I’m going to be honest with you my fellow strollers, I’ve started 2024 feeling sorry for myself. I’m no lover of January at the best of times especially when the sunny days are a rarity amongst the grey, dreary ones. This year the sense of ennui has been exacerbated as the cold I had before Christmas had had such a lovely time with me that it decided to come back, bringing with it the hacking cough that I had only just recovered from which then led to me pulling a rib muscle. Hence feeling sorry for myself.
However while I’ll allow myself to paddle in self-pity, I refuse to wallow as the deeper you go the harder it is to come back. So ok I didn’t get to go on any long walks during the festive break but you know what I did do? I relaxed, I watched classic Agatha Christie films and the new Indiana Jones. I ate, and then I ate some more and while it wasn’t exactly what I planned for my time off it was still a lovely break.
The pulled rib muscle means I haven’t quite been able to return to my normal routine. I’m sure in the past the answer would have been bed-rest but today staying still or laying down for long periods of time is on the no-no list. For the most part it is just carry on as normal, take a painkiller if it gets too painful and it should heal itself within 4 to 6 weeks. However while movement is good you obviously shouldn’t do anything too strenuous which is going to aggravate the pain, which eventually brings me back to walking.
I’ve commented before that while I know walking is great exercise, that is not the main reason I go for walks and that I do other activities for my physical health. Like a lot of people just the thought of ‘exercise’ makes me groan as it sounds like a chore but actually once you find an activity that gets you moving and keeps you fit then it’s a great way to start the day and mine is usually Tae-Bo. It’s a mixture of kicking and punching, which is fun to do and as well as getting you moving it can also be a great way to channel any anger or frustration you may have pent up. That said it’s not the best thing to be doing at the moment, I can imagine myself either squealing in pain or simply falling over if I tried to attempt a roundhouse.
I also enjoy yoga as not only does it get you moving it stretches you out and is very relaxing. You might think it’s a nice, gentle activity to do with a sore rib but then when you think about some of the poses and positions, well it makes me wince to imagine trying to go into a half-moon, triangle or camel pose so no for the time being yoga will be off the table as well.
You know what is still possible though? Walking. Hooray! So ironically the quickest way to get me back to feeling healthy enough to do a long, country walk is by going for a walk. If the weather, or time, are against me then I do have a step platform so I can do the indoor (more boring) alternative of going for a walk. In this way walking is a bit like those classic films I mentioned or a favourite old sweatshirt, whatever else I get up to it’s always there for me to come back to – familiar, comforting and reliable.
Therefore, if I was going to be bold enough to claim to have a mission it would be that by sharing my experiences and random musings on walking I will encourage people to walk more. Hopefully by extolling the multitude of benefits that walking offers someone will be inspired to give it a go and try walking a bit more often. They may not necessarily become a regular walker but step by step they will come to realise that when the usual routine isn’t possible then ‘going for a walk’ is another option when looking for alternative ways to move more, to relax or simply to get from A to B.
That’s how I stroll.
Soothing Strolls 
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