I’m Walking On Sunshine - The High That Keeps On Giving

Can walking really change your mood, your mind, your health… and maybe even your life?

This week, Aisling and Clodagh dive into one of the most underrated natural highs of all time: walking. From reducing anxiety and boosting creativity to improving emotional wellbeing, connection and longevity, they explore why something so simple can have such a powerful impact on how we feel.

The Gimmon, or Whirls,  also unpack a VERY spicy sober hot topic after reading an article questioning whether sober culture is making people “boring” (safe to say… they had thoughts 👀).

Plus:
– Why walking is “the great adaptogen”
– The science-backed health benefits of walking
– Why you should never underestimate a 10-minute walk
– Social connection, community & micro-moments of joy
– Why sobriety feels like “life in HD”
– The power of phone calls over texts
– How modern life is disconnecting us from each other
– And why some of the best conversations happen side-by-side on a walk

Whether you’re listening on your daily stroll, driving to work, folding laundry, or hiding from your responsibilities for an hour… welcome back, Natural High Lifers 💛

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🎧 This Week’s Natural High:
WALKING 🚶‍♀️

This week, we’d love you to:
– Add more walking into your day
– Try a walking catch-up instead of a coffee catch-up
– Notice how you feel after your walk
– And share your experience with us!

⸻

📲 Join Our Community

Come hang out with us over on Instagram:
@the.natural.high.life

We absolutely LOVE hearing from you.

Send us:
✨ Your feedback on the episode
✨ Your experience trying one of our natural highs
✨ Your own favourite natural highs
✨ Questions or topics you’d love us to cover

Everyone who gets in touch will be entered into our wellness giveaway draw 🌿

(And no annoying forms required. We’re allergic to admin.)

⸻

📚 Books & Resources Mentioned

– In Praise of Walking — Shane O’Mara
– Atomic Habits — James Clear
– Research discussed from:
European Journal of Preventive Cardiology (2023 Meta-Analysis on Walking & Longevity)

⸻

💛 If You’re Enjoying The Podcast…

Please follow, rate and review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or wherever you are tuning in from - it genuinely helps us reach more people and grow this little community of natural high seekers.

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Send it to them 💌

⸻

Grá mór,
Aisling & Clodagh
The Natural High Life Podcast

This is an exclusive discount for our Natural High Lifer Listeners. Doctrine Skincare have offered this across season 1 - 15% discount across all full priced and full sized products. 

Transcript

Intro & Natural High Lifers Welcome

Clodagh 0:04

Hi, I'm Aisling. And I'm Clodagh. And we are two. Wait, Clodagh, are we girls or are we women? Uh we're a bit of both. Ah yeah, we are. Okay, look, we're two gibbons. Or worlds. I like that. Who, having both kicked the booze out the back door, are always on the search for our own natural hides.

Aisling 0:23

The things that make us feel amazing, not just at the time, but long afterwards too. I, Aisling, am a mob and a movement and a meditation teacher. And I, Clodagh, am the founder of a tech company and well-being solution called CRAOI. I am a health and wellness coach and a yoga teacher too. And together we will trial and test many different natural highs and share with you the good, the bad, and the ugly. And we invite you, our natural high lifers, to come along for the ride.

Clodagh 0:52

Expect honest, real, raw, rich conversation, many laughs, and many, many tangents. Because progress is never a straight line. Woohoo!

Aisling 1:11

Ashing.

Clodagh 1:12

Down to work. Let's get down. Let's get down a business. Happy hands or back. It's not a thing. I'm trying to make it a thing. No, it's absolutely your own personal meme.

Aisling 1:23

What's

Funny intro, flamingo vs flamenco confusion,

Aisling 1:24

that uh like uh flamenco dancer? Yeah. Um although I do always get confused between that word and the bird, so can someone clarify that for me?

Clodagh 1:31

Oh, there's a flamingo and flamenco is a type of dance. Flamingo is a pink bird that stands on one leg.

Aisling 1:40

I I actually do know from my son who is full of uh animal trivia that they're actually white, they're only pink because of the algae in the water. Oh, potentially, and they also hang around in very smelly areas. We might want to fact check this fact check. Anyway, that's fine. We'll look at that.

Clodagh 1:58

Yeah, thank you for listening to the National Geographical Podcast. That's that's up.

Aisling 2:01

Uh how are you? I'm great. I am so do you know what? Genuinely I'm elated. Um, so many lovely messages coming in. Who would have thunk it that people would actually listen to what we have to go on and on about? I did think they'd listen. Of course. Um, I I know, no, all jokes aside, it is actually so like it's so gorgeous to think that like we are going around with people as they, you know, go and drive to pick up their kids or go out for their walks, that we're with their ears. What a privilege. I know, it's really fantastic. And then also, of course, like, you know, people love a prize. So I think people are enjoying the fact that we're giving away a prize every week for anyone who is sharing their little journey with us. So don't forget to share in how you're getting on with your natural high this week as well or the week coming up, because everyone who does share with us is entered into a draw. It's like a lucky bag. You won't know what the prize is until we tell you, probably through Instagram. So if you aren't following us there yet, do follow us on. Instagram account is the natural high life. We'll link it in the show notes. And yeah, we'll share what the prizes are. There's some fantastic wellness gifts that are just going out. One for everybody. No, it's not one for everybody in the audience yet, but it will be when we get bigger. Exactly. And also, I like that there's no form filling out as far as getting a prize. You give us how you're you tell us how you're getting on and you're automatically in for the prize. Absolutely. To know sometimes when I'm buying something like, did you fill out the I like you lost me at filling out my girl? You know, did you download the demand? This is a one-off purchase for me. I'm I'm checking out as a guest every time. You know what I mean? Um, no strings attached. So you just send us how you're getting on, and then you're automatically in the run-up for or in the what's the word? The running running, exactly. There we are. So one of the lovely little brontunus that we have. Bruntoness. Um so how are you? Well, I'm great. Oh yeah, did you want that one too? Oh yeah, yeah. Oh, sorry, it's onto me now next. Um, I am actually really good. Um, I know we're all going to die of boredom over the bronchiatus diaries, but I think they're in the rear view mirror for me. To the mo for the most part. Now I'd still do a cough every now and then that you'd swear I was smoking a pipe. But in general, I think, I think that uh marathon is is over for me.

Clodagh 4:13

Well, I'm delighted. You definitely did put in the time. I I did.

Aisling 4:17

I really, I really put in the hours. And at one point there a couple of weeks ago, I was like, is this just who I am now? 41-year-old married mother, plates teacher, bronchitis. Like it's just was part of who I was. But anyway, so I think you know what? And it might be high time to start letting it go conversationally too. And oh no, there it is again. That's over now. Anytime you mention it, I'm gonna pinch you.

Clodagh 4:39

I know, I know, I know, I know. I'm always pinching myself. So anyway,

Sober Hot Topic: “Is Sober Culture Making Life Boring?”

