I have never liked walking. I have had many an argument over the years with my wife because I couldn’t find a parking space right next to the restaurant or shop that we were going to . . . I mean, what’s the point of driving if you then have to walk a couple of hundred yards!!
I always knew that walking was healthy, an okay way to maintain fitness, but I had the belief that proper fitness was getting to the gym and really pushing myself on the cardiovascular machines.
That soon changed when I started to attend the presentations of Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon. I learnt that walking offers a lot of what I really need. I understand and agree that we need a certain level of fitness and that I don’t need to go to the gym and push myself because my job as a bus driver doesn’t require me to be super fit. I now can feel that my body doesn’t need to be trained hard and that gentle exercise is what is needed.
I know this because I have done the intensive training for many years – whether it was during my time in the Army or when I was doing Martial Arts, or just pushing myself hard at the gym on the bikes or the rowing machine. I remember there were times when I pushed myself to the point of wanting to vomit. I may have been fitter in my ‘pushing’ days but I know I am more aware of my body with this gentler way of exercising. If, for any reason, my sole intent is to train hard, I am not going to listen to my body when it is telling me it has had enough, and then unsurprisingly, I end up with a ‘sudden’ injury.
So I started to walk on a regular basis and because I had a different mindset, I started to enjoy walking.
Within a couple of weeks I noticed my fitness was increasing, my thoughts were a lot clearer and I really enjoyed just being with me. When I went walking with my wife we had the chance to talk about what was going on for us and we were able to clear many issues.
I was walking regularly but it wasn’t consistent and in time the walks got less and less until it became only very occasionally, and then stopped.
About 6 months later my wife and I had what I like to describe as an indulgent food day. We ate quite late and ate excess sugar, which is unusual for us. We found it impossible to get to sleep as we were both feeling nauseous and bloated, so we decided to go for a walk. We walked and walked and walked. Over two and a half hours later we got home and went to bed.
From then on we started to walk consistently every day, which we did for about six months but again, things started to get in the way which made making excuses a lot easier, so little by little the consistency dropped off.
A few months later I read a blog about walking (thanks Josh Campbell) and was inspired to start again. My wife had recently started to walk again so that inspired me even more and for over a year now I have walked consistently every day. Again, within a couple of weeks I started to feel fitter, my head was clearer, my body started to feel lighter and there was the added bonus of my waistline shrinking.
Twice previously I have made a decision to walk every day and twice previously I have stopped – so what makes this time any different?
The answer to that is simply … Commitment.
With this commitment I have found that:
• Walking has helped me to move through my issues by talking; to my wife if I am walking with her, or simply talking to myself
• It has made it easier to manage the shift work I do
• I have a much deeper quality of sleep
• Instead of judging everything, I have a more balanced view
• I have a greater understanding of my choices and why I have made them.
In everything we do in life we have a choice. Walking was an area in my life that had the willingness but no commitment. I am committed in most areas of my life so I chose to bring that same level of commitment to walking. I decided that this time I would choose to stay committed and when the excuses came knocking I would remember that this is not just about maintaining my walking routine, but it is also about how I used to be. In the past, whenever things started to get in the way it was very easy to make excuses and give up – a pattern I had for most of my life.
Maintaining the walking now is easy …
• I don’t do it because I should
• I don’t do it to get fit
• I don’t do it for anyone else.
I do it for me and it brings me joy.
What I have also noticed is, that simple choice to be committed to walking has had an effect on all the other areas of my life that I wasn’t totally committed to, like paying more attention to what, when and how much to eat, by expressing more in how I feel and not holding back and overall just having a more positive view of life and a commitment to live life in full.
Commitment is not about perfection. Even if it’s only 15 minutes a day I know my intention is there and I am benefitting from it.
Only time will tell if I maintain this consistency but this level of commitment feels very strong for me now and because twice now, I have felt the difference in me when I started to walk again and really enjoyed it, I now have a reference point that I can feel in my body that will help me stay on track.
Inspired by the Love and teachings of Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon.
By Tim Bowyer, Bus Driver, London
Further Reading:
Why We Love To Walk
Commitment To Self, Commitment to Life
The Joy of Simply Swimming
760 Comments
This blog invites me to commit again to walk regularly. It is a simple but very complete exercise we have at our hands that not only regenerates our body, but also brings much awareness and understanding to our life. A treasure worth to be re-discovered!
I have to say I love walking always have done, but then I developed an incredibly sore lower back and it was very painful to walk for quite a few years. Then I met Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, I started to have treatments and attended the workshops and my lower back pain slowly went. I personally can attest to the Universal Medicine practitioners and the workshops I attend they keep me very fit and healthy which has opened up my body in such a way that I feel I was totally blind before.
