The darkest days of the winter months are behind us, and yet spring can still feel so far away some days. Whether you suffer from seasonal affective disorder or struggle with other mood disorders and mental health issues, winter in the North can be an especially hard time to get through. It can be difficult to get motivated to go outside, to get up in the morning or to not feel more irritated or bored than usual. Sometimes it can feel easier to just avoid people, stay at home and indulge in comfort foods. Fortunately, science and personal experience have both found that there exists a simple way to relieve stress, boost your energy and increase your mental and physical resilience, and it exists just outside your front door: walking.
The health benefits of walking are countless. Studies have found walking to lower the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and cancer. It activates the lymphatic system, eliminates toxins, fights infection and strengthens immunity (bluezones.com/2018/07/research-says-walking-this-much-per-week-extends-your-life). And according to Harvard Medical School, walking about 10,000 steps per day can cut your risk of dementia by 50 per cent (health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/walking-linked-to-lower-dementia-risk). It also leads to stronger bones and improved balance, as well as increased muscle strength and endurance (betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/walking-for-good-health#health-benefits-of-walking).
But, arguably, even more astounding than the physical health benefits of walking are the improvements to mental health that it can trigger. Even a short daily walk can enhance mood and focus, combat depression and improve sleep. Consistency is key to enjoying the transformative power of walking; it’s the act of committing to it every day that truly leads to positive changes in your life. And walking in nature is even more beneficial in improving our psychological well-being, which makes us, here in the Yukon, very fortunate to have so many beautiful trails close to our communities.
This month, the Trans Canada Trail launched its fourth-annual Blahs to Ahhhs winter wellness campaign (tctrail.ca/blahs2ahhhs). The Trans Canada Trail is the world’s longest trail network, stretching over 28,000 kilometres from the Atlantic to the Arctic, to the Pacific Ocean. Construction began in 1992 and was finished in 2017. It wasn’t until 2021, however, that someone managed to complete the trail in its entirety. Over the course of six years, Canadian filmmaker and author Dianne Whelan travelled the trail by land and water (hiking, biking, paddling, snowshoeing and skiing). Along the way she learned from Elders in Indigenous communities, shared stories, made art and filmed over 470 hours of footage for her recently completed documentary, 500 Days In The Wild. Her work, every day, was to walk (or bike, paddle, ski, etc.).
“Walking is not just the best exercise for our bodies, but is free medicine for our minds, too,” Whelan wrote in a recent Facebook post.
I’ve often dreamt about going on a pilgrimage like that. Walking the timeless Camino de Santiago or hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (like Cheryl Strayed writes about in her wildly popular memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail) has crossed my mind often over the years, but carving out a chunk of time from your life where you can just go away for weeks on end is daunting and not really feasible for most of us. Going on a daily walk is achievable however.
Libby DeLana, an award-winning executive creative director and designer/art director from New England, decided one November day, in 2011, to go on a morning walk every day for a month in an attempt to slow down and reconnect with herself and the natural world around her. That one month turned into years and she hasn’t missed a day since. In her book Do Walk: Navigate Earth, Mind and Body. Step by Step, she wrote, “I knew a daily ritual had the potential to be a tool to engage my mind, a way to clear the trash out of my head, a daily dose of beauty and physical satisfaction, an ongoing source of humility and a generous wellspring of contentment in the certainty of it.”
Walking can be used as therapy, as meditation, as exercise and even as an act of self-discipline and self-love. Whether your goal is better physical health this year, unlocking your creativity and improving your mental well-being or maybe completing a bigger dream like following the historical steps of First Nations traders and Gold Rush stampeders on the Chilkoot Trail, or doing another Yukon multi-day hike, this upcoming summer, consider making a daily walk a new part of your life. Call up a friend or head out alone and settle into the ancient rhythm of what for the better part of human history was our main mode of transportation.
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Inspiration and Resources
- Check out Dianne Whelan’s documentary 500 Days In The Wild at this year’s Available Light Film Festival. Two screenings will be held at the Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse, one on February 11 and 15 at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at yukonfilmsociety.com/alff.
- If you’re interested in finding out more about the Trans Canada Trail and where it passes through the Yukon, go to tctrail.ca.
- For more information about the Trans Canada Trail’s winter wellness campaign and nation-wide initiative to encourage winter trail use and how to turn your “Blahs into Ahhhs,” go to tctrail.ca/blahs2ahhhs (“Getting outside is good for your inside”).
- Plan to hike the Chilkoot Trail by going to parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/yt/chilkoot. Reservations for the Canadian side of the Chilkoot Trail will open this spring.
- If you’re looking for something new to listen to on your daily walks, check out “This Morning Walk” podcast (thismorningwalk.com) hosted by Alex Elle and Libby DeLana, or get a free audio download filled with affirmations, mantras and music from mind-body wellness and fitness expert Erin Stutland (erinstutland.com/free-soul-stroll): “Movement in your body creates movement in your life.”
Pick up a copy of the book Do Walk: Navigate earth, mind and body. Step by step, by Libby DeLana, and follow along on her journey on Instagram at instagram.com/parkhere and instagram.com/thismorningwalk.
