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Episode 3542:
This bonus episode comes from our sister show, Step Into Calm - Daily Walking Meditations. The Evening Unwind Walk is a ten-minute guided meditation of roughly a thousand steps, designed to be taken in the evening so the body can shed the day before bed. It is the kind of small, repeatable movement that folds easily into healthy habits around sleep and recovery.
Listen to the full show here: https://pod.link/6784028830
Optimal Health Daily is a daily health and wellness podcast where we narrate the best articles on nutrition, fitness, weight loss, and healthy habits, read to you by a professional narrator so you can improve your health a little more every day.
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[00:00:55] This is Optimal Health Daily and I'm Dr. Neal Malik. Welcome to our Sunday bonus episode where I share an episode from one of the other podcasts in our network. Today's is from our newest podcast in our network called Step Into Calm, Walking Meditations. If you enjoy it, you can find Step Into Calm wherever you're listening to this.
[00:01:13] And you can show your support by following or subscribing in your favorite podcast app. I have a link in this episode's description. So with that, hopefully you're ready for a little walk as we optimize your life. Hey there. Whatever today held, it's behind you now. And this little walk is where you begin to let it go.
[00:01:41] There's no agenda for these next few minutes. We're simply going to use this walk to unwind, to loosen the grip of the day, and let the body begin getting ready for rest. So keep strolling at an easy, unhurried pace, a little slower than usual if that feels nice. Eyes open and soft, taking in the evening around you.
[00:02:09] There's nothing to accomplish here. This is the part of the day where you finally get to stop trying. To begin, just notice how the day has gathered in your body. Maybe the shoulders are up near the ears, the jaw is tight, there's a low hum somewhere, the leftover buzz of everything you did today.
[00:02:36] You don't have to push any of it away. Just notice that it's there, the day still being carried. Now let's begin to set it down. Take a slow, full breath in through the nose.
[00:03:06] And let it go with a long, soft sigh out, letting the shoulders fall. Again, breathe in, gathering up the tension of the day. And breathe out, letting it spill down and away. The jaw softening, the hands unclenching.
[00:03:39] And as you keep walking, let each breath out carry a little more of the day out of the body.
[00:03:46] With every step, you're a little further from the noise of it all, and a little closer to rest.
[00:04:31] If the day wants to replay itself, the conversations, the worries, the things left undone, that's alright, let them come.
[00:05:12] You just don't have to hold them tonight. Let each thought drift on past, like the last of the light leaving the sky.
[00:06:12] There's nothing left to solve right now. The day is done, and you did enough.
[00:07:15] Just this slow, easy walking. Letting the body soften and slow with each step.
[00:08:34] You might let your awareness widen to the cooling air, the quiet, the dusk settling in around you.
[00:09:09] And underneath it all, the body winding down, getting ready to rest.
[00:10:31] As your walk comes to an end, notice how things have loosened. The body a little heavier now, a little softer, closer to sleep. Let this be the beginning of your rest. The winding down has already started.
[00:11:02] When you get home, you can carry the softness with you into the quiet of the evening and into sleep. And that brings our practice to a close. Let your attention drift gently back to your walk. And let the day go. Rest well tonight.
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[00:12:15] Just go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? This is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Good sleep is everything. That's why Oli's science back support is made with a blend of melatonin and L-theanine for both kiddos and grownups. So when your mind won't switch off, you've got something that can help.
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