Walking

According to research cited in the book “Brain Rules”,  the human species evolved to walk 12-25 miles PER DAY.   According to anthropologists and biologists, ancient humans walked this amount every single day.  That’s 4-8 hours a day of walking.

Compare that to the activity the average “modern” human gets… and it’s easy to understand why so many people are fat and unhealthy (of course, their food is terrible too).

Most people sit on their butt for most of the day.   Some stand (in one place) much of the day.  We sit on our butts in front of computers.  We sit on our butts in front of TVs.  We sit on our butts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  We sit on our butts while socializing.  We sit on our butts in cars, buses, trains (or occasionally stand).

We are, to be perfectly honest, a pathetic shadow of our ancient selves.

Forget all of the diet books and complex exercise programs.  The simplest and easiest solution is to walk a lot (and eat fresh vegetables as much as possible).    Walking is the most natural and effortless human activity.  No special equipment is required.

I have always loved walking,… but I’m now discovering the wonderful benefits of doing long walks every day.   It’s amazing.   As part of my training for the Shikoku, Japan hiking trip… I’m now walking three hours every day.

Yesterday I walked from my apartment (in The Mission district) up Haight Street through the Haight area,…  and into Golden Gate Park.   It was a chilly windy day, but I had a great time.   The more I walked, the warmer my body got.

And the more I walked, the more energized my body became.   My mind became energized (yet calm) too–  and I thoroughly enjoyed looking at the trees, people, and city as I strolled.

This is one of the sublime simple pleasures of life– to stroll outside, breath fresh air, take in the sky, clouds, trees,…. it’s meditation in motion.

As the weeks go by, I will be adding more time to my walks.. and soon I’ll be matching those ancient humans– doing 12-25 miles a day.

I highly recommend this kind of walking as the basis for health and fitness.