Tag Archives: Walking

Ushasri's Wit

In a walking slump? Don’t give up!

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Sometimes despite our best intentions, we find that we have lost our motivation to walk.  It honestly happens to everyone.  We have to stop for a week when we go on vacation or someone has fallen sick. We have visitors who have come from out of town  or there is too much work to do. The list is endless as to why we suddenly don’t have the time to walk. Once we stop walking,  it like our engine has been turned off.  No matter how many times we turn the key, and start a walk, it just doesn’t seem to ignite our walking engine.  We might do one walk here or there, but we can’t seem to get ourselves moving on a regular basis.  Then the guilt starts and every single day that we see others walking we think about why we aren’t walking.

If you are like me and feeling the guilt pile up day after day, take a deep breath.  The first thought might be to just give up.  After all it is easy for all of us to just drop out of the club, since we don’t pay any monthly membership dues.  But would that stop the guilt?  Would that actually help your health? The obvious answer is no.  So the next question to ask yourself is how to pull yourself out of the walking slump.

The answer is the Happy Feet game of tag! One of the unique things that has started in our club recently is our tagging system.  By tagging people to just walk only 200 steps or 10 minutes, the time and dedication needed for a longer walk is alleviated.  Everyone can participate.  If someone tags you, don’t ignore it.  Don’t put it off until “later”, because if you are in a slump then “later” never happens! 200 steps takes as little as 5 minutes depending on how fast you walk.  Even if you are on a conference call or making dinner, you can walk 200 steps easily.

The second step to becoming motivated is going to the Saturday walks.  These walks are an essential part of our club.  They give us all a chance to not just walk but to become re-energized by our friends. Let your fellow club members give you the motivation to start walking again.  Make a Happy Feet Friend close to your neighborhood and set a specific time that you will meet for a weekly walk.  Start with just one walk a week and build up from there.

The next steps is collages.  You might feel that the collages are a waste of time, but think of it as record of your effort, your time, and meeting your own goals.  There are of course weekly challenges to help make the collages even more interesting, but the core of the collage is saying that YOU are important enough to set aside time for YOURSELF.   We often hesitate to take a selfie – but why should we? It doesn’t matter how you look or what you wear, YOU are beautiful !

So the next time you find yourself in a walking slump, follow these steps and I promise that you will be back to walking everyday and feeling great. Remember your Happy Feet Friends will be happy to help you every “step” of the way!

Ushasri's Wit

My obsession with Happy Feet and Walking

Most people go on vacation to just relax, enjoy the scenery and spend time with their families.  But this past September as my family and I went on vacation to London, I was all about the steps and walking.  Happy Feet had become so ingrained in me that I did not want to miss the opportunity to not only get my steps in but to faithfully compete on challenges.  So I made sure my Fitbit was charged and as I woke up to leave for the airport I was ready.

I faithfully wore my Fitbit every single day, took pictures and through the magic of WiFi even uploaded collages at night.  Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, the Crown Jewels, the London Museum of Art, Madam Tussards, and the London Eye- all of these were places where you needed to walk in order to see them.  The walking never stopped!  Even at night as my feet ached, I found myself taking an evening stroll by myself through Trafalgar Square, just to get in more steps. We travelled to Scotland and my family wanted to relax in hotel  after walking all day in Edinburgh but I offered to walk down and get snacks for everyone.

It was crazy!  I was obsessed with Happy Feet!  But for once my obsession was healthy.  Happy Feet is not just about steps and challenges it is about making permanent changes in your daily habits to include walking.  Once the walking becomes a daily habit – you just feel like doing more and more because you start to feel healthier. It is cycle of improving health, vitality and happiness.

So as the holidays roll closer and you consider taking a vacation ,  I hope that you can also say that while you enjoyed the sights and experience, you found out that you too were obsessed about Happy Feet and walking!

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The London Bridge from the outside with the bridge road opened to let a magnificent sailing ship through.  Then we walked on the bridge across the top – Check out my floating feet and the road below! I can’t guarantee that all Happy Feet adventures will lead to flying but they might 🙂

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Namitha's Notions

Nature’s Canvas

As I walked,
The prairie path today,
Nature’s canvas,
Just blew me away.

So many colors,
So many shades,
You could guess some,
And there still will be more.

Browns and greens of the grass,
That stands proud and tall,
Yellows and pinks of flowers,
That bloom big and small.

So many shades of the sky,
In the colour blue,
Dotted with white clouds,
Someday many, someday few.

Colours and patterns bountiful,
On butterflies floating by,
Orange stripes on a black snake,
That just slithered by.

The colours of the meadow,
So serene and beautiful,
Make my mind calm
And my soul peaceful.

#happyfeetwalkersclub,
Gave me a chance,
To appreciate on every walk,
Nature’s vividly painted canvas.

