The Healthiest Thing You're Already Doing (and How to Do it Better)

There's no question: The simple act of putting one foot in front of the other can transform your health. Research shows that a regular walking regimen decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure -- even cognitive decline. On top of these impressive findings, many people who walk regularly report less stress, better sleep, more energy, and a sense of empowerment from taking an active role in their health. Easy on the knees and compatible with even the most hectic of schedules, walking may be considered the ultimate life enhancer.

But while it's intuitive enough for even a child to learn, walking becomes transformative with intention. We've sought out some of the foremost experts on walking and asked them how to apply this accessible exercise to goals that matter most: getting fit, coping with stress, improving posture, raising overall vitality, and finding inspiration. On the following pages, you'll find all you need to jump-start, enhance, or revitalize a healthy walking practice. The rewards will pay off in more ways than you might have imagined.

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Walking for Weight Loss

You already have all the complex, high-tech machinery you need to get into shape: your two legs. Walking works the major muscle groups of the body, raises your heart rate, burns calories, and lowers your blood pressure with a third of the impact running has on your joints. "Plus, walking makes you feel more in control of your life and gives you the energy to get things done," says Therese Iknoian, author of "Fitness Walking."

For optimum health, Iknoian advises walking a minimum of 30 minutes a day, four or five times a week, at a moderate pace. Here, she outlines a progressive walking plan that'll get you on your feet and out the door.

Phase 1: Get Started

Goal: Walk 20 to 30 minutes, at least 3 times a week or more

Duration: About 4 weeks, or until you can walk 30 minutes at a time

Benefits: Lowered stress levels; better sleep; improved mood

How to Do It: Walk only as far as you comfortably can, even if that means walking in one direction for a few minutes and then turning around. Iknoian recommends increasing each walk by about 2 to 3 minutes, until you're walking the full 30 minutes.

Tip: Walk with purpose -- as if you're late for an appointment.

Phase 2: Ramp Up

Goal: Increase the frequency and length of your walks; find your rhythm; refine your technique

Duration: 4 to 8 weeks

Benefits: Noticeable improvement in overall fitness; increased energy

How to do it: Add one to two walks to your weekly regimen. In addition, go for one longer walk each week. If you're walking 3 times a week for 30 minutes, make one of those walks 45 to 60 minutes long.

Tip: Bend your arms at the elbows and take shorter, quicker steps.

Phase 3: Intensify and Maintain

Goal: Stick to a regular practice

Duration: Ongoing

Benefits: Weight loss and weight management; improved cardiovascular fitness; reduced risk of life-threatening diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer

How to Do It: Walk 30 minutes a day, 5 to 6 times a week, including an additional longer walk when you can. For an added challenge, try for higher-intensity intervals once a week: Choose a landmark, such as the end of the block, and walk at top speed until you reach it. Repeat 4 to 8 times on your walk.

Tip: Boost the intensity of your workout by walking up hills or on grass, sand, or trails. And to quicken your pace, bend your arms to 90 degrees and swing them alongside your torso.Take shorter, quicker steps rather than long strides.

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Walking for Better Posture

All the walking in the world won't do you any good if you're tweaking your knee, jostling your spine, or overtaxing tight muscles. Jonathan FitzGordon, a New York City yoga instructor for seven years, created the Core Walking program to help his students practice posture and alignment outside of yoga class. His approach aims to reduce wear and tear on the bones, joints, and ligaments and help the body rediscover its inherent alignment. "If you learn to walk optimally," he says, "you'll create ease in your body with every step you take." Here, FitzGordon identifies four alignment remedies for common problems.

1. Lift Your Crown

Problem: A jutting head or chin can throw your neck and spine out of alignment, which can cause strain.

Solution: Lengthen the spine and the back of your neck to bring your shoulders to the proper position; allow your spine to unfurl.

Benefit: Helps your body find its natural alignment.

2. Engage the Core

Problem: A weak core, which puts excess pressure on the disks between your vertebrae, causes compression in the spine that can result in disk degeneration over time.

Solution: Gently draw your navel in toward your spine to strengthen and stabilize your core muscles.

