Ciao -
I’m sure everyone has heard of the infamous ‘10,000 steps a day’ that plagued the entire internet for at least two years; the epitome of health and wellness, the gold standard of all fitness influencers, and the newest guilty downfall of everyone in an office from 9-5, which is most of us.
Now, I’m not discounting 10,000 steps a day, or saying that daily walking is overrated or not something to implement into a routine. There are many benefits and perks of increasing daily walking distance and steps, all of which we will get into. My goal for this particular newsletter instead is to remove the guilt and the ‘should’ or ‘have too’ for something even as simple and easy as increasing daily steps, or putting pressure on to achieve 10,000 steps when maybe your body isn’t ready for that jump. While the health and fitness industry can be a wonderful asset, it also has the potential to do more harm than good in terms of guilt tripping and setting impossible standards, so any and all of it should be taken with a grain of salt.
It is no secret that the pillar of health includes movement. Something about movement reminds us that we are alive - living, breathing, thriving. Our bodies are fantastically skillful, adept, and capable. As stated in the first episode of this series, linked below, movement is beautifully individualistic, which is so empowering and freeing.
With all of that being said and the right mindset established, let’s get into the wonderful benefits of increasing daily steps to show the enticing value of implementing more. I enjoy thinking of daily steps, especially outside, as a little shot of all encompassing wellness, like those turmeric and ginger shots that make you feel as if you really have your life together. Walking is one of the most natural movements we can partake in at any stage of life - it increases blood flow to all areas of the body, stretches muscles, strengthens ligaments and tendons, supports proper digestion, wakes up the organs, deepens the breath. Walking is a great way to increase metabolic function from higher caloric expenditure, which is the bodies natural way of burning the food we need for fuel. It also gives a fantastic mental boost by decreasing cortisol (stress juice) and increasing serotonin (happy juice) along with melatonin (sleep juice), which is perfect for your bodies natural defenses but also for creating a natural circadian rhythm for quality sleep.
Increasing daily steps, whether that be 10,000 steps a day or 1,000 more than usual, is an easy way to encourage proper functioning of the body through the movement pillar of health. I encourage you to implement more steps into your routine, as you will feel the benefits. Maybe instead of taking the elevator, you take the stairs, or instead of sitting for hours without standing, you can take a 10 minute walk break whenever you feel antsy. Maybe after work some days you can take a walk around your block with the dog or on a Saturday morning after a good breakfast you can walk a few miles and enjoy the weekend.
Prioritizing movement, whatever that may be for you, and maybe starting with getting more steps in, is prioritizing yourself, and that is always worth it.
Food for thought,
Lai