Outdoor barefoot walking trails are popular in Germany and China, and 2005 research showed that over their various-textured surfaces for 30 minutes three times a week for four months improved balance and blood pressure. Make a barefoot trail in your garden by laying down garden canes, gravel and pebbles, crunchy leaves and bark chippings, soft sand, cold water, and even mud. Take off your shoes and walk over each surface very slowly.
5. Country walk
At the weekend, appreciate the countryside in which your food grows by planning out a walk that takes in a farm shop or farm-gate stall. As you walk, notice how the methods of cultivation and choice of crop or livestock have moulded the look of the countryside, and point this out to children to help them make the connection between what they eat and where it grows.
6. Watch the birdie
In the spring take a walk in local woodlands or reed-beds as the sun rises to see how many birdsongs you can recognize. Dawn-chorus walks organized by experts help novices learn to identify calls, and improve fitness while they are at it.
7. No time to walk?
Walk by night, when work and housework are over and children are in bed. Is there a full-moon or women's nightwalking group in your area? Try to walk in silence, at least one way to better experience night's different sounds and textures. There is safety in numbers, so take a friend.
8. Learn country crafts
Country crafts sessions using native materials get you out into the countryside gathering materials before teaching the intellectual skills and body know-how to work them into beautiful objects. Look for courses in basket-weaving, building willow structures, rope-making, carving greenwood furniture, or hedgerow winemaking.
Page 2 of 4 - Learn how to relax and use nature as therapy with helpful advice on page 3.
Excerpted from 1,001 Ways to Get in Shape, copyright 2009 by Susannah Marriott. Used by permission of Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