Clodagh 4:43

come here, drum roll, sober hot topic of the week.

Aisling 4:46

Hit me. Sober hot topic. I have one that kind of infuriated me. I only saw it a few days ago. Haven't discussed it properly with you yet. This was one that I found on Instagram. So I don't actually know them, and maybe I should, but Row magazine, they had this post out, so I'm gonna share it with you. No, I never did either. Right. But I'm gonna share it with you and get your response live in real time. So basically, the whole kind of point of the post is saying, have we lost the ability to be spontaneous now that we've become so conscious of controlling ourselves? By control, it means that we're deciding not to drink anymore. So it says this piece explores the quiet shift from chaos to control and the part no one really wants to ask, whether drinking has removed the spontaneity that made nights feel alive. Because when going out starts to sound like, I'm not really drinking tonight. I'm being intentional with my energy, I'd rather stay in and recharge. It's worth asking, are we actually connecting or just playing it safe? Sorry, like this is Oh my god, this is sending me. Go on. Is sober culture making life better or just flatter after midnight? Oh my god. Okay, one moment there. Now will I just gather myself before? I know, and like there's actually quite a few posts as well in there that like has um this person who wrote the article, I'm presuming, like quotes from them. Like in choosing control, we may be losing the very chaos that makes us human. Okay. I'm gonna take a deep breath now, because I must say, of all the breathe again. I can of all the hot topics now. This one is kind of sending me, it's making me kind of my neck kind of tick over to the side. Okay, so spontaneity can and does exist 100% in an alcohol-free life, but that spontaneity you've actually decided with your full cognition to do something. Yeah, you know what I mean? So, for example, I've just talked to you, I'm I'm I'm really on the edge of booking a uh a big trip, and that feels very uh spontaneous. It feels very spontaneous, but at least but all my brain is still turned on while I'm making the decision. So they're kind of romancing chaos also. And the problem with that is I'm not I can I can't rec recollect one occasion in my life where I did something or invited in chaos that afterwards I didn't pay an awful emotional penalty for that. So I actually don't enjoy them bleeding the word chaos in with spontaneity. Spontaneity is beautiful, you can be so spontaneous with your full mind intact, exactly. Chaos is a different thing, and chaos makes me feel totally unsafe. Yeah. And if chaos, if by extension of not drinking, I have taken chaos out of my life, well, that suits me down to the ground. And not even if I mean, I definitely feel chaos is completely removed from my life. Thank God. Yeah. So it's funny, actually, you know, Millie Gooch, she's well known. She's uh she's a sober girl and she's got a what's her the name of her account? Ooh, we'll have to link it in the show notes. Ah, she's a she's fantastic. Yeah, she has a book coming out as well on sobriety. She's anxiety. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She's fantastic. And I just saw obviously one of the first comments. She says, Surely there's nothing more like feeling alive than not numbing yourself out. Couldn't agree with that more. I couldn't agree more, Millie. Millie's an absolute queen. And the thing about it is you can't selectively numb. So don't tell me that you're feeling electric and alive when you're out and simultaneously drinking something that numbs out your emotions and your feelings. You can't selectively numb. You're numbing across the border, you're not numbing at all. And can I say actually this article? I'm going to send it to you. You have to look at the comments. The comments restore my faith in humanity. The comments are fantastic. So we've got some comments like, This is wild, literally, don't even know where to start. Such an odd thing to read. And someone says, Sponsored by the booze industry, T's and C's applies. Love that. Someone else, was this written by a bottle of vodka? Um, and then someone says, I think the key is can we learn how to step into spontaneity and let go of the mask without the need for alcohol? It took me a while, but since I stopped drinking, I found that going out for a night out is actually more fun because I found how to authentically be in any room, still celebrating, still letting go, no alcohol needed, and it's definitely not at 9 a.m. in sweats. Yeah, yeah. We have to get her on the pod, I'd say she's fantastic. Yeah, no, love it. It's just it's so toxic to start to tell people that without this substance on board, they're going to become boring. The truth is, you can be so electric and alive. And actually, I have to laugh at people being like sobriety is boring. Because I tell you, I've never been

Feeling Everything: The Wild Ride of Sobriety

Aisling 9:33

on a wilder ride than just feeling all my feelings. It's life in HD. I'm numbing nothing. Like boring. I am like raw dogging it over here. There's nothing boring about it.

Clodagh 9:43

Like, I'm I've never been on a wilder ride than feeling all my feelings.

Aisling 9:46

I'm gonna just throw this out there as well, right? Like again, vulnerability out here. Um, I was in the car the other day and this tune came on, and it was like a fiddle, uh a violin, which I love anyway, but it kind of was playing a tune that for some reason, I don't know why, brought me right back into my granny and grandad's house in Mullenhorn County Tipperary, some of my favourite memories. And I was so moved and touched by the piece. I actually was crying, and it wasn't just obviously I missed them dearly, but it was like a happy cry as well. Yeah, sobbing in my face. Sentimental cry. I love a sentimental cry. There's literally nothing better than this. It was perfect, and then uh a reel came on after, and then I was whooping in the car, you so I was in great form then. But I actually just dawned on me, I was like, a lot of the times when you're numbing yourself out, you you're not connected to the magnificent, small like miracles of life, like a beautiful piece of music, a gorgeous, you know, blue blossoming flower, yeah, a sunrise, a sunset. Totally, yeah. And and I think again, because you're doing the opposite, you're completely all there. You're not escaping your feelings, you're more in touch with them, you're more in touch with them than ever. You're showing up in so many ways for others, for yourself, in just such a clearer headspace. Totally. And it's not even this isn't like even just some woo-woo kind of lovely chat we're having. It's it's just scientifically correct because unfortunately, booze just hijacks all your dopamine pathways. So you can't, it's like that that dopamine kind of threshold where you can't get the joy from those from those simple kind of things because your your mind's been so like hijacked. And we've all been there by that kind of dopamine hijack of like when you're like living for the weekend and you're living for whatever, like you know, wine and and can't wait for that boozy thing, and that's the only thing that really gets you going, then it's easy to go through your week and not and just not notice those more subtle kind of joygivers. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, 100%. And I also think as well, sometimes these kind of articles, again, I think oftentimes are more kind of clickbait. They're put there to try and get people to respond. Yeah. But I do think that they're dangerous. So there's one person, the last comment I'll read that says, as an alcoholic in recovery, I found this oddly sad to read. Yeah, sure, write about how exciting it is to let loose and lose yourself while dancing and being spontaneous, but in reality, is it really that? For me, it was never this, and this article made me miss it, but only because how it was written about was nowhere near my experience and nights out. And I couldn't agree more. When I read it, I was like, Oh yeah, I like that freedom. And then I was like, no, like I actually think that kind of after midnight when you know chaos starts to set in, you know, inevitably, it's a danger zone, and especially I will speak because from this because I'm a woman and I can for women in particular, it's a danger zone. You can black out, you don't know where you're going, like you could end up in a taxi being sent home, not sure who put you in the taxi. Yeah, that's not spontaneity, that's dangerous. Well, my my as I uh at the risk of reiterating myself, like the problem I have with that is the bleeding in of the of chaos and spontaneity, they're totally different things. We can we can be totally spont spot at spontaneous. Chaos is a very different thing. Chaos for me means we means a lack of safety, and also as a woman, unfortunately, this is something that we keep in the par like it's paramount for us, like and it's I I I I'll never know what it's like to walk through this this world as a man, but I know as a woman if you've loads of drinks on board, it's late at night. Safety's just an issue, and that's that's just an unfortunate reality of this world. So to romanticize chaos and to bleed it into the concept of spontaneity, it's just it's ridiculous. Yeah, I agree. And I guess before we put the article to bed, because it doesn't need to get any more airtime, shining a light on spontaneity. I never lose myself more these days than and try it yourself when you're alcohol-free and you get deep into a good conversation with someone, or you're out on a hike and you're like in the depth of nature, or you're out in a walk and you're just hearing the birds singing and you're just taking in the environment around you. Yeah. Like you can absolutely have moments where you allow yourself to feel free and to feel completely like just surrendering and letting go without any kind of hangovers and without using any poison as your substance to put into your body.

