The 10 Minute Walk

The next daily task on my son's planner is a 10 minute walk.  This task is really about encouraging some movement.  Walking is a good way to move your whole body and increase your heart rate a little.  At the time of making up the daily routine, my son was quite sedentary besides travelling to college 2 or 3 days a week by bus.  He went on an occasional dog walk with his support worker but apart from that he wasn't moving much at all. 

Although the walk was on his daily routine planner, it didn't happen every day but acted as a prompt for movement.  Sometimes it was actually a walk to the local shop or a walk by the river on the way back from college.  Other times it was a few laps around the back garden.  These days my son benefits from a weekly PT session and has a gym membership and is moving much more and enjoying this. 

There is lots of evidence about the mind and body connection and the benefits of movement on both our physical and mental health.  Everyone has to start somewhere and a 10 minute walk every day might be too much for some people and that is okay.  The important thing is recognising that you need to move a bit more each day and setting small goals towards moving more.  This might be 10 shallow squats while you boil the kettle for a cup of tea or doing 3 laps of your back garden after you eat your dinner.  Small goals support consistency. 

If you find walking boring then you might want to listen to a podcast or a few favourite songs.  10 minutes is about 3 songs length.  My post yesterday was about morning light.  If you can walk in the morning light, even better for waking up your brain and your body.  Do you manage to get movement into your daily routine?  Please share your tips in the comments.

#howtohouse #coaching #occupationaltherapy #walking #movement #prompt #routine #organisation #activityscheduling