The Medicine of Movement
Movement has become one of my best companions on this healing journey. I used to hate the idea of working out. It felt like a chore and definitely not something I wanted to do. Over time, I’ve learned how healing it can be. I’ve done my fair share of 30 day challenges, different group classes, latest workout obsessions, etc. but what I’ve learned is that simple, gentle movement everyday can restore energy to your body, mind and heart in a way that not many other things can. It doesn’t need to be complicated or intense for it to work.
Walking has become a practice in the last year that has served me so well on so many hard days. To just stop, pause and take 30-60 minutes to walk and re-center myself has been so fulfilling. I often start my walks in my head saying, “Okay Kelly, we’re moving that trauma through the body right now” and that serves as my motivation.
My friends know that I rarely spend time alone. Most of my walks in the past year were with some very lovely and loyal walking friends, but there were also a lot of walks on my own. Either way, I’ve thought of walking as a moving meditation, a moving prayer, and a physical return to myself and my body. Sometimes my walks have been the places where I’m blasting music (of all genres), a podcast, the place where I’m dancing it out, or where I’m talking to God and asking a lot of hard questions. When my walks have included friends, they’ve included debriefing the day, talking about what is on our hearts and minds and lots of laughing. Shoutout to my best walking partners :)
Walking has been such a gift and such a simple one. I notice that at the end of a walk, I feel like I’m back in my body in a way that I wasn’t before. It feels like a part of my heart and body has been unlocked and loosened, and I can’t get enough of that feeling. It’s amazing that movement done with care for yourself can feel so good. It doesn’t need to feel like a punishment.
Take a walk. You won’t regret it. I’m just grateful for the gift of movement.
P.S. If you need some walking motivation, check out @thismorningwalk on Instagram.
