Tired? 15-Minute Spring Walk to Feel Better | 64

Your brain's been foggy. Your energy's been missing. This 15-minute walk helps fix that and get you back to:

• More energy
• Clearer head
• Better mood
• Less hairy legs (you have to listen to find out)

This is a low-impact guided workout you can listen to while walking outside or inside on a treadmill or walking pad. There's background music to help you keep your pace (great for ADHD peeps) and a bell at the halfway point so you know when to turn around.

You'll start out feeling blah… and end up digging out your brightly-colored shirts.

I also chat about why your brain shuts down and sluggish during the dark months, and the connection between natural light, serotonin, and why a walk outside is one of the fastest ways to feel alive again. 

SAD is real. So is the fix. 

And because I never stay on track, I also wander into:

• the time I made an Easter basket for my Catholic boyfriend using Playboy cutouts
• winter making me eat all the carbs (mmm)
• chasing summer for 16 months and realizing natural light actually matters
• strawberries = love
• putting on something that isn't gray or black (yes, 90% of my wardrobe is gray or black… don't judge me)
• a quick musical moment (you've been warned)

If you want... 

• a quick, refreshing spring walk
• something to boost your mood and clear your head
• a reason to finally get outside
• or just 15 minutes that are just for you

...go grab your shoes. It's time to walk.

Tap Follow so the next walk is ready when you are. 

And tag me at @yourwalkingpodcast so I can see where you walk. 
 