Ushasri's Wit

Friendship + Saturday Morning Walks = Healthy Women

There is a reason why Happy Feet has grown so quickly from just a handful of members to 75 women just in 3 months and that reason is simply Friendship.  Friendship and support is the glue that holds all of us together.  Actually studies have shown that women need friends to be healthy! “Scientists now suspect that hanging out with our friends can actually counteract the kind of stomach-quivering stress most of us experience on a daily basis. A landmark UCLA study suggests that women respond to stress with a cascade of brain chemicals that cause us to make and maintain friendships with other women.”

While all of us enjoy walking alone and with our families, I think the biggest boost in energy and spirit comes from our weekly Saturday morning walks.  These Saturday morning walks are a chance for us all to come together and simply enjoy each other’s company.  The laughter and joy that can be heard on Saturday mornings is not only loud but contagious! We need each other to keep the momentum going.  The next time you feel like skipping the Saturday morning walk – just remember that you are actually doing yourself a disservice.  While all of us would like to sleep, the benefits of walking with friends, far outweighs the negative aspects of waking up at 5:30am. This Saturday put on your shoes, your red Happy Feet shirt and head out of the door – your friends are waiting!

 

Source: http://www.anapsid.org/cnd/gender/tendfend.html

Namitha's Notions

Overcast or shine… 6 mi your mine

One day as I was lacing my shoes to walk,
Doubts were running in my mind amok,
Will I be able to make the everyday walk,
Or everything I did was just talk?

As I turned on my app and stepped outside,
I was greeted by overcast and dull skies,
A step ahead and it started to rain,
“Go back inside” it seemed to claim.

I took shelter under a tree,
“Let’s walk a mile and then see”
I convinced my mind to keep going,
Though against me were elements divine.

The moment I stepped on the daily path,
Mile one came up soon and fast,
“Another mile won’t do any harm”
I was feeling uplifted and calm.

By miles two and three,
The clouds cleared and sun shone on me,
There was a coolness in the air,
And my feet walked faster there.

As I covered miles four and five,
My confidence rose and stride was back,
My phone was clicking pictures galore,
I was looking forward to the collage score.

My #happyfeetwalkersclub friends,
As I saw the familiar door,
The motivation was so sublime,
Overcast or shine.. 6 mi your mine.

Ushasri's Wit

Walk while doing everyday tasks and see the miles add up!

Have you been thinking that there are not enough hours in the day for all the tasks that need to get done AND to walk?  We are all multi-tasking ladies, so I have been thinking about how to add walking to my daily tasks.  Consider for example how much “walking” is done in the grocery store. The other day I started the mapmywalk app to track how much I walked while I was grocery shopping and I was surprised to see that I walked over a mile. It made me think of all the walking I did just performing regular tasks and how I could magnify my results.   Here are a few small changes that you can make that will add more walking to your daily life.

1) Parking farther from the door – easier now than in winter, but just think of the extra calories burned in winter, since you body is additionally working to keep you warm.

2) Walk while your children are in a class or playing a sport.  Most of us just sit on the sidelines and chat, but you could easily walk during that time.  I keep my hat, sunglasses, and water bottle with me just for this reason. Inspire other moms to walk with you – and have them join Happy Feet!

3) While you are chatting on the phone, walk and talk in your house! I have walked at least half a mile or more during phone calls. The closer the friend, the longer the conversion and the more walking you can do !!!

4) Think of all the walking you do while you are cleaning your house.  As you pick up toys, papers, and clean the mess, try to do an extra two or three rounds around the room.  Just adding these extra steps can add  0.5 miles in 30 minutes of cleaning.

5) When you go shopping at the mall, after you pick up what you need, just take a walk of the whole mall, before you walk to your car.

If you have more ideas about how to add walking to daily tasks – share them in the comments.

Namitha's Notions

Change around the corner

My clothes fit me better,
There is a glow on my face,
My back stands a bit straighter,
There is a shine in my eyes,
More compliments flow my way,
The hubby smiles at me more,
Friends look super amused,
‘What next is in store?’
There is a restlessness in me,
To walk more miles everyday,
I want to break my own records,
Walk 10k steps all the way,
Girls, you have spoilt me,
#happyfeetwalkersclub, hooray!!!

Namitha's Notions

Have you ever…

Have you ever wondered?
What’s around that corner?
Is there a mountain, steep and high?
Is there a valley deep under?

Have you ever been at crossroads?
With two roads to make a choice,
One that has been travelled oft before,
One with new beginnings and surprise.

Have you ever walked alone?
With only your thoughts for company,
Watching the the world as you pass by,
Roads one or too many.

Have you ever walked in a group?
Sharing fun, fitness and friendship,
Inspiring one another each day,
Meeting goals to accomplish.

Have you ever thought all this?
And wondered how it could be?
Then come join #happyfeetwalkersclub
Its perfect for thee…

Namitha's Notions

A Fun and Friendly Way to Stay Active

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.

Happy FeeT Walkers Club

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.