Side by Side: How Daily Walks Helped Me Heal

Walking It Out: Nervous System Care with a Trusted Companion

Last week I shared how I began to notice my near-daily baths were more than just a ritual—they were a sign my nervous system was begging for rest. It’s funny how we don’t always recognize what our body is trying to tell us until we look back with new eyes.

This week, I want to talk about something else that’s become a quiet but powerful support for me: walks. Not power walks or workouts. Just… slow, intentional walks, almost every day, with my husband. Sometimes it’s with a friend. But the common thread is this: someone safe, steady, and willing to listen.

These walks have become one of the most healing tools I didn’t even realize I needed. When I walk, I move the anxious energy out of my body. The physical motion—step after step—makes it easier to breathe a little deeper and feel a little lighter. My shoulders drop. My jaw unclenches. And something shifts.

But it’s not just the movement. It’s the conversation—the way walking side by side, without intense eye contact or the pressure of sitting across a table, makes space for easier truth-telling. Some of the best, clearest, most emotionally honest conversations I’ve had with Justin have happened on those walks. There’s no pressure to get it perfect. There’s just a rhythm. A flow.

And in that setting—low stress, open-ended—he’s more available to hear me. To really take in what I’m trying to say. I’m less reactive, and he’s less defensive. It becomes a soft landing spot for truth.

Why this works:

When we walk and talk with someone safe, we’re engaging both our body and our connection system at the same time. Movement calms the nervous system. Safe conversation repairs emotional rupture. And shared presence, without distraction, creates trust. These elements work together to lower stress hormones and increase clarity.

This is nervous system co-regulation in action. And it doesn’t require a long therapy session or a deep-dive journaling retreat—it’s just a walk.

How to try this:

• Pick someone safe. A partner, a friend, a sibling. The key is someone who doesn’t escalate your stress.

• Keep it consistent. Even 10–20 minutes can do wonders if you make it a rhythm.

• Let the walk do the heavy lifting. You don’t have to come with an agenda. Just walk, breathe, and talk if the words come.

• Stay soft. This is about ease, not performance. Let it be whatever it needs to be that day.

If your nervous system has been on edge—or you’ve felt like there’s just no room to hear yourself think—this might be the invitation you didn’t know you needed.

Walk it out. You don’t have to hold it all inside.

Want more conversations like this? Join us in the Unburdened™ Facebook group—a quiet space for high-capacity women who are learning to listen to their bodies, soften their edges, and live with more ease.