Clodagh 14:09

Okay.

Aisling 14:10

So that's how we think of you, Article. Um, but it gets you. That was ridiculous. And you know, sometimes and like I there's a part of me that's like, look, we're all entitled to our opinion, but then sometimes when someone says something so oh just it's so kind of toxic, you know, it it really does it really does annoy me. And it like I'd love to actually sit the person down who wrote that and be like, is that your genuine opinion? Or were you just trying to stir shit? Yeah, you know what I mean?

Clodagh 14:41

We should reach out and ask.

Aisling 14:42

Um reach out and talk to you. All right.

Recap: Social Connection as Last Week’s Natural High

Aisling 14:46

Into a recap of last week. Social connection was our natural high. How did you get on with your social connection, with your spotlight on? Social connection for the week that we just had. So good. So I actually I'm gonna do a little bit of a self-congratulations here now. So something that I actually pride myself in and I've always been um kind of good at doing is I wouldn't dream of not having an interaction with someone I'm getting a c I'm I'm buying a coffee off or whatever. So, do you know the way sometimes when we're looking at some of these, it's like, oh, this could really do with a rejig. I was like, no, I've actually I have a long history of I'll always make eye contact, I won't be on my phone, I just wouldn't be like that. And and the reverse is true too. It's such a turnoff for me if people are rude to people that they're having these small little interactions with throughout the day. I actually find that like the most enormous ick. So to the point sometimes now where I can kind of like uh be almost too chatty, you know what I mean? And they're like up the walls with coffee, and I'm there, what? Like I'll be really trying to have the chats with them. Do you know what I mean? Like, that's an interesting tattoo. And I'd say they're like, I'm up the walls. So as far as the connecting in those little micro connections that we make, I actually have always and will continue to make an effort to have those little micro chats and the and thing, even though I kind of hate boring chit chat. I'll almost always say something a little off beat to try and get something kind of a more interesting chat going. That is something I have always done and I will always do. So as far as that goes, I feel box ticked. Now it was so interesting for the swapping out of the text to a call. Way I I had a big resistance that I didn't expect. I was like, I'll make that call now tomorrow. Tomorrow now I'll make that call. There's something very kind of clunky and awkward about the ring ring, like you feel so vulnerable, dude. I was like, I'll I'll I'll make that call now tomorrow. So, and it was almost the opposite to my the gratitude letter where the person I wrote that to, I'm in almost constant contact with. And this is the reverse. This is someone that I want to be in a lot more contact with, but just you know, life gets lifey and I just haven't looked I'll just call it, it's my brother. He's not heavy, he's my brother. And then yesterday, I was like, okay, I'm gonna call him now today. Today's the day I'm gonna call him. And I adore my big brother and I love having the chats with him. And there is seldom a day goes on goes by where I wouldn't get a text on a group or or just me to him, but we probably don't talk as much as we should. So on the way home, uh in the from the in the car yesterday, the kids were just uh feral. Um, so it was like it was like I felt like I was uh a zookeeper um and I was transporting the most dangerous animals in the zoo from one location to another. They were feral when I was my my plan was to ring my brother in the car. That did not happen. Um, so that was fine. Got home and put the kiddos in the bath. And do you know who phoned me? My brother. Oh, that's it. And I just thought, do you know what's so nice? I didn't get around to doing my homework, and nothing has changed since the 80s. My older siblings are still doing it for me. And he phoned me out to your and I was like, go on, Rob. So yeah, and I had a brilliant chat with him. Video, I love I love a video call, so nice, and you can see them. Uh, and we'd a great old chin wag. And yeah, it feels so different getting off the phone, you've heard their voice, that type of connection feels so different to a text, doesn't it? Yeah, and I guess that's why they had to invent emojis to try and put some context or some feeling. Yeah, because I love that thing of like 90% of communication is non-verbal. So if you get that video call, you can see the little flicker in their eye and the little, you know, the little grins and all the bits. So yeah, it was so gorgeous. And I did make a vow to myself yesterday to phone him at least a fortnight, not to leave it going on. Rob, we have it in writing. You Rob, you better be listening. So yeah, it really like really good. And it just um yeah, a real, a real brilliant reminder to me that life gets lifier for us all. We could things can just, you know, the weeks can roll into months, but like when I reflect back on my life and I'm a little old lady, I will not be happy going weeks upon weeks not talking to my one press. Like, I only have one brother. Yeah, you know what I mean? So yeah, it was it was really nice to talk to him. I didn't actually do the, I actually didn't do it. He did it for me. But look, the end result was great. Ah, you still participated in the call and you felt good anyway, is what you're saying that you noticed. Just a real good feeling. Yeah. How did you get on? I had a great week. I loved the kind of challenge of just shining the spotlight on social connections. And do you know what is actually quite funny, Ash, is like things kind of slid into place for me a little bit in that I had a friend ring me the day after we um talked about social connections, and she was a friend that I was kind of saying, right, I'll ring her. We only text each other here and there. She kind of did my homework for me too when she rang me, and it was so nice to have a proper conversation. And that kind of happened throughout the week. Not just phone calls, but like I bumped into a friend as well, uh, unexpectedly in the spa and just bumped into her and we had great chats, a mutual friend of ours, and it wasn't expected, it wasn't planned, but it was such a boost. I was like, oh my god, this is lovely. And then yeah, I guess the other thing I noticed is like I would chat or ring. I did try to ring my sister one day and she didn't answer, uh, because she lives away as well. And uh then I what have we done that they've all emigrated? Uh but to interrupt her offense, she was under the weather and she actually said, Can I just uh not talk to you and we'll chat some other day? And I was in stitches, I was like, I'm trying to do my homework here, like pick up the phone. I was like, I gotta know. This isn't about you.