Benefit: Toned abdominals reduce pressure on your disks, safeguarding against back injury.

3. Stop Clenching

Problem: Overactive glutes work overtime -- even when they don't need to. "It's often an unconscious attempt to stabilize the body," FitzGordon says. Clenched buttocks push the thigh bones forward, constricting the hips and lower back.

Solution: Release the glutes as you walk. Let your hips drift back slightly, so they can sway.

Benefit: Reduced lower-back strain and reduced tension. Plus, you allow your abs to engage and stabilize the body (rather than rely on your glutes to do the work).

4. Shorten Your Stride

Problem: Overstriding, which causes your leg muscles to work too hard, forces the knee into hyperextension, which can degrade the joint over time.

Solution: Take smaller steps. "Walking should feel like gliding, not dragging," FitzGordon says.

Benefit: Better alignment in the pelvis, spine, and rib cage; protects your knees; lets your skeleton support your body more efficiently. Focus your energy forward and keep hips, knees, and ankles in line by taking narrow, straight steps.

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Walking for Inspiration

Whether you're staring at a blank page or stuck on a problem, a walk may be just the thing you need to bust through a roadblock. It can even set the stage for inspired thinking and major mental breakthroughs, says Thom Hartmann, author of "Walking Your Blues Away," by giving you access to the full range of your thought power. "When we walk, we stimulate portions of the brain in the right and left hemispheres, giving us access to more areas of our brains than when we're sitting still," he explains. "A million years of evolution have equipped our bodies to operate in an optimal way when we're walking," he says. "It's part of our body's normal restorative process." Here are his guidelines for using your daily walk to get out of a mental rut and lure your creativity out into the open.

Skip the Distractions
Wear comfortable clothing, don't carry anything, and leave the iPod at home. This helps you stay open and balanced so you can focus.

Set a Comfortable Pace
Walk at your normal pace, which helps you sync to your body's other rhythmic processes, such as heartbeat and breathing rate, which further creates the conditions for insight to occur.

Visualize Your Dilemma
As you're walking, call up the issue or idea you need clarity on. It can be as richly detailed as a mental image (seeing the finished letter, signed and sealed) or as simple as a question ("What should I say to this person?"). Your mind will inevitably wander; let it. Then, gently guide your thoughts back. Hartmann explains that this interplay between conscious thinking (going over the main points in your mind) and unconscious thinking (daydreaming) brings your whole brain into play and opens you up to inspiration.

Take Your Time
According to Hartmann, the average length of time people require to have a burst in creativity is 15 minutes, or about a mile of walking.

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Walking for Stress Relief

You know that a brisk walk around the block can clear your head. But it can do even more. Walking rivals yoga, meditation, and tai chi as a powerful mindfulness practice, says Danny Dreyer, a running coach, ultramarathoner, and creator of the ChiRunning and ChiWalking programs. Dreyer has spent years teaching people how to use walking to relieve physical and mental stress by moving in a relaxed way and focusing on physical sensations.

In the following exercise, Dreyer shows how to elevate a simple walk to a meditation in motion, just by using breath and awareness to target tension and trigger the body's relaxation response. Try this simple stress reliever before an important meeting, after a workday, or any time you need to recapture a calmer, more centered state of mind.

Find a Quiet Place
Choose to walk somewhere soothing -- around a lake instead of along a busy road, for instance.

Tip: Don't rush. Your goal here is to unwind, not to break a sweat or clock in miles. Do your best to maintain an easy gait.

Go Easy
Keep your pace comfortable (as if you don't need to get anywhere fast) and your stride short.

Breathe Away Tension
Start with your head and observe any tension you might be feeling there. Take a deep inhale, and then with each exhale, imagine releasing tightness in your head and neck. Continue with your shoulders, arms, chest, belly, glutes, upper legs, lower legs, and feet. Spend several breaths on each area, gradually inviting every part of your body to relax. Repeat this exercise.

Take Time to Unwind
Walk for at least 15 minutes, or longer if you have time.

Tip: Focus on tension hot spots throughout your body; this will help you open up and unwind.

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