Walk for your spirit

Your sneakers are powerful. Not only can they help you walk away from conditions such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease, but they can also help nourish your spirit. Numerous studies have found that walking helps combat depression and anxiety. Some findings suggest that exercise may even stave off the onset of depression. And new research from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas found that walking briskly for 30 minutes at a time, three to five times a week, slashed depressive symptoms by almost half. That's the same effect as some antidepressant medications!

Even if you're not depressed, just 10 minutes of walking can lift your mood. Why is walking so effective? It releases feel-good chemicals such as endorphins and serotonin, zaps stress, helps you set and meet goals and boosts your self-esteem because you look and feel better. Read on to find out other ways walking does you good - body, mind and soul.

A solo walk with just you and your thoughts can be deeply satisfying, but don't overlook the importance of walking with a friend or loved one. Kathy Luten, president of the Ottawa Voyageurs Walking Club, loves planned walking events where she sees old friends and meets new ones. "it's always a treat to relax with other like-minded people," she says. She's recently started walking with her four-year-old granddaughter, too. "I'm teaching her that walking is a pleasure, and she's teaching me to stop and look at the tadpoles!"

Think prayer and meditation involve stillness? Not necessarily! "When the mind and body work together, you create active meditation, and that's where you find spiritual satisfaction," says Carolyn Scott Kortge, author of The Spirited Walker: Fitness Walking for Clarity, Balance and Spiritual Connection (HarperSanFrancisco). "As you walk, mentally repeat phrases with four syllables: I am peaceful, I am breathing, I am walking," she suggests. "This rhythm is like meditation; it's creating a peaceful interval in your life."

Soraya Parandeh of Victoria discovered the healing effects of walking when she joined the Victoria Hospice Society Walking Group Program after her husband died. The group met for an hour on 10 consecutive Saturdays and walked around different neighbourhoods. "It was wonderful to be with other people who had also just lost their partners," she remembers. "We would hug each other before the walk and share our stories in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere."

The rhythm of walking can actually change the physical functioning of your brain, and that's why a stroll can help you solve problems and think creatively, says Mary Frakes, author of MindWalks: 100 Easy Ways to Relieve Stress, Stay Motivated and Nourish Your Soul (Life Lessons). "These alpha waves mean your mind is more relaxed and you're open to creativity."

When Luten was going through a tumultuous time at work, she and a co-worker spent their lunch breaks hoofing it on the five-kilometre trail nearby. "We would get things off our chests and try to make sense of what was going on in our office," she says. "We'd return to work mentally and physically refreshed - and ready to concentrate."