Feeling more like the Grinch than the star of a holiday movie lately? Use this 10-minute walking workout as permission to drop the pressure and back off from holiday perfectionism.

Because being a perfectionist can suck.

We’ll chat about how to trade you’re A+, overachieving, homemade everything holiday for a calmer B- holiday that helps you stay sane.

Let yourself buy the pie, use paper plates, and grab gift bags instead of wrapping… while getting our steps in.

You can do this walk indoors, outdoors, on a treadmill, or just marching in place while you hide from guests in the kitchen.

There’s a bell at the halfway point if you’re walking outside and want a turn-around cue, and there’s background music to keep you on beat.

I somehow also talk about “buttah,” doing way too many dishes, wrapping Pokemon figures, and being terrible at algebra.

Tap Follow/Subscribe so next week’s walk is waiting for you.

Come say hi on Instagram: @yourwalkingpodcast

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Grab your free guide to fitting walking into your busy day:

https://walkingandtalking.show

Feeling wired and anxious, with your brain rehearsing every worst-case scenario?

Like you’re carrying a really heavy backpack stuffed with intrusive thoughts?

Take a walk with me and let’s shake some of that off.

This 15-minute indoor or outdoor walking workout is for the days when anxiety feels physical and you still have to function like a human.

We’ll calm anxiety, reduce stress, and walk off some of that nervous energy.

Get out of your head and into your legs so that jittery, anxious energy has somewhere to go. And, set down some of the mental load you’re carrying for everyone else, without pretending the real problems don’t exist.

You’ll also hear a ridiculous backpack story from my travels in Europe, so you can picture anxiety as an overstuffed pack you are allowed to take off now and then.

Our walk is lighter than a therapy session, but it still helps you feel calmer, steadier, and a little more like yourself.

Plus completely pointless mentions of Donna Summer, why I love my thighs, Sarajevo, the Athens metro strike, and being a digital nomad. Somehow, I fit that all in.

~Helen

P.S. You’ll hear a bell halfway through—if you’re walking outside, that’s your signal to turn around if you want.

Tap Follow/Subscribe so you'll be notified of the next walk.

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Grab your free guide to fitting walking into your busy day:

https://walkingandtalking.show

A quick note: It’s Thanksgiving week, and if you’re feeling the holiday pressure... you aren't alone. We all need a moment of calm right now, so I’m bringing back one of my most popular walking meditations to help you breathe through the stress. (Originally released as Episode 16 on December 26, 2021.)

Consider this 15-minute walking meditation a virtual hug.

You don't need to "push" or "achieve" anything today. Just get in touch with your body, free your mind, and breathe.

Together we will:

• Find a quiet moment of peace in a busy week (yes!).
• Lower stress levels right away using just our breath (and boy, do I need that).
• Remind yourself that you are strong, capable, and doing enough. (I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me! ~ Stuart Smalley, SNL)

This is not a "woo-woo" meditation and you don’t need experience. You just need to put one foot in front of the other.

Instagram: @yourwalkingpodcast

Support the show

Grab your free guide to fitting walking into your busy day:

https://walkingandtalking.show

Burned out? Feeling crispy, wiped out?

This is your permission slip for a 12-minute "do the bare minimum" walk. No gold stars, no pep talks. Just breathing, walking, and not feeling alone in the messiness.

We'll talk about how to let yourself off the hook, deal with decision fatigue, move life down to low-power mode, and why "done is better than perfect." (Easier said than, well, done.)

Halfway through, you'll hear a bell. If you're outside, that's your friendly cue to turn around if you want to.

Today's walk also includes completely unnecessary stories about using body wash instead of body oil, losing a mule on the train - the shoe, not the animal, the treadmill of life going faster and faster, and why you should absolutely celebrate anything that's 80% done.

If this feels like what you need, hit Follow or Subscribe so next week's walk shows up for you.

CONNECT on Instagram & Facebook: @yourwalkingpodcast
TAG me #yourwalkingpodcast

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Walking & Talking with Helen are audio walking workouts. You can walk outside or walk indoors (on a treadmill, walking pad, or just marching in place-while) we chat, get some energy, clear your head, and have a little fun. I share silly real-life stories, too. Let's go for a walk and get those steps in.

