Walk instead of work

Walking is acclaimed as one of the best exercises. On Wednesday, organizations and companies throughout the country stopped working and started walking.

Photo: Walk instead of work

The initiative is part of National Start Walking Day sponsored by the American Heart Association. At Pheobe Putney Memorial Hospital about a thousand employees signed up to walk. They hope it will catch on in the community.

"Hypertension is on the rise, high blood pressure is on the rise, get up off that couch, get busy start exercising. We want people to take three days out of the week, anywhere for thirty to forty minutes a day and just start walking. Today is a beautiful day, beautiful weather just go on and get on out there and walk"- said Julian Maddox, Phoebe Health Works Director.

Phoebe provided 25-thousand dollars for the Start Program in Albany and challenged other companies to sign up. The fit-friendly hospital says the goal is to decrease healthcare costs and increase productivity.

Many people walk as a hobby, and in our post-industrial age it is often enjoyed as a form of exercise.

Advantages of walking are: 1. It reduces hypokinetic stress. 2. It can be used as GAMANA VIPASYANA thereby promoting one's own mental health. 3. It preempts waiting for a particular transport such as bus and hence prevents or alleviates the anxiety. 4. It provides sunlight and thus rectifies or prevents vitamin D deficiency. 5. It stimulates sweating and thus reduces excretory burden on the kidneys 6. It improves the skin hygiene due the ingredients in the sweat. 7. It improves the complexion of skin due improvement in subcutaneous circulation. 8. It reduces the chances of skin infection due imrpovement in blood supply to skin. 9. Walking or climbing staircases reduces the chances of infection [which are more in enclosed airtight elevators] and also saves electricity. 10. It reduces the number of vehicles on the road and thereby reduces a] accidents b] pollution c] wear and tear of road d] consumption of fuel and expenses over it e] maintenance of vehicles f] traffic congestion and traffic jams. 11. it reduces the anxiety caused often due to increase in fuel consumtion or fair of automotive vehicles as one proceeds. 12. Walking connects us to nature and revitalizes us. 13. Walking being harmless and risk free, can be practiced by people of any age and any economic stratum. 14. Thus walking, though a simple and natural aspect of life, is extremely useful and instrumental to the Total Well Being of both, an individual as well as the world.