Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Outdoor Benefits. Part 2.
Hello once again everyone! Here we are, as I had promised, with part 2 of our Outdoor Benefits posts. I know that many of you enjoyed part 1 so hopefully you will also enjoy this one. Spending time outside really is important for both our physical and mental health. There have been so many studies over the years to prove all of the many benefits to spending time outdoors. Today we want to look at some of those so you can see for yourself just how this is so important for everyone.
You know, just going outside you are more likely to want to exercise than if you stayed indoors. And that is especially true for children. With outdoor exercise you don’t need to have a gym membership, you don’t need transportation, you don’t even need any special equipment. And actually, many of your gym exercises you can do outside in your own yard or at your local park. Just being on uneven ground while you exercise can help you with varying your workout and help you to burn more calories. Around here that is easy, most of our ground is hilly, like the forest path I use for walking. One hill is about 500 feet (152 meters) and very steep and rugged.
Of course, when you go outside, it isn’t just nature that you will see. You will also have more connection to the people in your neighborhood and community. Contact with other people is always a good thing for our well being. So why not plan to meet up with a friend. Then you can go for a walk together and we can be an encouragement to each other to keep on with our walking or whatever other exercise you have planned.
And it doesn’t take a lot of time. If you’re not used to spending much time outside, start small. Even just 5 minutes a day to start will make you feel better about yourself and give you more confidence. It’s especially so if you are by a green space, park or body of water. And guess what? It’s not the real high intensity type of exercising that works the best. A more relaxed type of exercise is actually supposed to be better. Something like a walk, riding a bike or working in your garden are things that work the best for people. But everyone is different of course so time and type of exercise can vary from person to person. But mainly we are talking here about starting off with outdoor exercising.
Well, I think we will keep it there for part 2 of our mini series on Outdoor Benefits. Stay tuned though, there will be a part 3 coming as well. I hope you are enjoying this, have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
© 2019 Steve McLeod.
Beautiful Monday.
Good morning everyone! I hope today finds all of you so happy you’re just jumping up and down for joy. No? Well, come on then, you can do it! Put your hands on the desk or table, standing on your finger tips. Now jump up and down, but alternate between hands, don’t jump both at the same time. See how many times you can do it without messing up which hand is supposed to jump. Do it as fast as you can. Can’t tell me you’re not smiling now. Sounds silly? Hey, it works. See? You’re already feeling better. It’s Monday and it’s a beautiful day. It’s a beautiful day because I choose to make it one.
I’m getting a great collection of mushroom pictures. They can be quite fascinating. All the different sizes, shapes and colors. Found one on Friday that was 8 inches (20cm) across. There was another one that was less than half an inch (1cm) across. It’s stem was like a thread. I couldn’t get a good picture of that one unfortunately. I like to try and get a picture underneath the mushroom too if I can. I have to lie down on the wet ground to do it though. Gets me wet and dirty. Who cares? I can clean up when I get home.
I was doing this the other day, flat on the ground trying to get a picture under this mushroom. A lady came walking along the path and stopped when she saw me. I looked up and told her what I was doing. She rolled her eyes and walked away rather quickly. Some people are just strange. Oh well. That’s the way it goes. Obviously she wasn’t a photographer.
Sometimes it’s not easy getting the right angle for a good picture of these mushrooms. One was on the side of a rock face which was covered with moss. I had to hang over the edge of the rock to get a good picture. I hooked my foot around a tree stump so I wouldn’t fall over the edge completely. Getting back up was a bit of a problem though. Took a while. Same thing taking a picture of that one snake. I lying on my stomach, downhill, rather steep so I could get a nice picture of it. But getting back up without sliding further down, which wouldn’t have been a good idea, it just wasn’t easy.
But these things are worth it to get a good picture. As long as I don’t get hurt in the process. And I am being careful these days. I hope you are enjoying your Monday, God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
© 2019 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 