The Why
I ran into an old friend of mine a few days ago. I hadn’t seen her in years, and we hugged each other in excitement. We began catching up with each other by sharing stories about the last time that we saw each other, and we also discussed a few other topics. Then she asked me what I’ve been up to lately. The first thing that came to mind for me was how I have been relentlessly taking care of myself over the past few years. So, my immediate response was “Oh, I’ve just been taking care of myself… you know…healing and trying to be as healthy as I possibly can,” (In my highest and best “Hey girl, How are you?” voice). I might have lied just a tiny bit. I didn’t tell the whole truth, because we were in a store shopping and I just didn’t feel comfortable holding her “hostage”, so to speak, to tell her all about my journey. Maybe she’ll read this one day, but perhaps not – either is okay. I am also a very private person, so my telling this story even now isn’t easy for me, but I’m hoping that it might be able to help someone else. The truth is, I am absolutely enamored with taking care of myself!
In November 2020, I became ill suddenly. I mysteriously dropped 30 lbs. in one month, at what equated to losing 1 to 1 and 1/2 lbs. per day. I cannot even begin to put into words how frightening this was for me (and my family).
I could barely walk, and I could not drive. I was hospitalized and still found myself visiting the emergency room many times thereafter. Each time, I was undergoing major testing and then being sent home with my physicians being baffled at what was going on with me. I say baffled because I had three specialists in three different specialties, in addition to my regular physician, all of whom were unable to identify a specific cause for what I was experiencing health wise. They were also unable to pinpoint why I was having an adverse reaction to the medication that they prescribed me. It was bad. It was so bad that none of the specialists or my physician believed what I was telling them about what I was experiencing. I suppose perhaps that my experience was so unusual that maybe they thought that I was not telling the truth. I don’t know. Still, I don’t want to say that I was being gaslit, but that is what was, in all actuality, what seemed to be occurring. This is going to sound ridiculously crazy, but I even received phone calls from hospital personnel who I had never been introduced to in person, who were desperately trying to convince me to “just take the medicine” despite the fact that it was causing me to have a serious adverse reaction.
I could not believe what was happening. Neither could my spouse as he listened to these calls with me while they were on speakerphone. This was a very frustrating time for me, especially having been raised by a mother who worked in medicine in a professional capacity all of her adult life, and taught me a lot about taking care of my health. I, myself, also once worked in the healthcare field for some time, so believe me when I say that I have nothing against healthcare or the medical field. The frustration that I felt led me to seriously consider what I would do if and when I got better. In fact, it became my sole motivation to get better. I knew, however, that once I healed, God willing, I was going to have to make changes in my life; mainly because I did not want to ever have to experience what I was experiencing at that time – ever again.
Fast forward to February 2021. I began trying to walk as a way for me to take the initiative in my own health and well-being. I needed to get back into life, off the couch and out of the bed. I wasn’t my usual self. Every day was just a day in which I wondered if I would make it to the next one. I was just trying to focus on healing in private.
I stopped taking prescription medication, (because it made me feel worse than when I wasn’t taking it), changed physicians, and began seeing a holistic health practitioner and a holistic nutritionist on the side. It was a bit pricey, but that would end up being one of the best decisions and investments that I have ever made for myself, and in myself.
During that time I learned quite a bit about nutrition, herbs and spices, vitamins, minerals and I even learned ways to heal and care for my vagus nerve, sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system. I was also already enrolled in yoga teacher training, but had to postpone my certification final because of my health at that time. Since I could barely walk, that also meant that I could not practice yoga asana either. Heck, there were moments that I could barely stand. Yet, there were aspects of yoga that I kept up with because they were the only things that I could do, (with regard to yoga), that helped me a great deal. Those things are meditation, mudras, chakra sound healing, ayurveda and pranayama. I credit my general knowledge of those aspects of yoga with being a formidable part of my wellness journey.
Please note that I am not advising anyone to utilize any of these same methods to help heal themselves because I am not a physician, nor am I providing medical advice. I am just sharing what worked for me, and my personal story of healing because it is relative to my personal journey of why I started walking 10,000 steps a day. As a caveat, I would advise anyone who might be considering trying anything that I mention in this post to please consult with your physician before doing so.
Moreover, please note that there are many additional points and details about my condition, and the situation that I experienced that I have decided to leave out of this post, and not share here for reasons related to privacy. This is something that you should also take into consideration before trying anything in this post without consulting your physician.
Baby Steps
As wonderful as all of these healing modalities were for me, they are not in alignment with the topic of this blog post. What I really want to place my focus on, and share with you is the subject of walking. More specifically – my dedication to walking 10,000 steps a day as a daily routine, and how you can start a similar walking regimen like this of your own.
