Spring has come to Fresno, and the warm sunny days beckon us outdoors. Walks in our green environment can do many things to improve overall body health. For example, walks can help us reduce stress and blood pressure and improve feelings of well-being, decreasing anxiety and depression.
Since we can only focus on one thought at a time, take your mind off your internal thoughts and worries and just focus on what is around you with all your senses. Notice the array of colors; green leaves on the trees swaying in the light breeze, the varied and colorful flowers along the walkways, or the beautiful monarch butterfly as it alights on the flowers.
Listen. What do you hear?…..the bees buzzing on the flowers working to gather pollen as their legs become ladened with the golden dust, the birds chirping to each other in the trees or the soothing sound of water from the nearby fountain.
The air is heavy with the scent of flowers. You smell the sweet lilacs as you walk down the trail and the scent of roses from the attractive rose garden planted at the end of the path.
A peacefulness comes over you. In your awareness of all around you, your internal anxieties and thoughts fade away, and you become one with nature and renewed in spirit. What a glorious day for a walk.