Move Your Brain

I’ve been doing a lot of work on the computer lately, which means I’ve been sitting sometimes many hours per day. Even with a ninety-minute Bikram yoga practice almost daily, it’s not enough movement for me. In fact, over the last several months, it’s gotten more difficult for me to sit for hours at a time and I’ve begun to stand at my workstation. I’m actually standing now as I write this post.

So a couple of weeks ago, I decided to at least get in some walking during the day to get my blood moving. This week, my brother’s dog is here while his family is on vacation and I’ve used this as an opportunity to walk in the morning and then later at night. The dog keeps me at a good pace (unless he stops to sniff something) and we can do a mile in about 15 minutes.

One thing I’ve noticed from these short walks, is how much better I feel afterwards, especially early in the morning, since I’m practicing yoga later in the day. In the past, I’ve always worked out early in the day and forgot how powerful it is for putting me in an energetic, positive frame of mind. Yet, even the short walk, early when the streets are quiet and the only sounds are the birds chirping is making a huge difference.

This entry from Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way ~ A Year of Creative Living, sums it up nicely:

In periods of intense pain, I walk it out. In times of elation, when I can’t embody my emotion properly, I walk it out. I walk to meditate and “hear,” and I also walk to pray and “speak.” It is on my long solitary walks that the Universe gets an earful from me and visa versa. Walks are the generators for me of what I call my “alpha ideas.” These alpha ideas are the ideas that seem to come from a higher source than myself, suggesting better solutions to my creative or daily problems than my ordinary thinking does.

I agree, my brain thinks differently when I’m on a solitary walk and this doesn’t end when the walk is over. My brain is awake and charged up and ready for a good day. So, if you’re getting up and rushing off to work, think about giving yourself enough extra time to move and get your blood pumping before you take off. It will make all the difference for how your day unfolds, particularly within your mind. And as we know, our thoughts create our world~