Thank you Tim, inspiring indeed are your simple words and the commitment and understanding of the benefits of walking can never be denied, as walking is power-full in its ability to connect us to our origins.
Thank you Tim, walking offers us so much and we can all feel the bodily benefits from a simple 10 minutes a day program, and when you start adding extra walks and extra space it adds to the potent pleasure that walking brings. Also walking is money well spent as the saying goes, without breaking the budget.
Absolutely Tim, our commitment is so important, ‘Commitment is not about perfection. Even if it’s only 15 minutes a day I know my intention is there and I am benefitting from it.’
“I do it for me and it brings me joy” and the joy you feel in your body is felt by everyone else.
I have learned, usually the hard way, that there are no “sudden injuries”, injuries that I can blame on ‘something else’. And what I have learnt in the process of the first learning is that my body had been signalling what was coming for some time, I simply wasn’t listening. But if I stay as present as possible with my body, I know what it is doing in every moment and the possibility of one of those “sudden injuries” is greatly diminished.
I love how you stepped up with the level of commitment that you bring to yourself, ‘In everything we do in life we have a choice. Walking was an area in my life that had the willingness but no commitment. I am committed in most areas of my life so I chose to bring that same level of commitment to walking. ‘
Its difficult for any thoughts to get stuck when walking, and being constantly interrupted by the simple magic of God as you pass through nature. Likewise a conversation can’t help but evolve when walking with another.
Its interesting this ‘shift in mindset’. I have had innumerable ideals that I have been carrying around for a lifetime challenged by studying with Universal Medicine. And then when I experience the alternative and the relationship shifts suddenly a whole different horizon opens up and I am agape at how blinkered I was before.
There is so much joy in committing to ourselves which can take many forms and the ripple effect of this commitment then affects other areas of our life as well and increases the joy. Appreciating how much more committed to life I am since attending Universal Medicine presentations and how much I enjoy the simple things like going for a walk and being with myself without distractions.
Beautiful Tim. There is a joy that comes naturally from feeling our connection to our essence, our Soul as we move. It is my experience that it is also a gorgeous confirmation and honoring of the quality of vibration we are willingly aligning to, in which love is magnified through the body and is why we feel so expansive when we walk and move in connection to our body and being.
Thanks Tim for the many benefits of walking.. when we walk in a way where we’re paying attention to how and what we’re feeling, it’s like we move thoughts and emotions out of the body, and feel so much clearer and sharper as a result – more spacious, more aware, ready for whatever is next.
‘I do it for me and it brings me joy.’ It is the joy of feeling you in your walk, so different from when we walk from A to B to get there. It is the level of care for yourself that makes the body joyful and this naturally expands in a commitment of being you in other area’s of your life.
Yes walking connected with ourselves expands the joy of being in the flow of life and feeling our part in it.
‘I do it for me and it brings me joy.’ When we walk we feel our body and this connection brings us joy, we feel the quality we choose to live and the commitment expanding in all area’s of our life. Walking in that way is so much more than getting the body from A to B.
I am another who loves walking and connecting with myself, how my body is feeling, there is so much this walk brings to our bodies.
The trouble with anything we are pushing to do, whether it be exercise, mowing the lawn etc, is that when we are in this type of energy we are not taking notice of what is happening for our body as our focus is most likely on the outcome. And then when we injure ourselves we wonder how it happened. Anything done in disconnection to our body has a high chance of having an outcome we didn’t originally plan for.
You’re not alone Phil. I remember a time when I drove, to my local swimming pool just round the corner and shops just down the road and then clocked how ridiculous this was. Apart from being with ourselves when we walk, it is also a way of being with our communities, meet people, have conversations or simply acknowledge them as we pass by. Our very presence as we walk can be a blessing to others.
Someone I know has just lost the ability to walk and is mourning the loss. Often it’s only when something is taken away we realise we’ve taken it for granted and failed to appreciate its true value.
A great example of bringing appreciation to everything in life, as we never know when we will ‘lose’ something that we have taken for granted. Taking our precious body for granted can have some dire consequences, but appreciating its ‘true value’ supports us throughout every day of our lives.
I love walking but like you were Tim, from time to time I let go and my commitment dwindles. I have decided even if it is only a walk around the block that is ok, it feels so good just to move the body outdoors into the sunshine. Walking also assists in clearing the body of unwanted energy.
I love that you laugh about your own jokes Tim. I do that sometimes too and I feel it is not so much about the joke itself but being in tune with myself and equally with everybody else. Accepting all and all that is happening in full.
The simple things in life – they are the most supportive.