Clodagh 20:39

This isn't about you. You don't have to talk at all.

Aisling 20:42

Um so I would there's a few people in my life that I would regularly ring, and I actually was kind of thinking about that. I was like, why do I feel okay? Of course, you're gonna, I think, sometimes feel a bit more comfortable ringing family, let's say. Uh it's just more of a routine. But like I'll take my dad as an example. The only emoji I'll get from that man is a thumbs up, and we all know I I know I look, I don't mean this as a digger way, but the thumbs up emoji is it's so passive aggressive for his generation. And like so, he doesn't mean it that way, but he doesn't know that that's what it can be taken up as. I'll have to I'll have to school him on this now, actually. Yeah, so he I get the thumbs up off Ray all the time, and if I get more than a few lines or more than a few sentences, like I know he's really giving me a lot. Yeah. So I actually chat to him on the phone very, very regularly. It's a phone call. And I think it's because he doesn't engage. So I'm like, I'm gonna maybe try and engage less in these like long texts and voice notes and pick up the phone more often because when you do, you can actually have an interactive hello, we all know this conversation where you can have the lols when we're talking about spontaneity. You don't know where the conversation's gonna go, you're not in control of the conversation. Whereas with the voice notes and the texts, you are. And actually, Ashley, I will give you a shout out here because you're very good uh from our friendship when we started, you know, becoming friends. You ring me, you will often pick up the phone when it suits you, give me a ring, you'll chance your arm, you'll see, will I be free? And I love that as well. That's kind of a normal as well between us so it's just normalizing it isn't it I love it I love it and I have a couple of friends who'll give me a bu I'll give you a buzz. I love a buzz. Give me a buzz. Bring back the buzz. It's so nice. Yeah it's so good. But do you find there's and I know this is a sweeping generalization now right I I respect that. But there is in in my life anyway a small bit of a gender difference with the communication style. For example I could send one of my friends who's a fella a text that is kind of basically the PDF of a TED talk. You know it'll be long there's a lot of threads to pull on many points and then you might get it back a uh grand see you Saturday. There's a lot like as though they're sending an ad in the paper and they're paying for the word I hear and then I poured out my heart I do in my in my life anyway and I'd be interested to to know what our listeners feel like with this communications is is there a difference in communication style? My husband's the same I could send a massive voice you know getting into all the nukes and crannies of the deepest feelings I've had all week and I'll get back a kind of a basically right to be kind of thumbs up emoji. Yeah I know I I do have one or two guy friends that I would send a voice note to because I'm mad for the voice notes rather than the texts I just I and it's terrible but I just I feel more comfortable sending voice notes and at this stage one friend in particular he he just kind of is like oh god another podcast and now I might have it down to 45 seconds and that's to him a podcast I'm like God you're lucky a lot of my girlfriends get like eight minutes from me. God love them. So even with him I'm trying to bring it down to 20 seconds and even that he points out to me be like far too long. I don't have time for that I kind of like it. He's like pick up the phone and ring me. He responds better to an actual phone call. Yeah yeah there's there's definitely that I like a voicey though I have to say because I feel like a voice he still has you know the nuances of all the little conversation but sometimes the texts are fierce hard to read. And I don't mean that in an Anambarry way I mean like read the vibe, you know? That's so true. But I I guess from the whole week of doing the social connection kind of exercises the one thing that was really clear to me and I would be someone like you as well I would often try and have a bit of a chit chat with someone in a shop and like actually say to them how are you doing and actually genuinely want to hear how they're doing and because it can open doors to very interesting conversations or just interactions but number one for me was the people to people. It was people to people. Yeah it was connection eye contact over the phone call over obviously over the voice note or the or the text but over the phone call the actual person to person like and I know it's not possible in all circumstances because when you've got family or friends who live abroad absolutely phone call pick up the phone 100% but if you have people in your life that you could actually see versus picking up the the phone to ring them set a date and just meet I had the most gorgeous afternoon with a very close friend of mine we chatted for I'd say like I actually thought I was going to go hoarse by the end of it. I think we chatted for an eight hour it was just so unreal and I was in the best form ever after it really lifts your spirits and your mood. It really does. When it comes to those small interactions though and and asking people how they are and like you know like literally the barista and stuff like that I I do also think eye contact is really important but do you want people to overdo it? Yeah that's creepy. So there's there's there's a select few that are leaning into the eye contact too much and holding it a micro minute too long. Now that will make me kind of do a bit of ass clenching fear there's a real sweet spot and I think if we are going to lean into the lean into those moments in those small interactions let's be let's be acutely aware of how long we're holding the eye contact for there's one barist I have in mind and honestly I know he means well but it's chilling he's creeping you out. Oh wow it's chilling do you know it's it's really there's a there's a sweet spot you can't overdo the eye contact. This is true. I think as well the other thing of like of course interacting with people that we don't know at all like in a shop or in a coffee shop or whatever 100% like as humans we should all interact with each other. But what I found as well in the last week was I have some existing communities or pockets of community and I was thinking I could just show up that little bit more in those circumstances. So at the choir I go to you can often just show up and sing and not chat too much with each other or get to know each other. So I definitely made it a point to actually make conversations with the two women next to me and that was lovely. Or also with the like when I'm out walking the roads as I do anyway the pavements which should be a great segue into our next natural high but out walking we see a lot of the same people all the time they recognize us with the dogs. We have a gorgeous little community there of people that we stop and talk to all the time and by we I say me and my mum because we walk all the time together and that is so lovely. It kind of makes you feel kind of back to that whole piece we spoke about last week on the the pockets where people live the longest the five blue zones that sense of community like I know also in the yoga in the yoga center that we studio that we teach in I've also now made a bit more some of the faces are really familiar when I go to your class I'm making more of a conscious effort to have little pockets of conversations with these people. I'm seeing them every week some of them twice a week absolutely so like let's break down the barriers let's have the chats in bicro ski having the chats with the people and then you kind of feel like your circle is growing a little bit bigger I'm not saying I'll ring them and go come here I'm broke give me a few bob totally but I absolutely feel that when I walk into a room the familiarity of the people that I've started having conversations with is there and it makes it feel warmer it makes it feel richer and it makes it feel more welcoming. Totally and we all know that image of someone in of of the you know the tube in London and everyone just looking down their phones and how soulless that is you know I lived that life yeah we're so acute we we know that that is and we and we all know like we all know in our gut that that's a really unhealthy way for us to be existing. You know what I mean? We're supposed to be in constant communication and connection community like we we know that you know and I always it's not just so that they'll have a better experience like for example people who are coming to my class it's also for me it's it's it's selfless and selfish to have like I love having those little pockets of chat. Life wouldn't be the same without them I know what it's like to to land into a studio and there be a real kind of a separateness between the the practitioners and the teacher just that's not my vibe. No doesn't feel good. Not at all and the best classes are when the students themselves actually are interacting with each other. Yeah that's what you want. Yeah it's really lovely. But it's just those little like a lot of I used to have very many of those communities that I showed up during the week because I wasn't going out in the winter I wasn't leaving my house that much and it was kind of a a promise I made myself going into 2026 that I would kind of get involved doing more of my hobbies, doing more of those things that I love teaching yoga. So now that I have these little community meetups like you're showing up you're going anyway let's just see can you make stronger bonds with the people you're with and if you don't currently have those communities are there you know communities kind of at hand to you that you could start getting involved in or even like could your little walk become your community? Can you just you know start recognizing the faces and connecting with people. Exactly or even just at work not to be on your phone at your break because you have a small little interaction and just soften the whole experience for everyone like I know our phones are great tools but like geez they're really killing us when it comes to actually communicating with each other aren't they? Yeah I actually got a brick but I'm using I haven't used it yet you know you activate it against your phone and it'll be dis um disactivate certain apps and you can't access them then for a certain length of time so if I can barely access the apps to begin with though Chloe so technical it kind of makes your phone like a like a a not smartphone like a dumb phone right you just can't get onto a lot of the things that can I guess take your attention away throughout the day. Haven't tried it yet I was kind of waiting maybe you might have to be a natural high experiment and you might have to come along with me for the ride but I'd love that I actually definitely think in FuturePads we should think about phone reduction about better practices around our phone and space smartphone as a natural high. Yeah. Because do you know when you put your phone away for a few hours when you feel brilliant after it oh my god so on a Sunday with the kiddos I have a little hiding spot for my phone because they actually love to take my phone and now my five year old knows how to take photos. I'm just taking photographs um and then enter 2000 photographs of the one plastic brachiosaurus um god love them but anyway so I have this little hiding spot for my phone um uh down where I keep all the like hats and scarves and stuff like that in that little thing um I know they certainly won't be listening to this so um yeah and I just basically hide my phone on myself you know and remove it physically from from my from like where we're where we're hanging out and after a couple of hours honestly my shoulders drop yeah you know yeah I love turning my phone off oh do you know what's lovely as well is sometimes just uh turning on airplane mode it's very empowering it's like I decided to take back control take back the time this has gone on airplane mode see yeah lovely it's a good one so the final thing I would say on that as well is obviously uh before this get together for recording this podcast because this week's

