Walking - The Bygone Pastime

Walking - The Bygone Pastime

The simple stroll in the morning or evening is now a lost pastime, a faded memory for the older generation who enjoyed long periods in the fresh air.  Nowadays, we simply do not have the time to take a walk or move in any from: we are too busy rushing off to places and fitting excessive amounts of activities into our days, leaving little time for the more simple things in life.

Effects of Modern Living 

Modern living has not only caused us to cram too much into our day, it has also forced us into sedentary beings starting at an early age.  As babies we go from laying down, to a car seat, to a highchair, to then a walking chair, advancing to sofas, which we add to by sitting at our desks and in our cars.  Our modern environment encourages sitting rather than daily constant natural movement, like walking.  

What adds insult to injury is that we have invented so many technologies, appliances and machines that have made our lives easier on the one hand but have reduced the opportunities for us to move in the way our bodies were designed to.  A bit of a double edged sword.

What Does Research Say 

The amount of time we stay seated on an average day is worrying.  To put things into perspective, research suggests that we should get up and take a 5 minute stroll after every 30 minutes of sitting.  

After 30 minutes of sitting our bodies need to be up and moving, whether that's standing, walking around the house, gardening, bending and lifting, doing housework, etc.  Just move, even if it is for 5 minutes.

Change the Way You Think

We are all suffering as a nation from the effects of prolonged sitting and lack of movement which can cause poor posture.  It’s becoming a necessity to change the way we think about daily movement.  

It’s for this reason at Ambba™ we call our classes “movement classes” rather than exercise classes so that we can encourage a mind shift when thinking about exercise. 

Many of us think of exercise as putting on gym clothes and taking classes or sweating it out in the gym for an hour.  However, when you change the word exercise to movement - this can include walking barefoot around your house, squatting to take things out of lower cupboards, or just simply stretching and doing a few squats as you wait for the kettle to boil.   When you think of exercise like this movement seems more achievable. 

It’s important to move your body throughout the day rather than focusing and limiting yourselves on exercise routines and then sitting for the rest of the day.  

How We Were Naturally Designed to Move 

As humans we were designed to move throughout the day.  In the days of hunting, fishing and gathering we walked and moved constantly, the only time we sat (on the floor) was to eat. We had little furniture and hunted for food.  We ran when we were faced with the danger of being eaten by a predator.  The rest of the time we walked or rode our riding beasts.  

It is a little difficult to incorporate what we did back then into our standard modern daily living, unless we took drastic measures and convinced our loved ones to hunt for food, sit and sleep on floors and have little or no furniture etc.  

We could of course do this if we had time, money and the environment.  Unfortunately for many we don’t and therefore we need to find a happy practical medium where we can slowly introduce movement back into our lives using our current modern routines and homes and encourage those around us to do the same. 

Find out here how you can easily inject movement into your day which will take your day from a sedentary one to one that is full of varied beneficial movement, which includes walking - a bygone pastime!