True Esther and it is only when we get in the way of these simple things life gets complicated.
Walking with another is a way to build intimacy and to deepen the connection you have, it is like it helps to shift things and put everything into perspective more.
A very real and great example of what commitment to just one aspect of one’s life can do, how this attention to detail can change so much… Again, the ripple effect.
The commitment you speak of is like a megaphone… saying be willing to try something different that you know will support you and be open to the fact that you might actually love it.
Connecting to the way I walk has been both revealing and inspiring for me. When I commit to and observe my body in its natural flow I can feel how I align to an ease and natural rhythm that takes me deeper into myself… and at the same time expands my being.
Walking with someone offers loads! Space to talk about great things, space to talk about things between the two, space to talk about the world, and space to just walk together. Its a fantastic way to be together.
It seems that walking is a very underestimated thing we do. It should be treated as a special modality. Why? Because in our walk we magnify everything we are feeling, or better said choosing to feel. So pay attention what you choose to feel, because it will influence your day.
My daily commute now involves a 20 min walk across a big bridge, and I love it: I start the day feeling clearer, more energised, and ready for the day, and the walk back again after work is a wind-down, feeling how my day has been, which I equally enjoy. I love how you either talk to your wife or you talk to yourself, working through any issues. There aren’t really any down sides to walking – it supports us on so many levels.
It is interesting to consider our distracting mind that tries to stop us form walking, a way of movement for our bodies that is supportive and very nurturing and is needed on a daily basis.
Awesome Tim.. when you truly feel in your body the benefits of a consistent routine act that it then becomes a part of your loving discipline.
Thank you Tim, it’s interesting about how commitment to one thing like walking flows through and can lead to changes in other parts of life. The more we love and care for ourselves the more we feel supported and held to make other changes where necessary.
Commitment to caring for ourselves in one aspect of our daily life inspires us to be lovingly committed in many other ways.
Loved it Tim, your honesty is catching. It does inspire me to pick up walking again as a consistency, like I did for a long time. And I remember: the way I was walking transferred to other parts in my life as well.
Like so much of what Universal Medicine presents, this is simplicity itself, and yet the healing that is possible is quite profound..
Walking really does clear the cobwebs from our mind and get us back connected to our body.
I love to walk. Walking supports me to either connect back to myself or to confirm where I am at. It is an essential part of my foundation that brings me so much joy.
‘In the past, whenever things started to get in the way it was very easy to make excuses and give up – a pattern I had for most of my life.’ I guess this is something we all know too well. To commit in one area or more supports to bring it in other areas as eventually when we truly are honest it is about bringing quality in every area of our life, it is all the same, all one.
Commitment is the key to building a consistent rhythm in our lives and although I know that I feel so much better when I walk every day I have recently allowed this to slip but feeling inspired to re-commit to walking daily and feeling how this will support me in all areas of my life.
A 15 minute walk is a brilliant way to begin or end a day, I agree where you say it enables your body to feel lighter and your thoughts clearer, I’d be interested in knowing the exact science of what happens when we walk, but for now I know my body loves it and I know it’s super beneficial to my overall well-being.
How perfect to come back to your inspirational blog today Tim, as I am in the process of settling into a new job and working on a way to fit a walk into my lunch break. But I finally have managed to and even though it’s usually only 15 minutes I can feel the difference it is making to how I feel after sitting most of the morning at my desk. I am loving this 15 minutes for me as it feels so precious and it also gives me the opportunity to be with me and to feel how my body is feeling after the morning’s work; it is always very revealing.
Walking is something most of us all do throughout our day, but how often is that we connect to this movement we are making with our bodies, or that we are present with our walk. Thank you for bringing to our attention that there is much power to bring to our walk and our movements through our connection to our body and being, and the joy that this presence brings. As when it is our being that walks us, it is our light that blesses the Earth.
I’ve been walking to work recently and at first, during the first week, could feel the level of unfitness in my body so I took it gently and walked at a pace my body felt at ease with, no pushing. The following week I could feel my body strengthening and my pace naturally picking up. A few weeks on I now walk at a good pace, still without pushing, my body loves it and I feel so energised, my fitness levels have greatly improved.. plus as your title says I get to experience the Joy of and in walking every day.
That’s lovely Ruth, honouring your body in a step by step process.
‘ I now can feel that my body doesn’t need to be trained hard and that gentle exercise is what is needed.’ What a great awareness to come to Tim, that the body loves and responds to gentle exercise. Your list of benefits show this.