This Week’s Natural High: Walking

Aisling 31:15

well will we do the drum roll because it's actually this week's natural high Ashling is walking walking so obviously we're we're talking about walking we said we'd meet up and we go for a walk before we record which we don't normally do because we can be under pressure for time. How much better do you feel kicking off this episode after doing a walk together? Chloe walking there are a couple of things in my life that I don't think I'll ever graduate out of being a toddler about sleepiness and walking even if I'm like I'm not in the mood for a walk a walk wouldn't suit me now I'm too busy for a walk won't work for me not too busy after a walk. The bees are buzzing in the trees da da da da da I am and the other thing is sleepy I can't ever recognise when I need to walk and I can't ever recognize my own sleepiness. I'd be like Simon the way you put your keys on the table is just so irritating for the rest of us it's actually quite selfish. And he'd be like do you think you need a bit of sleep at and I'd be like No no no no no no I am tired but don't confuse my tiredness with your selfishness. Fast forward eight hours sleep I'm like I love the way your hands look when you put the keys on the table like he's like your psycho pad there are a couple of things in my life that no matter what age I am for some reason I cannot recognize despite a massive body of evidence how good I'm gonna feel after and walking is up there. I've done the time for a walk post walk I am a new woman okay so in my whole entire lifetime and I'm sure yours too because walking is honestly like something I do all the frickin' time. I nearly walk too much I have never come walking we'll come into that no such thing I went I never come back from a walk thinking God I wish I didn't go on that walk. Never ever never never ever and actually as someone who has done loads of work around this but still very um I'm very aware of the fact that I'm a fizzy kind of person. I have loads of energy I love that about myself it's not something I'm I'm I want to change but if I go off kilter that fizziness will tend to anxiety that's where I'll go if I'm gonna tend off my track it'll go a little bit anxious right and I historically loved running and I'm not going to get into a running versus walking it's reductive they both have huge benefits in the in their separate fields but as someone who tends a little anxious when I'm off kilter the difference between running and walking for me is is just huge. If I run when I'm feeling anxious it really exasperates my anxiety um but when I walk I feel like walking is like the great adaptogen if you're feeling kind of kind of exhausted it can really pep you up and if you're feeling if you're feeling too peppy and too fizzy it can really ground you it's like the great adaptogen it's like you know I did a a reel last week about like a loving movement message from your movement teacher like the answer's walking you want to think about nothing walk you need to think about something walk you're feeling dysregulated walk you're feeling too sleepy walk tell me something that walking doesn't improve oh I am the number one fan well we could fight over it like absolutely love walking I really do and like I know it can come like sometimes sound like just such an obvious thing to do or like it's a bit bland it does it's not sexy walking like the running gear seen me walking it is very sexy. Sorry with the exception of your gait but um no but you know like the doesn't have a waddling down the marina it doesn't have which it's not as cool as like running and 5am run clubs and blah blah blah why isn't it you know what I really yeah I but um look we love walking but I think the thing about it is honestly I'm saying this not just as someone who really enjoys it but also as a movement teacher something that I see a lot of or a mentality that I really want us all to start challenging is that like like in what I'm teaching like full plank you can't even no no no like it's not it's not all the benefits at the full range of like running or or sedentary there's a full spectrum and within that spectrum of movement there's loads of benefits. So just like I if you're not a runner be a walker the benefits are so what I'm saying is step down a step on the ladder and there's still tons of benefits. Things don't have to be the full um you know the it doesn't have to be the end range of the posture it doesn't have to be a run club taking things down a step to something that feels really good for you can be so beneficial. You know? Oh yeah totally and like as someone who I I do run and I walk and I would say that if I had to remove one from my life because time was getting poor or whatever it is, it would be running. Walking is never leaving my life. I absolutely adore it it it when you're feeling a little bit lower down it picks you up. When you're feeling great it helps to mellow you. When you're maybe needing to digest your food after eating it helps it helps with that. Like it's so good to clear your mind it's so good to help you feel more creative. And the one thing I will say I've grown up with a mother who is addicted to walking I mean we've had a very funny longstanding joke for years would we'd be like hi my name is Anne and I'm addicted to walking like she cannot not walk. Like she will walk two times a day Anne's gonna live forever. Anne is walking like like she like her life depends on it. Like she will not stop walking and she has now instilled that in me. So shout out to my mum for that one but she literally walks the streets every single day and I actually think that without it she she would feel so much different. Like it actually really like not to you know she it puts a pep in her step. Oh absolutely quite literally and I actually don't run anymore um in general I might take a notion and go for a run. Running was a real big part of my all-round movement but now alas I um yeah I I just don't so I keep an eye on my steps and I do have a I do have a um like I I don't just walk an airy ferry I do have a a step goal and actually speaking of these step goals and and our goals around anything to do with our health I really enjoy myself and for the people that um that come to my classes and stuff I don't want us to have really specific goals with our movement because I think that's a real um we when we set these really specific goals it's real all or nothing thinking I think ranges are brilliant. So for me I don't have a step goal of a precise number because life is lifey and definitely when it comes to our movement practice having a range I think is so much more effective and just allows us to be a human within it. So my personal step range every day is I like to hit somewhere between 13 and 15,000 steps. And that that's on the higher side and sometimes I can get that in in one big massive walk and then like just around the house with the kiddos or whatever. But more often than not and I'm a huge believer in this because I feel like this is the integration of movement throughout our day rather than it being like one hour chapter and then the other 23 we're not thinking about movement at all. I love I love exercise snacks. I love because that's the bleeding it into your our everyday lives. So I might go for like a five minute walk an eight minute walk when life allows you know and then I'll build up my steps yeah like that. Like I've two small kiddos so if they're off for a day I can't go away for an hour walk. So I I might do go into the garden with them. I'll get a little bit up through my steps there and I'm kind of sprinkling it in throughout the day. Well that's the beauty of walking you can introduce it anywhere. And just I will say before we head into the science I was going to say as well for you that that's really cool that that's what you do. I actually don't know how many walk like uh steps I so that's not what I count even though I probably should I know it's really important. But I kind of more so look at the length of time that I go for my walks but the two rules for me is number one when I get out of bed first thing in the morning I like to do and I don't feel the same if I don't as I go for my walk and I've been doing that for years with my mum and the two dogs. It's like a ritual pre-coffee yeah pre-coffee wow that's I know but at the very end I'd be walking up the hill and I'd be like coffee coffee coffee coffee is like the one thing that gets me to the end. Yeah but literally we've barely ever missed a morning rain, hail, sh like sun, snow like we are out walking every single morning first thing you get daylight into your eyes first thing in the morning don't pick up the phone get out for the walk. So for me that is like walking and the second one is I try if I can get out for a walk after dinner. That kind of 10 minute walk after eating is proven to be really really good. So interesting that we come at it from different places and yeah but we still really really value it. Yeah it makes a huge difference actually I had heard that that uh a walk after a meal makes a huge difference to like any potential glucose bites from eating it's stunning um and actually that's the beauty as well of owning a dog. Yes because I just wouldn't do it to my precious scene of my firstborn I know furry love of my life. You couldn't like would they love walking the only person in my house well I know she's not a person but she is to me that doesn't give me any grief at all. Yeah she's one she's I don't even know if she can growl she's never shown us that she could just sweet she's on her eel. They get you out I just never like I'm not whatever about me. You know what I mean? Look there's two bitches in our house and I never leave that bitch down. So we're saying for everyone listening get her to walk no but they that is just one beautiful benefit of having a dog is hailerina shine I won't let her down. Yeah you know what I mean she'll she'll get some fresh air at some point throughout the day but however much we love walking my god do the dogs love it more like you just say do you want to go for a walk and it is like the excitement you're met with so it's such a gorgeous reason to get out with them as well. So yeah do you want to give us some science on walking?

