The Joy of Movement – Power Walking 

Walking clears my head, fills my lungs with fresh air, lets off steam, builds up my strength and centers my spirit. --Sarah Ban Breathnach

I have always been a walker. Thoreau says “It requires a direct dispensation from heaven to be a walker.” I love everything about walking! I like the simplicity of it and the lack of complicated gear. I mostly like that I can walk right out my door and begin. And power walking is a very special form of walking that speeds up the heart rate, puts power in the body and wind through the hair. 

I power walk everywhere! I power walk to the bank, to the post office, to the grocery store, to Carrie’s house and to the beauty supply shop. I grab my IPOD and power walk around Lake Merritt, an urban oasis right down the block.

Link: http://reinventingkarla.blogspot.com/2012/10/rotation-of-seasons-gardens-at-merritt.html 

I throw my chest out, I smile, I pound my arms to the music, and generally have myself a grand time of it. Rob calls me a dork, a cute dork, but a dork just the same. What the hay! I’m having a great time and it’s good for me!   

I am invigorated and happy with the fresh air on my cheeks, pumping my arms and my legs, in rhythmic motion, taking in the trees and the water and all the interesting people and their dogs as I motor by.  

Music is a really fun part of the power walk. A hopelessly late adopter, I would never have an IPOD if it weren’t for Christmas and Rob, (good man). I highly recommend it for walking. The music adds zeal and energy to the whole business. An hour combining the Stones, Aerosmith, AC/DC, The Who and power walking can energize me for the rest of the weekend. I can be seen on most Saturdays walking around Lake Merritt, bobbing my head to the rhythm and punching the air to particularly good lyrics - sometimes I pull off the trail and dance in the trees . . . (I love the anonymity of the city.)  

Ah, there is such an ecstasy in movement . . .

I grab my purple tennis shoes, IPOD, cell phone and a little money and power walk to the video store, the Farmer’s Market, friend’s homes, cafés, (rewarding myself with a baked good of course) and cutesy shopping districts. I explore new neighborhoods, bookstores and boutiques. Sometimes I catch up on my phone calls. It’s like taking a walk with a friend.   

I was into walking through Mountain View Cemetery during the worst days of the vertigo. I would walk all the way up there from Lake Merritt and stride through the hushed quiet Piedmont sunshine, comforted and soothed by all who have lived before me. It gave me hope to still be able to walk, no matter how dizzy. God, help me, don’t take that away from me, too.  

I remember sitting in the sun when Karen told me that Boe was in the hospital. I went everyday and prayed for her family. I explored the Chapel of the Chimes and meditated in a mystical room with a fountain. I found John Lee Hooker. Way cool. 

Perhaps the most exciting power walk found me high above the city on the Promenade Plantée in Paris. Let's just say that power walking on the Promenade Plantée is analogous to skiing in the Alps.

Link: http://reinventingkarla.blogspot.com/2012/07/aperfect-day-square-trousseau-ble-sucre.html

I prefer walking to driving or even cycling these days. Moving more slowly through the world, I see into the life of things, (thank you Wordsworth).

 

Here in the present moment,

One step at a time,

I have found peace.