WALKING WITH GLENN BERKENKAMP
35 Wellness Walks to Expand Awareness, Increase Vitality, and Reduce Stress
Glenn Berkenkamp, North Atlantic Books (AUG 18) Softcover $18.95 (280pp), 978-1-62317-473-6 HEALTH & FITNESS
Walking is such a humble activity. But for Glenn Berkenkamp, who grew up in a family of walkers, it’s also a rich and satisfying way to experience the wonders of the world while enhancing one’s health, fitness, mood, and creativity.
Over the years, Berkenkamp has helped hundreds of people awaken to a new sense of freedom and a deeper connection with the world around them through his transformative “Guided Wellness Walks.” This book is the result of those walks, and brings with it an opportunity to experience the joy, beauty, and magic that can be found in the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other with awareness and appreciation.
It turns out that walkers are part of a noble lineage: Hippocrates believed walking to be “the best medicine,” and Einstein referred to his walks (and his naps) as “sacred.” With thoughtful, and sometimes provocative questions, the book makes each walk an inner exploration and encourages becoming careful, nonjudgmental observers of the way the body looks, feels, and moves while walking. Gentle instruction in the mechanics of walking promotes comfortable, free movement to help bring the whole self— body, mind, and spirit—into alignment.
The book’s menu of thirty-five varied wellness walks (including some for treadmill users and those with limited mobility) is designed to meet varied needs, including improving physical and emotional balance; dealing with grief; opening to forgiveness; enlivening the senses; and appreciating the world with childlike wonder. Some of the walks are best done alone, while others welcome company, and all encourage the inner exploration that leads to self-mastery.
Walking with Glenn Berkenkamp is more than an invitation to improved health and fitness—it invites awakening to the magic of stillness within movement as inner and outer worlds connect, step after mindful step.