All that walking…

My body wanted different things as the years went by. No more hours in the gym and subsequent pool laps, no more pushing to failure with my weight sets and three variation of lunges squeezed in. All that effort and my face remained inflamed, my pre-menstrual tension at an all time peak. It just wanted to slow down and in compensation I took up walking.

Going in several circles at a local man-made park which doubles as a catchment area hardly sounds enticing but I found a time that suited me. Walking at dusk meant I saw a different and subdued part of the park that just an hour before will be replete with kids, amblers, and joggers from the community.

All that night walking only meant that I had the path all to myself. No pricking up my ears for heaving runners and whizzing wheels coming up from behind. Occasionally I would catch a breeze or two as I crossed the bridged waterway. If I am lucky, I get to say my hellos to R; a 16 year old retriever mix who is at the end of his life and his laconic septuagenarian owner. Or perhaps I would catch F who feeds the two stray mongrel siblings almost every evening.

Nothing too exciting happens at night which is perfect for me. Here, I can walk without much thought and concentrate on deep breaths. Over time the walks became faster and thus the rounds increased. I learnt to walk without any auditory input and to be present in the balmy evening.

All that walking meant I lost my muscle mass but also had some sustainable fat loss. The weight never changed but the body was also much softer. The minded reps and sets militant is now a subdued twit coursing the park path like a wraith :)

All that walking helped me in my conscious battle against insulin-resistant polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The long slow metabolic burn from the muscles requires more energy. This prompts the insulin in my body to be more sensitive in ‘escorting’ all that glucose into the muscle to be used as energy. As a result, my blood sugar is kept well-regulated because the insulin is constantly on its toes and is not frustratingly resistant or de-sensitised.

I never thought of myself as a walker. Way too boring and mundane. However, circumstances have allowed me to enjoy the simple pleasure in it. As I walk I take in the ever-changing course in life and nature and learn to accept it as they are. The toddler in the stroller will soon be running everywhere. R will soon come to pass. My favourite look-out deck will have its wood bleached, concaved and rotting away. The reeds grow, the reeds get a massive lopping, and they grow again resplendently. Time stands still when I walk and yet in the grand macrocosm of things, everything still goes on and I too contribute to that effect. Let us call this ‘real observation’ from a witness perspective :)

I wish you many simple, pleasurable, new found joys. Spring is upon us and hope springs eternal…