Your sneakers are powerful. Not only can they help you walk away from conditions like cancer, diabetes and heart disease, they can help nourish your spirit as well. Numerous studies have found that walking helps to both prevent and combat depression and anxiety. New research from UT Southwestern Medical Centre in Dallas, Texas even found that brisk walking for 30 minutes at a time, three to five times a week, slashed depressive symptoms by almost half. That’s the same effect as antidepressant medication. Even if you’re not depressed, just 10 minutes can lift your mood. Why is walking so effective? It releases feel-good chemicals like endorphins and seratonin, zaps stress, helps you set goals and boosts your self-esteem because you look and feel better. Read on to find out other ways walking does you good, body, mind and soul.  

Connect with friends A solo walk with just you and your thoughts can be deeply satisfying, but don’t overlook the importance of walking with a friend or loved one. Kathy Luten, president of the Ottawa Voyageurs Walking Club, loves planned walking events where she sees old friends and meets new ones. “It’s wonderful to relax with other like-minded people,” she says. She’s recently started walking with her four-year-old granddaughter too. “I’m teaching her that walking is a pleasure, and she’s teaching me to stop and look at the tadpoles!”  

Energize mind and body Think prayer and meditation involves stillness? Not necessarily! “When the mind and body work together, you create active meditation, and that’s where you find spiritual satisfaction,” says Carolyn Scott Kortge, author of The Spirited Walker: Fitness Walking for Clarity, Balance and Spiritual Connection (HarperCollins). “As you walk, mentally repeat something with four syllables: I am peaceful, I am breathing, I am walking,” she suggests. “This rhythm is meditation; it’s creating a peaceful interval in your life.”  

Create unity and healing Soraya Parandeh of Victoria, BC, discovered the healing effects of walking when she joined the Victoria Hospice Walking Group program after her husband died. The group met for an hour on 10 consecutive Saturdays and walked around different neighbourhoods. “It was wonderful to be with other people who had also just lost their partners,” she remembers. “We would hug each other before the walk, and share our stories in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.”  

Solve problems The rhythm of walking can actually generate a different wavelength in your brain, and that’s why a stroll can help you solve problems and think creatively, says Mary Frakes, author of Mind Walks: 100 Easy Ways to Relieve Stress, Stay Motivated and Nourish Your Soul (Life Lessons). “These alpha waves mean your mind is more relaxed and you’re open to creativity.” When Kathy Luten was going through a tumultuous time at work, she and a coworker would spend their lunch break hoofing it on the 5 km trail next door. “We would get things off our chests and try to make sense of what was going on in our office,” she says. “We’d return to work mentally and physically refreshed, and able to concentrate.”  

Achieve calmness “When I was going through treatment for breast cancer, my mind was practically vibrating with fear,” says Scott Kortge. “My walks were a time to clear out my head and get calm.” Here’s her visualization technique: “Picture stress coming into your body through your feet and then moving out through your head. Picture energy shifting in your body. Say to yourself, ‘Peace goes in, stress goes out’ or ‘trust goes in, fear goes out.’” Lace up your shoes and try it the next time you’re in a tough spot.