In this TED Talk, Nilofer Merchant high lights what could harming us more than the so called Technology. Take a Listen!
Here are the highlights of the talk –
Note that these days , people are sitting 9.3 hours a day,which is more than we’re sleeping, at 7.7 hours. This could be killing us more than the Technology.
Lack of physical activity contributes to 10% chances of Breast Cancer and Colon cancer; 6% for heart disease and 7% for type 2 diabetes.
Start small, every step counts. Incorporate walking in your everyday life.
Try and promote more walking in organizations- try walking meeting.
Walk the talk!
Main take away – Little things can make big impact.
Here are a few things we can do and encourage others to do to be more active.
Parking your car a little farther and walking – make the most of it this summer 🙂
Take a brisk/short walk whenever possible while running errands
Using stairs instead of the elevator
Standing up instead of sitting
Stand up and/or walk when you are on the phone
Consider a standing desk if you can
Do not sit continuously for more than 20 mins; Stand up and walk every 20 mins
Happy Feet Walkers – Do you have any other suggestions that we can incorporate in our daily lives? Share it with us in the comments below. Stay active and encourage others to get active. Happy Walking!
Cool breezes caress your face, while the peaceful moonlight gives you a soft glow as you walk down a quiet street. The harsh heat and bright light of the morning sun always sends me running inside, but the nighttime moonlight calls to my soul. As the sun sets, I find myself moving towards the door. It is a chance to be outside with my family for an evening walk once dinner is done. Quiet discussions, giggles and thoughts are shared as we hold hands and walk down the street. Walking while I sweat in the afternoon sun makes me feel like I am exercising, but walking under the bright stars feels like a pleasurable treat.
I love bike riding at night by myself even more. The rush of biking in the darkness, with wind encouraging me to go faster and faster…. It feels like I can bike forever. The roads are empty, the houses are dark, the stars are shining and the moon is my only companion. Worries and stress melt into the darkness, and I only think of the joy of the ride.
I always loved walking. It gave me time to think and introspect my surroundings and made me an astute observer.
I started long walks to a beautiful temple samayapuram along the banks of river cauvery ,a 10 mile walk that was done barefoot in India. The tea stalls along the way would observe the religious walkers and offer us water on the way.
Fast forward 10 years in 2007 I walked for the 3 day walk for breast cancer. Walking 60 miles in 3 days I made so many friends and also gave a patient ear to the stories of those touched by breast cancer. Some lost a sister to cancer, some lost mothers and some survived. Our team leader was a survivor. The most touching moment was when I saw a group of girls walking for their father. Yes men can be affected by breast cancer too.
When Lakshmy and Namitha initiated this idea all of us jumped on it. Not because we were bandwagoners . This is a genuine idea that works. When you are getting the benefits of walking and friendship , why not go for it? We do a larger Saturday walk and smaller group walks when we are able to. Before I used to catch up on my work waiting for my teenager outside his music classes. Now I drop him and catch a quick 2 mile walk in 30 minutes. Happy feet helps multitasking as well.
Join us!#HappyFeetWalkersclub or www.facebook.com/happyfeetwalkersc
Since we walk for 2-4 miles on average which takes about 30 minutes to an hour. Here is a checklist that will be helpful for walking
1) App to monitor your workout
There are tons of fitness apps such as MapMyWalk, Pacer etc which help you track the miles. Download an app and start recording your walk
2) Mobile Phone: In case you are walking in the woods, need to reach someone always keep a phone and make sure it is well charged
3) Hydration
Carry water during all walks, make sure you are well hydrated. Long walks can enervate you , even if its cold outside hydrate well.
4) Bug Spray
Mosquitoes are quite common in this time of the year as well as in trails, carry some bug spray
5) Bandana or Hats
When it gets too hot I dip some water and cool my skin. This is quite helpful and protect yourself from direct sun with a hat or sunscreen
6) Whistle
If you are going for a hike in the forest or mountains this helps in calling attention if you are lost.
7) Smile
smile and observe the surroundings, enjoy the sky, enjoy the little rabbit running, the bird chirping and the flower blooming. Life is made of such beautiful moments.
I am lazy! There I said it. The Lazy Monster that lives within all of us is quite strong within me. I used to be more active but after moving to Chicago 5 years ago and quitting my job so that I could focus on my family, I simply let the Lazy Monster grow even bigger. (He really is quite ugly if you want to know!) When we first moved to Naperville, I joined a gym and was quite determined to be healthy, but as the days passed and that Lazy Monster started to roar, I felt like I would take a small, itsy-bitsy break. Surely after a week of rest I would go back to the gym – right? Wrong! The Lazy Monster got even stronger and I grew lazier. I quit my gym membership, full of promises that it would be easier to squeeze in exercise at home with exercise videos and Youtube……But I never did. The Lazy Monster had officially taken over my life. For those of you who have never seen this fellow (I think my friend Namitha may not have:) ) let me describe him for you – he is Big, LOUD, Persuasive, and constantly fills me with Self- Doubt.
