“飯後百步走，活到九十九“

“飯後百步走，活到九十九“

There are both mental and physical health benefits of walking.

In an English proverb, it says:

”After dinner sit awhile, after supper walk a mile.”

I assume that dinner is a heavy meal, while supper is a light one.

Our evening meal is normally a light one, and it is called “supper”

accordingly. Therefore, instead of sitting awhile, we go out for a walk

after supper. We usually walk around our neighborhood. It can be a

mile or more, or half an hour to one hour time each.

It has been said that if you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking

and all truly great thoughts are often conceived by walking.

The moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow, just

as the American naturalist Henry David Thoreau used to say.

As thoughts come clearly while I walk, “靈感 “ and idea often start to

float in my mind.

The old Chinese 養生諺語: “飯後百步走，活到九十九“ tells you the

physical benefit of walking. “活到九十九”, in its true sense, should be

“走到九十九”, which means fully living to 九十九 (and beyond), instead

of merely “existing”.

Walking is the easiest, most enjoyable and affordable exercise one can

undertake for total mental and physical health and well being.

Yeh Tze