New year, new you: 2013 Resolutions!!! 

It is a new year, and time once again to start making our new year resolutions. In addition to those promises to get organized, eat healthier, spend less and save more, improve spiritually and call Momsie & Popsie more often, we may add one more improvement opportunity to the list - to exercise regularly. Exercising is one of those things that we all know we need to do, and yet find it so hard to be consistent. Consistently exercising will greatly help us live a healthier, better quality of life, fight aging, remove toxins and help shed that unwanted weight! In fact, regular exercise has been associated with more health benefits than anything else known to man. Coupling exercise with good nutrition will also assist in maintaining an ideal body weight. Setting goals is the most important aspect of an exercise program, and all year long we should set goals, track our progress, be determined to overcome setbacks, and celebrate our achievements. Finding an exercise routine that works for you and your lifestyle is key to succeeding in achieving your goals.

Walking is a simple and healthy form of exercise that can be performed with little or no additional resources (when the weather is good). Consequently, one of our exercise resolutions for the new year could be to walk more. Some goals around walking as a form of exercise, for example, could be to resolve to walk at least 2 kilometres twice a week, or to walk for 20 to 30 minutes every other evening. To accomplish this, a proper plan needs to be put in place with timing, location, walking companions, diet menus, and other necessities. However, do remember that new year resolutions are best approached with baby steps, not with a sledge hammer approach, which is bound to fail from the onset. Some of us may feel that we do not have enough hours in the days to add regular exercise to the long list of things-to-do. Multitasking is a viable option here, to enable us to effectively “kill 2 birds with 1 stone”.

WALKING & MULTITASKING

Here are some suggestions of things that can be done while walking, to achieve multitasking. You will potentially be working on 2 resolutions at once. In all of these, please remember to pay attention to your physical environment and stay safe always:

IMPROVE SPIRITUALITY - Praying: Depending on your spiritual inclination, you can engage in different forms of prayer while walking, such as:

- You can say a decade or more of the rosary while walking, and reflect on the lessons that each mystery holds.

- You can also engage in praise worship, singing joyfully to the Lord while you walk. Taking deep breaths while you do this should help to exercise the lungs, and if you are walking alone or in a quiet or secluded place, then you have no fear of offending the ears of others with a croaky voice!

- You can read a memory verse just before you begin your walk, and then meditate upon it while you walk, gleaning the spiritual lessons therein.

- You can observe and enjoy the beauty of nature as you walk, reflect spiritually on the wonderful nature of the God that created it all, and offer Him adoration.

INCREASE KNOWLEDGE - Studying: If you are engaged in or plan to be engaged in a learning program, and need to fit study time into your already full schedule, you can do some of the following while walking:

- If it is an academic program, you can obtain audio CDs/tapes of your lessons, and listen to these while walking.

- If you do not have time to actually walk around, and need to use a treadmill indoors, you can also obtain and watch visual videos of your learning program while you work out.

- If you desire to learn a new language, you can obtain language CDs and listen and practice your pronunciations while walking.

RECREATION/RELAXATION: You can listen to good music on your mp3 player or Smartphone or other musical device while you walk.

On a final note, in order to achieve ANY new year resolutions, being organized is a necessary first step, and whether you want your car organized enough that you can give a VIP a ride anytime, or your home organized enough that you can have friends over at little or no notice, or your office organized enough that you can find that weekly report or contract file or your pair of scissors when you need them, you should take steps to get organized, because being physically organized contributes a great deal to peace of mind, a relaxed spirit and a stress-free and healthier life.

Happy walking! Happy New Year!!!