The importance of walking …
There are various informational videos on walking and the benefits of the same.
I have shared a few below.
Enjoy.
Namaste|
If you’ve had a severe stroke (and struggle to walk) then the above advice is not addressed to you. Cortisol is meant to lower when you go for a walk (and can walk efficiently with ease) but in my case a walk raises cortisol (because walking is such a struggle for me and this is totally invisible to the outside). Admittedly, my baseline cortisol level is likely to drop in the long run.
In the stroke world normal rules are often reversed or don’t apply. These videos (while brilliant for the average Joe Bloggs) are not made with stroke patients in mind. Having said that walking is my number one priority. With respect, it’s just a much more complex subject than what is presented above.
I have to walk, otherwise I don’t get anywhere. 
I appreciate that some people reading this might have had severe stroke and without your expertise knowledge i.e. about the differences in cortisol levels, I was totally not aware this might not be suitable for them. To those I offer my humble apologies 
For the rest who are reading this post, I hope you may benefit from seeing the videos and the advice they offer. For example, as a carer, and there are many on this forum who are carers, I feel this is brilliant advice and one I/they would do well to heed, for my/their own health and then as my/their ability to be a healthier carer in the long run.
Do I see my self as an average Joseph Bloggs? No absolutely, not.
Yes, this forum is hosted by the Stroke Association and maybe the target audience is stroke survivors? I can’t say for sure and I can’t pretend to know that much about this subject or any other subject for that matter. Speaking for myself, I have never accepted being pigeon holed and I tend to offer contrarian views more often than not. I find by so doing, it stimulates thought, encourages discussion and teaches us things we might not have thought about.
So whilst, you (respectfully) believe this is not for you and an over simplification for someone who has had a severe stroke and struggle to walk, I would like to offer a different view.
I would like to suggest, why don’t you try this?
Forget you are a stroke survivor and think of yourself as someone who wants to get well and if you not yet walking that you would like to walk.
What if you then were to follow these guidelines, what do you have to lose?
How many stroke survivors have been left to struggle on their own with no long term physio support or access to suitable advice or the know how or indeed desire that you have to do what you do?
What if you are that person who is walking up a hill with a stick and wanting to walk without a stick? Would you benefit from this advice?
What about that (and I am not suggesting this is 100% accurate) very simple advice of walking after your meal. Forget the 10 minutes - do one minute. If you can’t walk, stand - stand for 10 minutes.
Again, I don’t pretend to know how a stroke survivor would cope with this, but my suggestion is if they don’t try they won’t know. Also, I am not suggesting, nor does the videos, that you blindly follow this - you should always consult your GP if you would like to be reassured this might be the thing for you. Having said that, what if you have had poor experiences with your GP? Who do you turn to then?
Thank for allowing me to respond to your comment and to add to my initial post.
This post and the thread has been contributed by a non-stroke survivor who has absolutely no first hand experience of stroke survival and the challenges it poses. Further, there is no scientific or other training that can be referenced to suggest any expertise or otherwise. The poster however is very passionate about things and appreciates being given the chance to share and voice his opinions. The poster leaves it the absolute discretion of the reader to decide the suitability or otherwise of anything they read either by the poster or any references he makes.
Thank you for reading this and wishing you all the best.
Namaste|
Time for a tune?
And why ever not?
..time for a walk, then !
You can do the extra 10% and do the 1.1 km whilst earthing on the golf course!!
Prior to my stroke I was very much an advocate of walking. I used to walk every lunchtime for 30 mins. Not only did the fresh air do me good it also got me away from my computer screen and stopped me being tempted to work through my lunch break. I would also walk to places when on my travels rather than, for example, use the tube in London as long as time permitted. A late running train might mean a quick tube ride was essential.
Since my stroke i walk much less as i ha e real difficulty with it and a 30 min lunch break is not sufficient to get me anywhere and would also exhaust me for the rest of the working day.
I do however walk around the house / office at every opportunity and have been known to stand up when I am listening jn to meetings.
Many years ago I needed to loae some weight and I always found an excuse not to exercise. A bit like in the video if I didn’t have an hour free I did nothing. One day I changed my mind set from that stance to even if I only have 10 mins it is better than nothing and from there i started to gain the benefits.
I miss being able to walk when I want to & I am really looking forward tk the day when I can again.
In that case, I would suggest you can do no more, or can you ?
The sky is not your limit
My father always used to drill into, that the key to life is to keep moving, because as soon as you stop moving, you are dead.
In other words, it’s prolonged inertia that is the trouble. Walking around the house is great, sitting for extended periods on the couch regularly is probably not greatly beneficial, however, if you are on the couch watching stimulating material on telly, it may be brilliant for the brain. Balance is beneficial. We go through life constantly balancing our wellbeing, not sure many people can claim to be constantly balanced. We do this until the scales finally tip and that’s the end of the whole matter.
I do what I can…….i tried to do more a couple of weeks ago and my legs gave out and I ended up having to be pushed around in a wheelchair for 2 days. Counterproductive in the end. Lesson learnt…..less stubborn next time 
Your father was a sensible man. I do sit on the sofa too but usually at the end of the day when I’m shattered from being at work.
The downside of my job is that it is mainly desk based. But I do look for opportunities to move. I don’t intend to give in until those scales do finally tip.