I have struggled with my commitment to exercise over the years particularly since giving up organised sport, something that help me be accountable to something. So now, as I only have myself to rely on and it’s interested to see how much of difference this makes. I agree with you Tim that being committed is greatly assisted by the intention. If I make exercise about losing weight for example, it’s always not long before I fall off the bandwagon getting bored of not seeing immediate results. I’m aware that I need to bring more attention to why exercise will benefit my body. Losing weight can be a by-product, but in order for it to be effortless, I realise that appreciating my body is worth the effort to be nourished through movement, and not having an agenda per se, is a far less goal driven approach which means all I have to do is be with my body when I take it to exercise…no expectations, no need for an outcome.
It is amazing isn’t it … that something just so simple and obvious can revolutionise ones life.
That’s true Chris, we sometimes look at quite outlandish or complicated ways to bring the spark back to life, when it could be quite revolutionary to change some obvious simple things and do so with care and love.
I think many of us are affected by the belief that walking does not offer ‘proper fitness’. The fitness images we see certainly reinforce this, where you have to be sweating and straining to be getting a proper workout. I am really seeing the difference between fitness and health lately, and how fitness does not guarantee health. You may end up with the looks, muscles and cardio capacity you want but the body is not being run in harmony or feeling healthy as a result of this often extreme treatment
Walking is fabulous for our health and wellbeing and every step we commit to supports our next step in building that consistency you speak of Tim.
Wow Tim this really highlights the importance of movement. How huge it is for the body and how it truly supports you. It is amazing to read how walking consistently just simplifies your life.
I feel inspired by your dedication to that consistency. I often wonder why I stop doing something that I know really supports me when I had such a commitment to doing it – such dedication. I can see the focus was not in the right spot, so, inspired by your blog I will start again today without beating myself up!
Consistency is a quality that we find easy to apply to what isn’t good for us (like TV), but not to what brings us real joy and uplifts us. This is something to be deeply pondered, for if truly seen it opens the door to a life well lived.
Regarding walking, you say “I do it for me and it brings me joy.” This is beautiful Tim. I observe that for me, when I am busy, my daily walk is one of the first things to go. I now recognise this is crazy as walking supports me in my daily life. Walking as part of commitment to life – I love this. great to re-read your blog.
I loved reading your blog today Tim, thank you for the inspiration to start walking again.
I too have been on and off with my walking, again lacking in commitment, I realise when I bring commitment to one thing in my life it opens the door to bringing that into others areas also. I do enjoy walking with me, feeling the loveliness in my body, and meeting people on the way.
Consistency is a word that continually is on repeat in my mind. If I consistently do things for me which in turn is for all, there is a connection to my inner most, which makes all I do come with a livingness that is reflected to all.
Loved the simplicity and honesty in your article Tim. You definitely inspired me to take up walking again. Walking brings me joy, but I know that it also can expand my feeling of self value, which is very much needed to off set the negativity that is sometimes expressed to me which I then pick up as an internal critique. By walking you increase everything where you connect to, whether is good things like love, power or value or bad things like sadness, anger and the feeling of giving up. It is our choice to walk the feelings or emotions we want to expand in our bodies.
Simply stunning Tim, same here no walking was my plan and I would calculate how I parked to minimise my walk. Well recently we had to expand our offices into two buildings, one of which is a few blocks away. Anyway I noticed a bit of irritation at then needing to walk between the two buildings but I stopped for a moment to appreciate that how incredible is that time to walk and connect and what a blessing it provides for everyone at our workplace as they go between the buildings.
I love your honesty here Tim. So many of us will pretend that we are committed to exercise but not actually do it. I notice a difference too when I am committed to walking. The way I feel about myself is very different and I have more vitality.
One of the greatest ways, in fact the only way to connect to the fact of fire, is through movement, and this revelation in itself busts the myth that the path to so called wisdom or enlightenment can be connected to by meditating in a cave. The activation of fire, or the light of the Soul that gives one access to what we call great wisdom, actually requires movement. Not just movement, but the right quality of movement. And so, walking, if done in the right quality is actually one of the greatest ways to deepen our connection to the Soul.
One of the things that stands out is the impact walking has had on every part of your life Tim – feeling clearer headed, having different thoughts and also eating differently. I have not found there to be benefit to my overall wellbeing and quality of thoughts when I trained hard at the gym or went running – in fact it was the opposite. I would feel ‘good’ about myself whilst doing the activity but that high would then plummet outside of exercise time, and thus exposing it was not a genuine part of my wellbeing.
I am so glad I read this this morning Tim, For a few years I walked constantly every morning, though recently it has dropped off as I have been leaving for work sometimes before 5am in the morning what I realise is this that if I am unable to walk in the morning I can still walk in the evening, that way I keep my consistency up which leads to all the above benefits you describe Tim.