The Science of Walking

Aisling 41:00

I absolutely do. So I'm actually gonna start with um talking about one of the best books on walking written by a homegrown neuroscientist Shane O'Mara and also just to say if you're not um kind of on board with reading a whole book about walking the beauty of the era that we live in is everyone who has written a really good book has done tons of podcasts. So true. So for example we referenced uh James Clare the um in whatever I think it was F1 and like if you don't want to read Atomic Abbott perfect put James Clare into your wherever you listen to your podcast podcast and just listen to him. And you've listened to us exactly um exactly start with us we start and end with us life begins and ends with us. But yeah you know that's like like such a beautiful thing because obviously when these like amazing people have gone to the trouble of writing these books they're dying to talk with them. So you can get them in all those little nuggets. If you're not a big reader or life doesn't allow you to read a lot of things and you can walk while you're listening and you can walk while you're listening. So Shane O'Mara he if you've put him into any search engine he's done tons of podcasts because he's a he's just fantastic. So he is has written an amazing book called In Praise of Walking and before I get into the actual physical benefits for us individually I'm just going to talk about something really interesting that he talks about. So he defines walking as the human superpower it's not merely locomotion but a sophisticated biological process that integrates our evolution brain health and social structures. Bipedalism are the fact that we can walk on two legs of obviously quadrupeds are four, we're up on two, freed our hands for tool use and carrying food, facilitating the development of complex social structures. Our brains evolved specialized play cells and grid cells to navigate turning walking into constant cognitive exercise he makes the point that walking increases the production of BDF sorry brain derived neurotropic factor effectively acting as a fertilizer on neurons it promotes divergent thinking and helps the brain break out of fixed cognitive patterns. And isn't that so true? If I have to mull on something a walk just ah I'm so much more creative after a walk. A million if I'm stuck on something in work and I'm just feeling a bit like oh I don't know what direction to take with this here or it's taking me a really long time. If I get up move away and just walk out into the garden even for a few moments and I come back or do a longer walk it's like a Eureka yeah totally but I think the part this book that I enjoy the most is a is the point that he makes about walking being really good social glue. And why I think this is important in this pod is a lot of the people in our world are are concentrated in cities. Yeah and sh and and I was going to call him Shane well because we are busy mates but no um Shane Shane Shane Shane was saying. No, but Shane said to me, it's said to me, Oh my god, something Shane said, I'm really living this truth now. But he he makes the point that unfortunately our cities were designed by town planners and engineers with cars in mind, and that is a great tragedy. So when it comes to putting more walking and building more walking into our daily lives, if you live and work in a city, you're going to have to get really creative about how to do that. It's the it's the taking the stairs instead of the elevator. How could you walk to work? Could you drive a certain amount and then walk? Could you take a commute in a certain, in a certain way and get off and enjoy a nice walk? And he talks about the fact that we should really be planning and we should be advocating for our cities to be social hubs of of culture and connection. And that means being on foot. You know, we're not discussing culture and communicating car to car. We're doing a pupil to pupil. Absolutely. Do you know what I mean? That actually sparks something as well. It's such a good point. Again, being really honest here because I know no one will judge me. Um, like I when I I'll be the judge of that. When I came back from living abroad for so long, and I when I lived in big cities like in London or wherever, I didn't have a car, I didn't need a car because there was public transport everywhere. So when I came back to Ireland, I hadn't driven myself in many, many years. And I admittedly was very, very scared of driving. Like this was up until like only a few months ago. I was so, so scared of driving. So I would have walked everywhere. It forced me into walking because I just was too scared to drive. Now I love it. Now it's a confidence thing. It's I've built it up and I love driving. But I'm now so used to always walking if I can. So I'll often walk into town and walk home again. Like you probably know that about me. People are always like, What? You walked? I'm like, Yeah, I walk, I walk everywhere. Because it used to be because I was too scared to drive, but now I like it's now it's ingrained in me and I love it. So if we can start to think about how could we walk a little bit more during our day, yeah, it becomes natural then as well. Totally. And it's a kind of a it's a kind of a flip in your mind. Actually, when myself and my husband first started seeing each other, one of the first few holidays we went on, I was like, Would we get a taxi? I don't know. I just I wasn't really a big one walking then. He was like, We'll walk. Of course we'll walk. And like when we go places now, we'll we'll try our best to walk, and then you can really absorb that new place that you're seeing as well. You don't see anything in a car. The best thing to do in a new city is ramble, like in Rome, ramble down the streets. But I will say there are some places around the world that I've been to that do not accommodate walking. I'm gonna say Nairobi, I'm gonna say Saudi Arabia, I'm gonna say Dubai. What else are you gonna say? I'm gonna say, I love that. They don't accommodate it. I didn't stand out in my mind because genuinely, when I was visiting there and I was like, I was probably with my sister in Nairobi in particular, is like, can we walk? She's like, You can't really walk around here, it's just not the done thing. The pavements don't really support it, or it's really, really hot, for example, in Saudi, it's a lot of desert area. I was like, I couldn't live here. Yeah, I can't live somewhere. I can't just go out and go for my walk. Absolutely. And the limit, I suppose the limitation for us here in Ireland is the weather. And actually, one of the better, you know what I mean? So there's there's kind of different limitations that we have to get really creative around our walking. And actually, and and also motherhood, like I can't go out for a walk when I have the kiddos, obviously. One of the best investments I made was a walking pad. I have the walking pad turned towards the window. So if there's a day where weather or or or or the kiddos, I if I can't leave the house, I have the walking pad turned out towards the window, I open the window wide and I just start walking. Wow. And it's the best recreation I can do. It's a really, really good investment that I made. If you were a little bit tethered, yeah, like I am. Um, and also Irish weather is just not conducive to it. Jesus. So that was actually right now, I think, of the countries, because even back to those countries again, so and I just I realized that when I stopped in that exact point, it sounded a little bit like, you know, I can't go there, I can't walk there. That's not actually what I meant. I just mean you can't walk, you definitely can't walk to Nairobi. I mean, you're a good club, but like, no, if I can't walk there, I'm not going there. Canada, forget it. You won't get my time. If I can't walk, I'm not going. Although After Watch out is tells you, like, well done, you've walked to the Sahara Desert. It's like, what? I absolutely haven't. But no, it's sorry, it's more like we in Ireland, I find when I visit places like you know, that are extremely hot or they don't have the infrastructure for walking. We're very, very, very so much greenery around the place. In a lot of instances, there's a lot of walks on our doorstep. Yeah. Can we start to like nurture those lovely walks that we have that are available to us? It makes you really appreciate it when you go places