Transcript

Track 1: 0:06

This is a guided walk that you can do outside or inside on a treadmill or walking pad, but you don't have to walk to listen. I'm not the walking police. Start walking at an easy warm up pace. So one time I made an Easter basket for my very Catholic then boyfriend using cutouts from Playboy. Yes, from Playboy. I thought I was being thoughtful and he was not really expecting that in his basket. I grew up in Norway and I had no Easter basket experience. I was trying to do something normal, something a cool girlfriend would do. I was only 21. Socially awkward. So I assembled the Easter basket. I cut out the boobies and then I handed it to him. He was like, um, okay. We've been divorced for ages and he's now married to an amazing man I adore. He probably doesn't do stupid things like that. But decades later, we all still laugh about that ridiculous story. Spring makes me happy. It makes me re-energized. And I'm actually glad to be alive. Unlike winter. And every single spring. I also think about that girl who put those Playboy cutouts in her boyfriend's Easter basket. Full of confidence and cluelessness. And apparently not much has really changed. Take a deep breath in through your nose. And exhale through your mouth. Now pick up some speed it's moderate pace. And if you're walking outside, there'll be a bell at the halfway point in case you want to turn around. This is Helen with the Walking and Talking with Helen podcast because I never tell you that. Find the beat. Unclench your hands. Give those shoulders a nice big roll. Roll them backwards. Crunchity, crunchity, snap crackle pop. And roll them forward. Mine tend to crunch more backwards than forward. I do not do well in winter at all. I'm tired. I'm blah. I have low energy. I'm sad. And I eat way too many carbs. It's like a permission to eat all the carbs I want in the wintertime. And then spring hits and it's like, woohoo! Something flips and I'm so much happier. I start wanting to go outside again. I start noticing things again. Like those little strawberry stands with the fresh strawberries. Air that's still a little crisp, but it's not freezing. We don't have to wear a jacket anymore. Flowers are blooming. Eyes are itching. You know, allergies. And it's like, yes! I'm back. Guess who's back? Back again. Helen's back. Boop, boop, boop. Tell a friend. And if you've been feeling like that, kind of foggy all winter and can't think straight, carb loving like me and forget what you walked into a room for, there's a reason. Your brain gets less light in the winter, which means less serotonin and less of everything. That thing where you open the fridge and just stare, that's completely normal. It's seasonal. It's fixable. Except if you actually don't go shopping, then it's not fixable because nothing's going to magically appear in your fridge. Walking outside in natural light is one of the fastest resets we can do. It's not magic. Just that our brain's been starving for that natural light. Like this walk right now. The light alone really helps. And the natural light tells your brain it's time to be awake and alert. Resets your internal clock after months of gray skies and short, very sad days. And movement really helps too. Every step you take literally pumps more blood to your brain. More blood, more oxygen, more functioning. More like a normal human being that doesn't do word Easter basket things. And now I've started to go out first thing in the morning just to get some daylight. Just for like 10 minutes, I go for a little quick walk in the morning. And it's really been helping. Yes, I know it's only been a few days, but still, I feel much better. My mood is much better and I sleep better already. So we're starting today's walk more like a bear. Not the little cute bear, but the big scary bear. And hopefully we'll end it less like a bear. Our brains are coming back online. We're feeling alive. If you've got a friend who needs that, send them this walk. Okay, pick up your pace again. It's brisker. Let your arms swing. This is the part where we actually wake up. Wake up little Susie. So remember that bear I just talked about? Yeah, winter turns me into that. A little grumpy, a little tired, slightly unfriendly. And then spring hits and you're like, okay, it's time to wake up. Wake me up inside. Wake me up inside. In Norway, winters are really harsh. They're long and they're dark and it doesn't get lighter until later in the day and then it gets dark so quickly and it really wears you down. So one spring when I was about 12 or 13, I was visiting my grandmother in a city called Jovic, and I was walking along a small unpaved road. The sun was peeking out. There was still some snow, but it was melting in patches. It was kind of wet and dissolved along the road. I was making my own little mud trail, but it was still piled up along the sides. Thanks, snowplow. And there in the snow on the side of the road was a little opening. It was like the snow had just parted right there. And inside that little opening, standing completely at attention, was a flower. It was yellow or purple. I can't remember, but it was tiny and it was determined and it was reaching straight up towards the sun like it had been waiting all winter for exactly this moment. And yes, that was many, many years ago. And I still remember this little flower. I've never forgotten that. It was just trying really hard to reach for the sun through the snow. cause that's what spring is. And it's kind of like what we're doing right now. We've been hiding under the snow, waiting for warmer days. And now we're pushing through. Today, do something that feels like that, like spring. Take your coffee outside, open a window, put on something that isn't gray or black. And 90% of my wardrobe is going to be gray or black. Just do the one springy thing. And that's enough to reset your mood a little bit. We're not Martha Stewart. We're not going to do a big spring thing. Stay with that pace. Keep the shoulders down away from your ears. Follow the beat. Keep your breathing going nice and steady. Make sure your toes aren't clenching your shoes. Sometimes I say crunched, but we're not crunching our toes. Okay. Now we're going to pick up a little bit of pace. Do a little dance. It's faster. I actually figured out by accident that I probably have SAD, which is what? Seasonal Affective Disorder. When I was traveling, I got to avoid winter for 16 months. I used to tell people I was chasing summer. I lived in those sundresses and shorts, my favorites. No winter blues. And I felt so much better and so much happier. At the end of November 2018, two friends flew out to visit me in Thailand where I was living. And that's the time of year where we're getting ready for Thanksgiving and we're supposed to be all bundled up. It's dark by four or five. And you're just ready to fall into bed when you get home from work. But instead, we were on a boat snorkeling in crystal clear water in our bathing suits. Yeah, in November. And I remember thinking, this life is amazing. No winter. No cold. Made me realize why spring brings me back to life. And once the time changes, I'm all charged up. I can't wait for time change. It's like a battery plugged in after a winter of sitting in a drawer and being sad again, right? Me and my sadness. Steady pace here. Follow the beat. Nice and strong. Now let's go a little bit faster. Get ready. Push it. Here we go. Follow that beat. I want you give it a little bit of a shake up, a wake up. And I won't sing anymore for you. Get your heart rate up. Feel that push. I normally don't do seasonal type episodes, but I was so happy to share spring with you. Push it now. Feel how good it feels to move your body. Coming back alive. Steady pace. Okay. A little faster. If you can. Follow that beat. This is happy music. Keep your breathing going. Shoulders down away from your ears. Last little bit of push. Here we go. You got this. Stay with it. And start to slow it down. Take a deep breath in through your nose. I mean, we're not cooling down. We're just recovering a little bit from that pace. And when you breathe in, relax your stomach. Nobody's looking. And exhale again. Tighten your stomach to push all that stale air out. Relax your jaw. Relax your tongue. Feel the fresh start. I don't know why we always have to start our fresh start January 1st. When it's all cold and winter-y and I don't like it. But in spring, it's not a big dramatic moment like January. It's us doing something small, small steps, some berries, opening up some windows and just feeling the new life around us. We don't have to make big, huge changes. We don't have to be perfect. One more deep breath in now. Inhale the energy through your nose. Stay with that pace. And then going to exhale through your mouth. I don't think I can exhale and talk at the same time. The little things make a difference. My dad always used to say, enjoy the life. And this time of year, that's when I can finally do that again. And we actually inscribe that on his tombstone. Enjoy the life. Slow it down a little bit. Just going to recover here because recovery is as important as efforts. Make sure your shoulders are down away from your ears. Now this walk starts our spring happiness clock ticking. Tick-tock. When you are done with this walk, get a little bit of a stretch in, if you can, especially your calves. Feel for any tense spots in your body. See if you can release them. You want to end your walk, like I said, less like a bear, And we can even start thinking about shaving our legs if you do that because nobody saw them in the winter and it's going to be shorts season pretty soon. If you want, you can tag me and show me your walk on social media at yourwalkingpodcast. Slow it down a little more. Take another deep breath in now. Breathe steady and rhythmically. Free your mind. Just be aware of your body. And I'll see you next time.