Wellness – the act of practicing good physical and mental habits to achieve a sense of wellness. Walking can do both of those!
How does walking affect Wellness?
The realisation that walking greatly impacted my mental health started after I had my son, who is now 3.5 years. I realised that walking and exploring new places improved our wellness. All the fresh air promoted better sleep, exercise made us fitter and stronger, we felt more content, we had an aim and therefore a sense of achievement in the day and it kept my mind focused on the present.
As my son grew and started really taking notice of things when we were out and about; the colours, the light, the tiniest little bug, the sounds, the smells… it made me slow down also. When you really stop, look and absorb your surroundings you see it, almost for the first time. I appreciated where I grew up so much more by seeing it through the eyes of my son and I really fell in love with Skipton and the Dales.
Walking has become our go to shared experience. Whenever we talk about what we are going to do it’s always based around a walk. He’s the boss (or so he thinks) so we go with what he decides. Luckily, we are not spoilt for amazing options locally. There is always somewhere exciting to go in line with his requirements; waterfall, a mountain, must have a playground, puddles, animals, you name it.
The days we don’t get out I notice it, he notices it, everyone notices it! We are both climbing the walls and are incredibly grumpy and short tempered. So come rain or shine you will usually find us out and about. Being prepared for any weather builds resilience and enables us to adjust to change. It also presents different opportunities… if it didn’t rain we wouldn’t have puddles to splash in or rainbows to smile at!
Little Miss Yorkshire’s Wellness Walk
To celebrate Global Wellness Day on the 12th June, Skipton is hosting a full week of activities – Skipton Wellness Week. I’m getting involved as I want to promote walking as a way of improving both physical and mental wellness. To celebrate Global Wellness Day I am hosting a Wellness Walk. The walk will be through Skipton Castle Woods. The walk will help you and your little ones connect with nature by opening your eyes to the beauty that is all around, making you be more in the present.
Click here to find out more details.
This post was featured by Twinkl in their Mental Health in Schools Blog‘.
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