where you can't actually just go out the door and walk. Absolutely. And for us here, we are we're spoiled with walks. And like whether you're if whether you're in the like, for example, in Cork, we have the like that marina development is absolutely amazing. And every time that there's a new development, we should be really like, is it accessible? And he makes the the Shane Omar makes the point in his book, is it accessible and is it safe? And we should be advocating for those spaces at every like, particularly in our cities. And then if you're lucky enough to live in the country, I'm sure your walks magoo there, you know what I mean? Like, like that is one beautiful thing about living in the country, because you and me are like Tone Mouse Country Mouse, aren't we? Um and I, yeah, it in like I moved to the country kind of kicking and screaming and whining a lot about there being no pubs there, ironically. But um, I was in my twenties and I was in a very different frame of mind then. And now, fast forward in my early 40s, um, with two small kiddos, having all the options like a beach and a woods, and oh, it's just gorgeous. Yeah. Um, but yeah, you have to, I guess the point being, depending on your circumstances or where you're living, or the time of year, or what obligations you have, you know, family or work or whatever, or otherwise. Like have a I think a really good thing is to is to get a pedometer. It doesn't have to be an expensive one, and have a little idea of your steps. Um that mightn't be for everyone. I love, I love data. Are you data or data? Would you say very I say both? Do you in Ireland it's uh it's data, isn't it? I would say data a lot from working in an American company. What do I say now? One second, I gallop up to it organically and then I'll tell you. Okay. Um, do you like data? I'd say data. Data, okay. Which one's that, Irish or American?

Clodagh 50:24

I think that's more American.

Aisling 50:25

Is it?

Clodagh 50:26

That yeah, data.

Aisling 50:27

All right, go over to the faucet there now and get me a drink. I'm sure someone will correct us and let us know. Exactly. So um, yeah, so anyway, Glo, it's good news about the walking, you'll never die. Will I get into the science? Please do. Okay. So I was mentioning before in my last science bit, what we don't necessarily want is independent research papers, even if they're robust. I love, I love uh research um being explained like this. One single research paper, even if it's excellent, is like one person's account of a crime scene. Whereas meta-analysis is like what the detective came up with from gathering all the information and all the accounts of all the witnesses. And that's what we always want to look at, the meta-analysis. So we are getting, yeah, exactly. So we're getting a huge spread of data or data, whichever potato, potato, call the whole thing off. All right. So a really robust meta-analysis. Um, and it was it was actually a real landmark study led by Professor Uh Banach and published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology in August 2023. So recent, uh quite recent. So they concluded that walking is one of the most effective interventions to reduce mortality and increase cardiovascular health. It's the largest study of its kind with 226,000 participants. So robust. And it says that the risk of all cores mortality reduces significantly at literally at listen to how small, 3,967 steps. And the and the risk of death from um cardiovascular disease specifically has even a smaller threshold of 2,337. Now that's just such minimal movement a day. Yeah. So that's basically, they're basically saying at that small threshold, that is where you can offset all-cause mortality and cardiovascular health. And then when you bring it up to kind of 7,000 or 10,000 steps, proving again that there is no upper limit to the benefits of walking. And that's what makes walking so unusual, is no matter how excellent some modality of movement is, you will get into the law of diminishing returns. You know what I mean? With flexibility, with strength, et cetera. But walking, there just is no limit to the benefits no matter how high we go. So then when we look at all-course mortality and cardiovascular mortality, when you bring it up to 7,000 or 10,000 steps, there's a 47% risk reduction in all-course mortality. That is just unbelievable. And 7 to 10,000 steps, I feel like that is available to people. You know what I mean? It can be done at the end of the day. It's not up to that, exactly. It's not up to that 20,000. Like that does. I during the summer months, I did actually set a set a step goal for myself of kind of 15 to 16 to 20 was kind of the range I was trying to work in. And it was hard going to get it. And some days I just I just didn't meet that. But I feel like seven to ten, if you're lucky enough um to be able to do it, I feel like that's available for people, you know. Um so then on a more specific medical kind of thinking, so they they showed that consistent and regular walking is proven to defend against type 2 diabetes, eight different types of cancer, and high blood pressure. So it's just it's so far-reaching, like the the benefits of it. And what I absolutely love about this as well is they actually collected loads of data from Fifth Bit users, and it and in this in this program called All of Us, it was the name of the program, and it says data from Fitbit users indicates that higher step counts, up to 15,000 uh plus are linearly associated with lower risks of obesity, sleep apnea, and clinical depression. And I suppose we can kind of give out a lot about tech, and I'm always giving out about tech, but at the same time collecting massive data from our um from our pedometers, that is amazing to see, you know. Um, and it also says, now, this is the thing, there's a little bit of a I as a movement teacher, there's a lot of people who come to my class who who work in sedentary jobs. And I think a really toxic mindset that we can get into is start to villainise our careers. We have bills to pay, people have obligations that they have to get, that they have, you know, that they have to meet. So it said this uh sedentary offset, it says that for those sitting 11 plus hours a day, it may take up to 22,000 steps to fully mitigate the increased risk of heart disease. Now, I think that's a very scary statement. I don't know anyone who's sitting really for 11 hours a day. But I did talk recently to the girl who does our babysitting and she said, uh I'm on the bus to school, I sit all day in school, then I come home and I watch TV and then I go to bed. So though I'm sure they're few and far between, unfortunately, uh sometimes life has kind of set us up that we are kind of sedentary for these really extended amount of periods. And that's kind of why I think if you think that could be you, maybe just as a gentle suggestion, maybe getting a pedometer and having a look at the actual number might actually be really powerful for you, not as a way to shame and a blame, but just as a kind of a call to action, you know? There's just so much data in there that just shows like that's pretty incredible how walking that amount every day and how we build up our walking can really support with our long-term health effects, and like how it can support with cardiovascular effects or health, how it can really support, I think it can support memory, how our brain functions. There's just so much, so so many benefits to it. That's it, and like there are so many benefits to it, and when you think of it, it's nice and it's it's easy. Do you know like free? When we talk about the benefits of like, do you know what like when we're running, like as someone who's kind of a retired runner, like running, like it really takes so much energy, you know. Like, I'm not sure how everyone how anyone else felt running, but I know how I felt running, and it felt like a huge input of energy, and I'd be like, oh, like running is quite like for me anyway, at least. Painful is the wrong word, but like fuck, I was really putting my back into it, you know. Whereas walking is so enjoy, it's so it's it's it it's so pleasurable for such a massive return. I feel like I feel like walking, where's the catch? In I know, and I genuinely, I really would genuinely, even if you told me today the science doesn't show very many good things about walking, I would still be doing it. I love it, and sometimes

