I forgot this for a while — that the benefits of walking as gentle movement are quiet, but they add up. Fifteen minutes counts. A slow loop around the block counts.
Somewhere in my twenties and thirties, I picked up the idea that exercising had to be something specific to matter. A class. A piece of equipment. A program. A version of my body doing a version of movement that I could specifically see and measure. Anything less felt like it didn't count.
It wasn't until I moved back home to Fort Wayne five and a half years ago that walking found me again. Not as exercise, really. Just as a way of getting outdoors and a way of remembering a past version of myself.
The parks raised me a little
If you grew up here, you already know. Fort Wayne is quietly one of the best trail towns in the Midwest. Fox Island, Eagle Marsh, the Rivergreenway, all the little wooded pockets tucked between neighborhoods. And Foster Park, which has always been mine in a particular way.
The main perimeter loop at Foster Park is 2.06 miles. It circles the park's golf course, Hartman Road, and the famous floral gardens. That's if you don't wander off and connect to the broader trail system, which is 111 miles of trails inside Fort Wayne city limits and 165 miles across the interconnected regional network that ties the city paths into the communities surrounding Allen County. I grew up (and still live) very near Foster Park, so I've walked that loop more times than I can count. Family cookouts. Sunday afternoons after church. My high school graduation party. My favorite aunt's first Breast Cancer Survivor Celebration walk. So many major seasons of my life that I didn't even know I was living through at the time, and many more, I'm sure, yet to come.
Coming back to that loop as an adult, on my own two feet, was its own kind of homecoming. The trees remembered me even when I felt a little unrecognizable to myself.
Why walking is such gentle movement — and why in nature
There is something science can measure about walking outdoors. Lower cortisol. Better sleep. Steadier moods. A quieter nervous system. But you don't need a study to tell you what your body already knows.
For my Chicago friends, you have nature too. The Cook County forest preserves. Waterfall Glen. The Morton Arboretum. Even the little slice of woods behind your subdivision counts. Nature does not require a destination, just that you seek it.
Start where you are
This is the part I really want you to hear. You do not need a plan, a program, or a certain kind of body to begin walking. You only need a good pair of shoes, nice weather, and fifteen minutes, or whatever your honest baseline is today.
Tomorrow, maybe you'll walk a little longer. Or maybe not, but it still counts. The point is not the number of minutes that you walk. The point is that you do it and that you return to do it again.
Somewhere along the way, if you keep showing up, something will shift. Maybe not dramatically, but enough that you take notice. Your shoulders soften. Your thoughts stop looping quite as tightly. You start looking forward to the part of the day where you get to be outside.
That is what a walking practice actually is.
Not a fitness plan. A homecoming.
If the idea of walking for wellness resonates with you even a little, I put together a 30-day Walking for Wellness challenge for anyone who wants a gentle bit of structure to get started. It has a simple daily plan, a progress tracker, and soft prompts to help you tune in as you walk. No mileage goals. No shame if you miss a day.
It's $10 in the shop and comes with a permanent $7 welcome discount when you use the link below. Not fancy, just a little companion for your journey. You can find it here on Gumroad.
Take it, use what serves you, leave the rest. And if you decide to skip the guide altogether and just go for a walk today, that counts too.
Happy trails ♥