When this group started, I have to say that I initially didn’t leap into it, of course that darn lazy monster was roaring in my ear with reasons as to why I would not succeed. But my friend Lakshmy actually took the time to call me and ask me why I still hadn’t agreed to join. I had no good excuse. Still I didn’t walk – I saw that the other girls were already walking so much – The Lazy Monster roared, “How will you keep up?” Finally after a week of watching the collages pile up, and people cheering each other on, I decided I would not make time to walk, but just walk when I was waiting for my kids to finish a class. So when my daughter had volleyball class, I took a walk with my son – only 1.5 miles. It felt AMAZING! AWESOME! I had given my Lazy Monster a swift kick in the butt.
The Happy Feet encouragement I got from my first walk was enough to keep me going. I walked again the next time I was sitting around waiting for my kids to finish a class. I went farther than before. Then I walked again the next day. I was kicking and punching my Lazy monster in the face and it felt GREAT! The next day I got out my beloved bike and went biking for a few miles – something I had not really done all summer. From that I time I have been walking or biking at least 4 to 5 times a week. Sometimes more but definitely not less.
My lazy monster has not left of course, but he is smaller, grumpier, and green with jealousy over all I have done. Most days I can’t hear him as I put on my walking shoes or pull out my bike because the voices of my fellow Happy Feet Ladies are so loud and strong.
If anyone else has let The Lazy Monster take over their life – join us and together we can help give it a swift punch in the gut and help you on the path to a happier, healthier YOU!
Hi, I am Garima ! Living in America for the past 14 years, super busy with married life and kids, I never gave importance to personal health.
Every New Year i made this resolution for being more active but actually never did. Being a stay at home mom I always found myself more surrounded with never ending list of jobs, more than any CEO of a big company.
But from the past one year life actually took a turn for good when I decided to go back to the gym and start workout.
But this wasn’t enough, working with a trainer I realized exercise is more fun when you have company.
Then suddenly I saw my super excited friend Namitha’s new adventure – A Walking Club. First I laughed in my heart thinking how can so many girls coordinate together to actually decide a place and then actually do the walk ?? It felt funny !!
I waited for 2-3 weeks and saw non-stop additions to the group. Daily collages actually made me realize that I was missing something.
The good part was the time and place is already decided by the admin for the Saturday walks so no time wastage in agreeing to 1 place by so many women (which is next to impossible).
Daily walk invitations by your neighborhood friends inspires you to walk with them or alone.
Having that extra social element with a personal benefit without spending a penny is not at all a bad deal.
And as per the human nature nothing worse is seeing other ladies get in shape and loose those extra pounds faster than you :).
The women of today are the busiest people that I know. They have a demanding schedule and are always on time crunch. They are always running around catering to the needs of others – be it family, friends, work and/or service. And most of them do not make time for themselves.
I was one of them – I was always busy with urgent things (everything these days seems to be on our urgent list) and I missed out on important things to take care of. I realized my health and well-being is being neglected. I needed to take time for myself to de-stress, get active and be healthy.
I was looking to get into an activity which lets me have my personal time without compromising the quality time with my family. I wanted someone to hold me accountable on any activity that I start. I was looking out for friends to be my accountability partner here. Taking this further, if I could find an accountability group, it will be even better. If it is a women’s group, woo-hoo! What more can I ask? In short, I was looking for a group of like-minded people to talk to, associate with, learn from and grow together. This will be relaxing for me and together we can all stay active, have fun and be fit. And in the process, I discovered Happy Feet Walking Club !!!
Happy Feet Walking Club is a group of women walking together who focus on personal health and encourage fitness in a fun way. We meet together every Saturday morning and walk together. We also encourage our family and friends to stay active by incorporating walking into our everyday lives.
If you would like to read more about the benefits of walking, click here.
I have met such amazing women from all walks of life here and we walk together. We each have unique strengths and together we complement one another. We learn from each other, we support, we inspire and we motivate one other to stay active and be healthy. I have found great set of minds to associate with and am very glad to be part of this awesome group.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friend, Rekha Narayan, who has introduced me to this group.
A recent study at Stanford found that walking, both indoors and outdoors, boosts creativity. Well known people like Steve Jobs and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg are known to incorporate walking meetings. You can read more about the Stanford study here. Be active, get creative.!
Now, its your turn. Come join us at Happy Feet – a walking club for women by women – stay active in a fun and friendly way.