Support the show

Grab your free guide to fitting walking into your busy day:

https://walkingandtalking.show

Brain buffering? Staring at your screen like it owes you answers?

This 10-minute indoor or outdoor walking workout is your quick fix for the afternoon slump. (Or any time you hit a slump.)

Bye bye brain fog | Focus reset | Real energy | Creativity bump | A ridiculous story

P.S. You'll hear a bell halfway through. If you're walking outside, that's your turn-around cue.

Tap Follow/Subscribe so next week's walk is waiting for you.

Instagram/Facebook: @yourwalkingpodcast

P.P.S. I also get around to chatting about brain frogs, bikini waxing, my friend's Mini Cooper, and more.

Support the show

Grab your free guide to fitting walking into your busy day:

https://walkingandtalking.show

You ever have those days where you're running on what feels like dollar-store batteries? You're doing all the right things like eating okay, walking, sleeping (sort of), but the energy just isn't there?

This 20-minute walking workout helps you shake off that blah, brain-foggy feeling and rebuild real energy… the kind that sticks around long after you're done.

We chat about:

• A sneaky-simple way to build steady, all-day energy
• How to get your body to burn fat instead of burning sugar
• A mini mood lift that helps you feel calmer and a little more like yourself again
• Silly stories

If your get-up-and-go got up and left, grab your shoes and let's get moving.

P.S. You'll hear a bell halfway through. That's your cue to turn around if you're walking outside.

Topics also include 80s music, 80s aerobic workouts, unitards, walking with a book on my head, cat bloopers, swimming like a Norwegian.

And hit, Follow, so next week's walk is ready when you are.

Instagram: @yourwalkingpodcast

Facebook: @yourwalkingpodcast

Support the show

Grab your free guide to fitting walking into your busy day:

https://walkingandtalking.show

Are you having one of those days where you feel like you want to rip someone's head off? Or maybe just hide from the world because everything is irritating?

This quick mood boosting walking workout (about 10 minutes) helps you shake off the crabby mood fast… without toxic positivity.

Get an instant mood lift using a simple body-mind trick | A way to break that negative thought loop when your brain is stuck on repeat | Energy without caffeine | Stories…

P.S. You’ll hear a bell halfway through. If you’re walking outside, that’s your turn-around cue. And tap Follow/Subscribe so next week’s walk is waiting for you.

P.P.S. I also mention dancing around your house, defeated and tired spin class, Lady Gaga, Matlock, coffee, and Bob Marley. Who knows why?

Instagram: @yourwalkingpodcast

Facebook: @yourwalkingpodcast

Support the show

Grab your free guide to fitting walking into your busy day:

https://walkingandtalking.show

Ever feel like your brain has 50... no, a thousand, browser tabs open at once? It's that cluttered, brain-fog feeling where you're so overwhelmed, you just... freeze (like your computer?)

And then you try to talk into the cat food bowl instead of your phone. (Yep. I did that. Full story in the podcast).

I feel you. My concentration is a mess some days.

During this a 20-minute walking workout I share a super simple 3-step hack I use to shut down distraction and find some actual focus. Yippee!

Here’s what we chat about:

• The "Just One Thing Rule" I use to figure out what really matters in the middle of the chaos.
• My "tangled knot of yarn" trick for tackling huge projects.
• The 5-minute “hide-under-your-desk” reset I stole from a TV show (you’ll love it).

If your brain feels like a closet you are afraid to open, this one’s for you.

P.S. You'll hear a bell halfway through the walk. If you’re walking outside, that’s your “turn around” cue. And tap Follow or Subscribe so next week’s walk is waiting for you.

I also chat about cleaning out closets, talking into a cat food bowl instead of my phone, ADHD, cutting a chunk out of my hair, A Man on the Inside TV show.

Instagram/Facebook: @yourwalkingpodcast

Support the show

Grab your free guide to fitting walking into your busy day:

https://walkingandtalking.show