Doing something that is so ‘basic’ in a sense and understanding that this can bring us such joy… we can reflect and apply this to so much in our lives
Its often the simplest things that benefit us the most, and it doesn’t get much more simple than walking. Clearing the head is such a big part of it for me, as Tim has described, and the very easy flow of walking for health and wellbeing is something I know I also need to fully commit to.
I too had the ingrained pattern that “whenever things started to get in the way it was very easy to make excuses and give up” and I would find every excuse under the sun not to begin again. It was as if, if I didn’t think about it I wouldn’t be able to give myself a hard time which usually included telling myself that I was a failure. It has taken quite some time to realise that giving up and stopping myself from doing something that is actually going to benefit me is very exhausting to my body, whereas making a commitment and moving forward is in the end so much easier and way more enjoyable to do.
Thank you Tim, I love how you have made a commitment to doing something that brings you joy; how self-loving and honouring of yourself.
Its that expression ‘training hard’ that says it all. I used to do it, was incredibly fit as a result (and got injuries all the time), but it was in no way sustainable. Its taken years of re-programming but now my exercise be it walking, swimming or the gym, is something I enjoy enormously, and it supports both my fitness and my wellbeing every day.
I have found by adding walking to my rhythm and making a commitment to keep at it has definitely proved to be a winner in terms of how I sleep and I feel a lot more lightness and ease in my body throughout the day too. Walking is such a brilliant way to bring myself back to my body and how I choose to move and express everyday.
“I do it for me and it brings me joy.” Beautiful Tim. Once we commit to something we may find it brings joy rather than resentment. Once I understand the purpose of something it feels so much easier to commit – and enjoy,
Tim it’s a great topic you have shared about excuses versus commitment, and that it’s not being committed by being hard on ourselves, but through noticing how choices support our lives and wellbeing. In this we are committing to ourselves and it’s not a “have to”. Committing to love and using will power are very different things.
As you say, commitment seemed to have been the missing ingredient in your walking routine in the past. I have just noticed this myself after having been quite slack with walking and going to the gym for a couple of months. It feels great to be back into it and with commitment, I feel a lot stronger and more vital, as though commitment adds a bit of zest to the whole endeavour.
Great sharing Tim, committing to self first and the consistency of it allows us to make supportive changes which are honouring for our bodies, this is not just for the benefit of ourselves but for all others who receive our reflection that there is another way to live and treat our bodies. Thank you Universal Medicine for paving the way for humanity for true health and wellbeing.
Tim Bowyer I enjoyed reading that there is no longer an investment in the walking whether it was to loose weight, get fit but a joy in walking to be with yourself. How great are these words to show others that there is a simple way that celebrates you and brings healthy and vitality back into your life.
Thanks Tim, I love this. I have been struggling with my commitment to walking each day, even when I know how good it makes me feel. There has been an issue around consistency, thinking I have to do a long walk for it to be worthwhile, or that it is my one form of exercise, so therefore needs to be up hill and with some exertion. But reading your blog has allowed me to recalibrate all the ideals and beliefs that I am carrying around walking, which feels really great.
Re reading your blog Tim, I saw the line about walking has made it easier to manage the shift work you do. This would benefit all of us who are doing shift work. I can relate to this as in walking every day without pushing etc but being with my body and myself gives a rhythm that supports working in different hours of the day.
“I decided that this time I would choose to stay committed and when the excuses came knocking I would remember that this is not just about maintaining my walking routine, but it is also about how I used to be. In the past, whenever things started to get in the way it was very easy to make excuses and give up – a pattern I had for most of my life.” Thanks Tim. It’s wonderful to feel what is possible when there is a willingness to commit and also look at what gets in the way if the commitment falters.
True Tim, when I commit to one thing that supports me in how I feel then commitment in other things becomes less of a commitment but just a natural way of being.
I love how things can change in our life not because we force it upon us but we see the purpose and feel the healing benefits in it, and we turn from something we didn’t like at all to truly enjoying it.
The big C word Commitment, this is huge and so essential, ‘ I am committed in most areas of my life so I chose to bring that same level of commitment to walking.’ Awesome Tim.
“What I have also noticed is, that simple choice to be committed to walking has had an effect on all the other areas of my life that I wasn’t totally committed to, like paying more attention to what, when and how much to eat, by expressing more in how I feel and not holding back and overall just having a more positive view of life and a commitment to live life in full.” I have experienced this all the time how one little change consistently in one area then affects everything. It is quite unbelievable until you actually give it a go.
Being consistent with the ways we commit to ourselves can transform a simple act such as walking into the best medicine for our bodies and own evolution.