No really, you should take a walk. Not only does it promote weight loss and lower your risk for heart disease and diabetes, but it also helps with mood, memory and attention. It took way too long for me to realize how much walking helped mitigate my stress level. Growing up in NJ you don't do a lot of walking to places since everything requires a car, and I was never the "walk without a purpose" type. That began to change when I moved to Philadelphia in my P3 year and one of my friends turned me on to "mindful walking".

Mindful walking is a type of meditation, where your legs are moving but you are reflecting inwardly in a way that the walking becomes autonomous. It allows your mind to move toward the present and focus less on the craziness of every day life. I decided to try it during the year I fell ill in pharmacy school because I was desperate to try anything that might alleviate the anxiety I felt when I left my apartment every day. I was surprised with how much it helped and how easy it was to incorporate into my six minute walk from my apartment door to classroom. This was especially helped by the fact that I used guided mindful walking apps like "Stop, Breathe & Think".

Once APPEs started and I stopped spending my 24/7 studying, I began to adventure around Philadelphia aimlessly with friends. We mostly traveled down to Spruce Street Harbor Park which meant Old City alleyways, hidden monuments and beautiful scenery (ever stumble accidentally across an 18th century garden?). Although it wasn't necessarily "mindful walking" I always felt better after I had walked. In my block 3 my APPE was in a primary care clinic where most of the patients we saw had severely uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension. It wasn't totally uncommon for us to investigate the amount of physical activity our patients were doing daily and recommend changes. My most recommended intervention? The Physical Activity Guideline for Americans suggestion: 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity (AKA, brisk walking).

Now that I'm finishing out my APPEs in NJ, finding time and places to walk is more difficult. I'm extremely lucky to have friends who are as interested in adventuring as I am. It is because of them that I've ventured to beautiful places like Historic Smithville Park, Mount Minisi, and the Morris Arboretum (where I took the pictures in this post)!

I'm starting to make a list of all the places I want to walk and adventure to in the area so if you have any suggestions comment below or shoot me a message on instagram. I can't stress enough how great of a tool your own body can be in anxiety-relief.