Walking is so underrated. It is an exercise that is low-impact, but good for your heart and circulation. It is a weight-bearing exercise that is also as good for your lungs, as it is for your heart. It can help to lower your blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, improve your balance and coordination, strengthen bones and muscles, reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and high stress levels, help you lose weight and improve overall energy.
When I started my commitment to walking, I made a promise to myself to just walk at least 500 steps a day. It was hard for me at first because walking was very difficult for me to maintain without having my health condition flare up. However, I figured that I had nothing to lose, and everything to gain if I just pushed through it and began by taking baby steps.
Those 500 steps were some of the slowest steps that I have ever taken in my life, but lucky for me – I had nothing but time. It didn’t matter that my steps were slow. The only thing that mattered was that I was trying, and not sitting on my behind doing nothing but wasting away. I was determined to get back to my old self, or something even better.
After successfully achieving those 500 steps for a while, it would be two weeks later that I would begin my move to walking 1,000 steps a day. My steps continued to steadily increase each month – slowly, but surely. By March 2021 my average steps per day were up to 2,300, and by the end of summer that year I was walking 4,200 steps a day.
Today my steps per day average anywhere between 10,000 and 13,000 steps, depending upon how much time I am able to dedicate to my daily steps due to work or other tasks.
How You Can Implement A Similar Walking Practice Into Your Daily Schedule
Walking 10,000 steps a day can be quite challenging to achieve. Especially if you lead a busy life, or have a lot of other responsibilities. Making 10,000 steps a day a priority in your daily schedule takes a great deal of motivation and dedication – even a little bit of encouragement on some days – but I promise you that if you prioritize walking 10,000 steps a day, and put it in your calendar or to-do list, or better yet just make it a daily habit that you do before you start your day, after you eat dinner, or any other time that works with your schedule, and do it every day; you will find that it won’t be very long before it becomes a habit.
Try committing to it for 21 – 30 days to start. Then just keep it up. Personally, I am so used to getting my 10,000 steps in daily now because I started by making it a part of my daily morning routine right after brushing my teeth, washing my face, showering, getting dressed for the day, practicing yoga and eating breakfast. I have been doing this so long that it actually feels strange whenever I don’t start my day in this order.
You might be wondering if it is okay to take a day off from walking. My answer to that is a resounding, “Yes!” Breaks are very important if you are to sustain your 10,000 steps a day as a daily practice. It may also be good for your body to take a day off from walking. However, I have to admit that when first I started walking, I didn’t take any days off – but it was a lot easier for me to do that at that time since my daily step average back then hadn’t yet quite reached 10,000.
Nowadays, my body will let me know that walking 10,000 steps for 7 days straight deserves at least one day off, and my knees, calves, thighs and back usually appreciate it when I do take a break. However, there aren’t very many weeks in which I actually take a day off if I can help it. I will sometimes do somewhere between 1,500 – 5,000 steps in lieu of doing zero steps on my off days, unless I feel as though my body and mind really need the full break.
Another question that I often get asked is, “What do you do on days in which there is inclement weather?” Well, my response to that question is that I walk indoors. So, there is no excuse for me not to get my steps in. In instances when I am not able to walk outdoors, I will walk the whole perimeter of my home indoors, (Yes, you read that correctly, I will walk the whole perimeter of my home). This could also be done on a treadmill if you have one. Unfortunately for me, I gave mine to Good Will a couple of years ago, but as you can see, that hasn’t stopped me from my personal commitment to completing my daily steps. I really meant it when I said that I am enamored with taking care of myself.
It used to take me 5 hours or more to complete 10,000 steps a day. Now it takes me about 2 – 3 hours if I walk non-stop, but sometimes when I am pressed for time, and have work to do, I will break my walk into sections where I will complete the first 5,000 steps early in the day, and then finish the final 5,000 steps or more later the same day at a time when it’s more convenient for me. I just make sure to complete those final 5,000 steps before 11:59 pm. You can also try breaking the steps up into 3 parts or 4 parts even. I have found that breaking the steps down into more manageable step amounts can be really helpful in remaining dedicated to getting 10,000 steps in a day. If this is something that interests you then I highly recommend that you give it a try – after consulting your physician.
In Closing
So, as you can see making a commitment to walk 10,000 steps a day can be easy. All it takes is a little serious interest in wanting to complete 10,000 steps a day, and maybe, (as in my case), a great big wake-up call.
I am not saying that walking 10,000 steps a day cured me. What I can say for sure, however, is that it didn’t hurt me in any way and contributed to my feeling healthier than I have in decades.
Lastly, if you have any other tips for getting 10,000 steps in a day, or if you are starting your own 10,000 steps a day practice, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to comment in the comments section or message me from the contact page.
Thank you for reading.
Until the next time…
Take care and be well.
Carol
Salubrity and Soul 