It’s been a long time, but I am bringing back my Self-Care Sunday blog posts!! I had so much fun with them before, that I decided that after about a year, I would bring them back! With that being said, let’s get into this week’s item of self-care; taking a walk!

Now, this post is not really to highlight the concept of walking for exercise purposes; however, this is more of an idea to help ease tension, calm down in stressful moments, or just take a minute to get some fresh airy. Have you ever been in a situation where you just needed to walk away? I have on several occasions. I’ve found that the quickest way to calm myself down is to walk away from the situation and breathe. Walking sort of takes my focus off of what initially made me upset, and it also gives me time to calm my nerves and come back to a situation in a more rational headspace. Where I work, I have the ability to be able to step outside and walk up and down a sidewalk if I need to. Other times, I’ve taken a walk up or down the stairs or went to a different location in our building just to have a moment away. It usually helps instantly!

I don’t want to only use walking for stressful situations, because you can take a walk at any time. If you wake up one morning and want to take in nature, or get some fresh air to start your day, taking a quick walk around your neighborhood or at a nearby park can be just the boost you need to start your day on a productive note. The walk can be as long or short as you need to; there’s definitely no right or wrong answer for the time you need to unwind.

Here are some quick benefits to adding walking to your list of self-care tools:

• It releases endorphins to help boost your mood!
• It is a means of exercise!
• It can help reduce symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety!
• It boosts creativity!
• it promotes mindfulness and enjoying the “present moment”!

If you feel it is something that can benefit you in your journey to self-care, I urge you to try it at some point this week and see how it works for you!