It was Earth Day this week. A time to celebrate “a brilliant jewel in the black velvet sky” (Buzz Aldrin, astronaut, looking at the Earth from space in 1969)
So I took a walk in my neighborhood to appreciate the gifts Mother Earth has given us. My neighbor Lisa does a beautiful job of gardening. Her phlox is blooming riotously as her perennials are waking up from the long winter. Her gentle turtle has returned to the lawn, a peaceful sentinel. Daffodills and forsythia brighten the yards of houses that I pass.
It seems like the perfect day to talk about brain health because if our brain isn’t functioning, then we’re not going to take proper care of this planet. And we need to do that! It’s essential.
Last week I mentioned how research has shown that we have plastic in our bodies. If you didn’t catch that one, go back and look at it. We’re getting to a flexion point where It’s absolutely essential that we start to turn inward and see what it is we can do, each one of us, to promote our own good health, take care of ourselves. nurture ourselves so that we can be good stewards of the Earth.
A 2018 study showed that walking lowers your risk of depression by a third. Isn’t that something? As I walk, I pass a large rock formation. Here on the north shore of Long Island we have huge rocks all over the place, left by the glacier that receded 21000 years ago.
There’s an enormous group of boulders, 8 feet high, near the abandoned nuclear power plant in Shoreham that native peoples consider an energy vortex. An Earth Day ceremony is held there every year.
My house is at the end of the street where a stand of woods leads to the water. The Japanese red maple tree on my front lawn is just starting to leaf out, filling my heart with the promise of warm summer breezes.
I walk to my backyard and take a seat on a bench as I gaze up at the 15 foot yews that reach to the sky along the fence line. Brain health, right? That’s what we started to talk about.
There’s a protein in the brain called BDNF, (brain derived neurotrophic factor) which is responsible for rewiring and building new neural pathways. Walking stimulates its production. Scientists say it might even lower our risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Are
you concerned about that? Another good reason to get out there and take a walk!
Walking lowers physical weakness and mental fatigue from stress, strangely enough. After all, your body may feel tired and maybe you’re a little out of breath, but you feel energized. That’s the amazing thing about it. Just sit down and catch your breath for a couple of minutes and then you’re ready to go again.
Everything I’m telling you is from studies and research that have been proven true.
Walking builds your hippocampus, the part of your brain responsible for forming and storing memories. How’s your memory? Mine isn’t great but I do remember the things I need to remember. So you want to build up those hippocampus muscles!
I just love nature; the creatures that traverse it, the plants that spring up from the soil, the sun and moon that light the way, the life-giving water that falls from the sky.
One of the favorite things I learned about walking is that it improves creativity. Famous actors, writers, philosophers, scientists, all of these people, have talked about the importance of walking for clearing up your mental blocks, those things that prevent us from moving ahead.I never worry about creativity. I never get blocked. People talk about writer’s block. I’ve never had that. Maybe that’s because I walk. It helps keep my creativity flowing.
A study at Stanford University in 2014 showed that walking increases your creative output up to 60%. Wow. I don’t know how they figured that out. But OK!
The last thing I want to say about walking is that it’s just plain fun.😊 It’s always an adventure. I never know what’s going to happen. For example, the other day, I came upon a neighbor out raking her lawn. I’ve never met her before. She stopped raking and smiled at me so i stopped and we began to converse. Before you could say, ”I’ve got a new friend,” we exchanged numbers and a couple of days later we went on a nature hike with Wildman Steve Brill in Sunken Meadow State Park! So walking is pure delight!
To sum it up, walking is good for you—it has proven health giving benefits for your body, brain and spirit. And when you nurture your brain, you release stress and think more clearly which enables you to act more responsibly for yourself, your relationships, your business, and your planet.
MarciaGrace
Everything Begins with a Thought,
So monitor your thoughts and eliminate the ones that hurt.
If you want to know more about the program that I’m putting together called “Waking with Spirit” to help connect with your inner wisdom so that you can find your calm in the midst of the chaos, just message me or email me at becalm@marciagrace.com
I’m here for you and I want you to know that you have all the answers you need within you, even if the answer you get is, “Go get help from so and so.” That answer will send you in the right direction so you can be the calm, creative, joyful, and successful entrepreneur you are meant to be!
By now I hope you know that I teach busy entrepreneurs how to start the day with intention and an Abundance Mentality. If you would like to have a 30-minute chat with me about the stress that is keeping you from the success that an abundant and calm mentality will offer you, you will find my calendar here to set up a time: www.calendly.com/MarciaGrace
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