July Challenge - Sing as you stride 🎵🎶🎵🎤 - Active 10

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July Challenge - Sing as you stride 🎵🎶🎵🎤

CBDB profile image
CBDBAdministrator
17 Replies

This one takes me back to my school trips hiking as a youth…. and, yes… singing

★★★Take a walk and sing as you stride★★★

Well! When first reading the title of the chapter, my mind did go to those hiking trips where a group of 20-something kids, 9-12 years old, would sing at the top of their lungs as they hiked through the German forests. Memories of thickly buttered bread, youth hostels on mountainsides overlooking the Rhine river and washing up in industry-scale common kitchens. (And In that kitchen? Best hot chocolate ever!!!)

Does this still happen, I wonder? I’m not sure. And it’s a shame.

But back to singing.

Annabel Street provides us with facts:

- Singing while walking has been used by marching soldiers, hiking schoolchildren (aha, that’s me), dissenting protesters and weary families.

- Singing helps us climb mountains!

- Singing dulls pain.

- Singing regulates and optimises our breathing.

- Singing improves our posture.

- Singing is aerobic and it pumps oxygen into the blood.

- Singing strangely improves our immune system.

- Singing relaxes us.

- Singing produces endorphins and makes us happier.

- Singing with others makes us pay attention to others, increasing a trust response.

- Singing while walking optimises rehabilitation for Parkinson or stroke patients.

And what keeps us from singing on our walks? An inhibition circuit in our brain makes us ‘behave appropriately’ by heightening our sense of self-consciousness, which happens to be able to be shut down by alcohol. A travel flask of whiskey suddenly makes so much more sense!

So does Annabel Street have any tips for us, besides taking a swig whilst taking a singing hike?

- Sing in groups

- Chose the right tempo

- Chose a themed walking song

- Don’t expect to see wildlife (you think?)

- And turn it down when encountering other walkers.

So there you have it.

So who is courageous enough to have a go at singing whilst walking?

☆☆☆ Let us know by posting here on our Active10 forum using the hashtag #SingWalk” in your title ☆☆☆

So, this months:

★★★Take a walk and sing as you stride★★★

A growing Spotify list of songs for striding, as recommended by the community: open.spotify.com/playlist/1...

Readings from

Annabel Street (2021): 52 ways to walk. The surprising signs of walking for wellness and joy, one week at a time. Chapter 247 : Sing as you stride.

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CBDB profile image
CBDB
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17 Replies
Rachmaninov2 profile image
Rachmaninov2

A very interesting post CBDB, I hadn’t realised quite how good singing is for us. I enjoyed reading about your childhood hiking trips, it brought to mind The Happy Wanderer song from many years ago. I’m going to cheat and sing as I walk round my garden, no one will be able to hear me!🎶🚶😊

CBDB profile image
CBDBAdministrator in reply toRachmaninov2

🤣🤣🤣 … “no one able to hear”… except astounded birds, squirrels and various other garden dwellers! 🤣🤣

🎶🐶🐥🦉😻🦚🐞🎶

Rachmaninov2 profile image
Rachmaninov2 in reply toCBDB

Astounded, but the birds can be secure in the knowledge that I am no competition! 🦜🐧🐦🎶

CBDB profile image
CBDBAdministrator in reply toRachmaninov2

🤣

ToothPickJafah profile image
ToothPickJafah500miles per year

Ooooh awesome post!! 👏🤗👏

I know exactly what I’ll be singing on my next walk….

🎶walk this waaaaay🎶

😂😂😂

CBDB profile image
CBDBAdministrator in reply toToothPickJafah

excellent choice!

Doris8 profile image
Doris81000miles per year

yes like it as long as no one in earshot.

CBDB profile image
CBDBAdministrator in reply toDoris8

🤣🤣

Over60sRunner profile image
Over60sRunner1000miles per year

This should be an easy one for me. Every time I run, I sing.

Indeed, the staff in the gym I used before I got my own treadmill, looked forward to my bi-daily visits so they could play "name that Tune" 😅😅😅😅 I often thwarted them mind, with me being 63 and often listening to music older than me, and most of them being in the their early to mid 20s!!!

CBDB profile image
CBDBAdministrator in reply toOver60sRunner

🤣🤣 I might have to take the image of you singing & running along with me to my next walk/run. I think I’ll be pretty self conscious with this challenge!

I’ve already roped hubby in for support, but he rightly asked : “What walking songs do we know the lyrics fully to?” We might have to learn a song before heading out! 🤣🤣

Over60sRunner profile image
Over60sRunner1000miles per year in reply toCBDB

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to walk we go 😆🚶

CBDB profile image
CBDBAdministrator in reply toOver60sRunner

🤣🤣

CBDB profile image
CBDBAdministrator

Hubby and I have been thinking of which sings we could sing whilst walking, what makes a good walking sing?

So here‘s one:

John Denver, Take me home, country roads. open.spotify.com/track/1YYh...

Gthants profile image
Gthants

My wife and I used to joke years ago about our (very) long country walks that we were off for a "fal-de-ree"! 🤣

Rachmaninov2 profile image
Rachmaninov2 in reply toGthants

That sounds as if it comes from the chorus of the old song “The happy wanderer”.

Gthants profile image
Gthants in reply toRachmaninov2

👍

CBDB profile image
CBDBAdministrator in reply toGthants

😆😁

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