This Week’s Invitation: Walk More With Us

Aisling 57:30

more than the science, although I think and you think, and I know this, we're both little science geeks, and I love the information there, and I love what you've shared. So thank you so much for pulling all that together because that really is so, so interesting. But it's sometimes as well, how do you feel after what you've done? Let's bring it back to that just a raw feeling that you have. And as you say, with running, sometimes you can feel like you've over-exerted yourself. Maybe you feel like your nervous system is kind of moved into more of a sympathetic state rather than uh kind of calming, which is fine too, for sure. But how do you feel when you come back from a walk? That's maybe one thing that we could ask listeners to participate in this week. Trying to get your daily walk in, but really bringing in that how do you feel after your walk. Would you agree? Yeah, I love that. And not dissimilar to the gratitude journaling, the the writing of the statement is all well and good, but connecting to the feeling is really the most powerful piece. So, yeah. What would be your ask for listeners to join in for uh our natural higher of walking this week? So I would say get a little bit creative about where you could sprinkle in a little bit more walking. Because I what I don't want for any of us is this kind of like another thing we got to get doing. Like, no, we all have enough pressure, like no, and that's that like I it's the opposite to that. It's thinking, where can we sustain and support ourselves in really enjoyable ways throughout our days? Not another thing to add to the to-do list. That's the last thing we need. So throughout their days, throughout their working days, thinking, where can I get a little bit creative about where I could sprinkle in one or two five-minute, 10-minute walks? So something like I went to the doctor last week and I was like, right, I'll drive. And then I was like, no, it's actually really hard to get a park down there. By the time I drive and get a park, it's probably gonna take me 25, 30 minutes. I can walk it in the same length of time. So sometimes just thinking, like, can we remove the convenience of whatever it is and bring a walk in there instead? Absolutely. And as a second piece, tying back to connection. If you were gonna ask someone to go for a coffee this week, could they meet you for a walk instead? Yeah. A walking meeting, a walking. I'm actually gonna I'm gonna text my sister later on and ask her if she wants to. We meet all the time, but we often meet for coffee and I'm gonna ask her if she wants to meet me for a walk. Okay, so can you turn some kind of meeting, whether it be at work or outside of work, into a walking meeting, walking meetup? That's number one. Number two is can you sprinkle or get a bit more creative on how you can walk more by changing some of your current uh methods of travel or how you know, whether you take the stairs or whether you walk instead, can you sprinkle

Can You Sprinkle More Walking Throughout Your Day & “Make Walking Sexy Again”

Aisling 1:00:01

a little bit more walking throughout your day? Yeah, absolutely. Can you park far away from the front of the shop? Why are we all clung up to the door at Tesco's? Do you know what I mean? We're mad for the convenience. We just really, if we like, I think at some stage we're all gonna go into a virtual world, sit on the couch, and we're gonna think we're living our lives through this VR headset. Totally. But just remember this the human body was made for motion, you know? And I know it's kind of a woo-o thing to say movement is medicine. That is that's it's it's just it's biochemically correct to say movement is medicine. We were supposed to move all day. Yeah, you know? So set yourself a walking goal, and I think there are two examples of what we're gonna do. I walk all the time. I don't know if I mentioned already, I love walking. I'm gonna also introduce the step counter. I do have an Apple watch, so I'm gonna start using it. I'm terribly using it, and I'll start to track how many steps I'm getting in every day.

Clodagh 1:00:51

Yeah.

Aisling 1:00:52

Because knowledge is power. Absolutely, and that beautiful thing that every little bit counts. So I mentioned all those really low through thresholds, but just to finish on that study, it says that any extra thousand steps reduces mortality by 15%. Now that is just an like, there's no fairer trade-off I've heard than that. You know? So no upper limit was found with benefits continuing way beyond 20,000 steps a day. You know, we can all dream. I mean, motherhood will not allow me to do 20,000 steps a day. But you know what? Make it achievable and reachable for you and make it enjoyable. Right, Ashing, I'm off to go walk her in the walk around the parks a few times. I think I'll just walk in the spot. You're knowing on so mad for walking. That's brilliant. Thank you so much for sharing all that advice. My pleasure. And we will, yeah, just let us know how you get on with your walking. We'll be obviously. I'm gonna moonwalk out of here now. Please do that. I'll get it on video. Um, okay, so we can't wait to hear how you get on. Um, make walking sexy again. Woohoo! What do you mean, make it? I already have it. It's sexy. I'm telling you, watch out for my walk. I got the swagger.