles. I started that on Mother's Day with the tribute to Ahmaud Arbery. We kept that up for about a few months, and now we just get out there and walk as much as we can. If you don't think walking is exercise, Think again. Walking is the ultimate moderate exercise, and it's much less prone to injury than running. So even if you're a runner, you might want to incorporate some walking into your regimen. A German researcher did a meta-analysis of 38 studies, meaning that they looked at 38 research studies, and the data showed that, quote, regular physical activity over longer time is strongly associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality in active subjects compared to sedentary persons. There is a dose-response curve, especially from sedentary subjects to those with mild and moderate exercise, with only a minor additional reduction with further increase in activity level. So let me translate that for you. It means that you're much less likely to drop dead if you exercise. And there's a dose-response curve, meaning that The more you exercise, the more benefit you get. And this benefit was most significant for the people who were couch potatoes, sedentary, who started to do mild to moderate exercise, meaning 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise 5 days a week. And research shows that you can get benefits even if you break the 30 minutes down into 10-minute segments. If that's not enough reason for you, Tal Ben-Shahar, positive psychologist, says not exercising is like taking a depressant. And indeed, Michael Babiak of Duke University did a research study showing that exercise for 16 weeks had patients with major depressive disorder improve their condition, and it was as helpful as the most powerful antidepressant. It also helped with relapse too. Keep in mind, this was not studied on psychotic patients or suicidal patients. So I invite you to take a break and walk with me. Just 30 minutes, or break it up into 10-minute segments. In this walking meditation, you will start to match your breath to your walk. So hit pause and come back when you're ready to walk. This is an action meditation, so you're actually going to be meditating as you walk. Ready to go? Put on your timer for 10 minutes or 30 minutes, whatever you prefer. Take a deep breath in and out of your nose. Feel the temperature of the outdoor air. Or if you're inside on a treadmill, the indoor air. You can even just walk around your house if you don't have a treadmill. So breathe in and walk, and breathe out of your nose, walking, and start to find a rhythm of your steps. Just notice a rhythm of your step and your breath. And now start to match your breath to the rhythm of your walk. Breathe in for 4 counts. 1, 2, 3, 4. Breathe out for 4 counts. 1, 2, 3, 4. Pick your own rhythm, noticing how many steps you take in the 4 counts inhaling and the 4 counts exhaling. Even out those steps. On the inhale and on the exhale, taking the same number of steps. So even inhale to exhale. The same number of steps on the inhale, same number of steps on the exhale. And if you haven't found a rhythm, that's fine. Just keep trying to feel that rhythm. I usually start on the inhale on my left foot and start the exhale on my left foot too. Whatever works for you. So once you get into the rhythm, you can speed up your walking pace so you get more steps in per 4-count inhale and the 4-count exhale. And as you slow down your walking pace at times, you can get less steps in per inhale and less steps in per exhale. Now, if your mind wanders or you drift off and forget, thinking about other things, no worries, just come right back. Come right back to counting on your inhale and exhale and getting into that rhythm with your steps. This is the walking meditation. Knowing when your mind is wandering and gently and playfully bringing it back to the breath, back to the breath matched to your walk. This is not only going to get you all the physical benefits, but it's going to increase your attention neuronal connections. This is not only exercise for your body, but exercise to increase your focus muscles. So no matter how many times you wander off or forget about counting or matching the rhythm, it's perfectly fine. And just keep coming back. Keep walking without me. Put on your favorite music. Maybe there's a good beat. Keep going for the rest of your 10 or 30 minutes. I hope you got some excellent fresh air and have fun. Have fun with this rhythm and let me know how it goes. Email me at podcast@mindbodyspace.com. Until next time, this is Dr. Juna wishing you and your loved ones wellness, and I thank you so much for spending this time with me.