Mental health walks

I started taking regular walks on Saturday or Sunday mornings (the day depends on what else we have going on) when I switched Ladder teams and the new team had Zone 2 cardio on Saturdays. My new team doesn't have this walking day, but I use the Sunday flex day to add a walking workout to my weekly line-up.

I'd love to say that I take that time to meditate, but I'm not there yet. I try to at least make it a mindful walk, taking in the nature and really feeling my body. I usually listen to the 10% Happier podcast with Dan Harris with one ear bud in because my town is safe but I trust no one.

I used to push myself on these walks; making sure I was getting my heart rate up and putting in enough effort to call it exercise. Somewhere along the way, I dropped the need for my walks to feel like work. Now, I just walk at whatever my regular pace is and enjoy it for what it is– a space to be with the ducks and my podcast and sunshine and air and humidity and the sound of cars passing by. It's very peaceful, I swear.

There was a time when a couple of baby alligators found their way into the pond. The ducks didn't dare go in the water. I got a very cool picture of one of them from the gazebo. There are plenty of turtles in the pond and various types of birds (should I get into birding?) and it's always so fun when the ducklings hatch and there are little baby ducks everywhere.

So yeah, that's my typical Saturday or Sunday morning routine. I go for a walk around the reservoir in the middle of town, but a short walk from my house. It's kind of like Thibodaux's own Central Park, but much, much, smaller.

~SarahRou