It was great to listen to Clare Balding’s radio 4 Ramblings programme last week all about Nordic walking. The walkers she accompanied – the Nordic Ninjas were a group of young women with learning difficulties and their mothers. Nordic walking offered them a physical activity that they could both enjoy and, importantly, be good at. The key messages were ‘empowerment’ and ‘sociability’. The poles provided support, helped them with balance and enabled them to walk further and faster than they had been able to before.
It is quite something when a form of exercise can be so excellent for such a broad spectrum of the population. Although we are not in the same situation as the Nordic Ninjas, we also use Nordic walking as a group fitness exercise and enjoy the social nature it. Most of us would say that Nordic walking benefits both body and mind. We come away feeling as though we’ve had a good workout and that are heads are in a better place. You can’t get much better than that.
Vicky
