August 3, 2008

Excerpt from Bragg’s Healthy Heart Book — Chap­ter 9
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You should try to walk 2 to 3 miles daily, and some times try dou­bling it. Don’t give your­self excuses. Make a daily walk a per­ma­nent part of your Bragg Healthy Heart Fit­ness Pro­gram — all year and in all cli­mates. Con­rad Hilton walked in the sun and rain and loved it. Regard­less of what other exer­cise you do, your daily walk is a must! Of course, you may take it in the form of golf if you enjoy this social sport. But it’s best not to ride around the golf course in an elec­tric cart! This makes a farce of the whole thing.

Walk­ing is what your heart needs. We are inclined to agree with Mark Twain, who said, golf is a good way to spoil a good walk. But, if it takes the game to make you walk, do so. The result is almost the same — health­ily func­tion­ing mus­cles and quick­ened blood cir­cu­la­tion, plus a sense of har­mony and hap­pi­ness. Although the out­doors is prefer­able — where you can get the most fresh air — indoor walk­ing is far bet­ter than none at all. In win­ter, you can try hall­ways, porches or shop­ping malls. When on health cru­sades around the world, we take an evening brisk walk through the cor­ri­dors, and up and down the stairs of our hotel. If a roof ter­race is avail­able, we pre­fer this open-air space.

To Enjoy Your Daily Walk Is Impor­tant
Your walk­ing should never be done self-consciously, no heel and toe rou­tine and no time lim­it­ing. Let it be the most func­tional and enjoy­able of exer­cises. Walk nat­u­rally, with head high, spine stretched up, chest out and tummy in. Swing your hips, arms and body into action. Walk as though your legs began at the mid­dle of your torso. Breathe deeply! You will feel phys­i­cal ela­tion and will carry your­self proudly with body erect and arms swing­ing eas­ily from your shoulders.

Move at your own pace, with a free spirit and a light heart. If you want, lis­ten to moti­va­tional tapes or music. As you walk, your body ceases to mat­ter, you become as near a poet and nature philoso­pher as you will ever be. Walk your wor­ries away! As blood courses through your arter­ies, cleans­ing and nour­ish­ing your body, you are filled with a sense of well-being that clears your mind of trou­bles and nour­ishes it with pos­i­tive thoughts. As we stride along on our hike, we say to our­selves and some­times aloud with each step — Health! Strength! Youth! Vital­ity! Love! for Eternity!

It’s ben­e­fi­cial to also take a hik­ing tour once a year. Select inter­est­ing areas which you, your fam­ily and friends would like to see, and hike about 15 miles daily. You will broaden your knowl­edge of our beau­ti­ful planet and of Mother Nature, as well as help to build a more pow­er­ful, health­ier and long-lasting heart.