It is a well-known fact how important it is to be physically active. There is nothing worse for our body than to never be used other for the usual walking around the home.
As with any other system, organism, and machinery, our body also needs to be engaged, challenged, and properly maintained if it is to run at optimal capacity and not cause issues.
In other words, to be both healthy and capable, one has to be physically active and make an effort.
There are numerous types of activities out there, exercises and sports to take up in order to meet the requirements of your body and keep it active.
From hitting the gym and jogging a few times a week to playing a sport like tennis or basketball, either of these is more than enough.
Of course, you can also go swimming every so often and start walking or cycling more in your everyday life.
However, if you want something more special and unorthodox, something that you have never tried before, how about kayaking?
If you love the outdoors and already spend a lot of time in nature hiking, walking, or camping, this would be the ideal new activity to add to the list.
Being on the water and paddling in a kayak has many benefits in terms of entertainment and fun, but it should also not be underestimated when it comes to physical activity and health.
Kayaking is Proper Exercise
It does not take long to realize just how beneficial kayaking is to the human body. Similar to rowing and basically any other form of using the body to move a vessel through the water, kayaking engages a lot of muscles.
It is great for exercising the back, shoulders, and arms, as well as core strength. It is not easy to find a good way to help the core and general balance and keep things interesting. All you really need for it is a kayak.
All of these muscle groups and body parts are usually engaged separately in the gym.
There are separate sets of workout practices for each of them and rarely do all of them work in unison as much as they do while paddling in a kayak.
Of course, in order to make it proper exercise, it needs to be done a bit faster and more engaging than what most people are doing.
Kayak fishing and recreational paddling are good fun and they offer pleasure, but if you want to make it an exercise you need to paddle harder and longer to allow your body to work more.
Fresh Air is Healthy
It is not just about exercise despite kayaking being a legitimate sport in its own right.
While it is crucial for the body to be engaged and for us to be physically active in order to remain healthy, kayaking offers a lot more that treats the body and mind.
One such thing is simply being outside, away from the crowd and the hustle and bustle of the city.
The very fact of you being outside, on the water, means you are breathing in the fresh air, uncontaminated and unpolluted, as it was meant to be.
Taking in deep breaths while paddling is a good way to filter out the lungs, fill them up with some much-needed fresh air, and increase their capacity.
This also promotes better and more optimal breathing and you will feel it once you start doing it more.
The body begins to crave the feeling of fresh air in the nostrils and then the lungs as you stride across the water surrounded by nothing but sun and untouched nature.
Less Stress and Anxiety
One of the biggest problems of the modern way of life is depression which is often the result of unhappy lives filled with obligations and responsibilities and not enough time for joy.
Laughter and good times are not nearly as present in the daily life of a modern human as stress and anxiety. Chores, work, school, family… there are many things to worry about.
On top of that, high costs of living that are getting higher, pollution, traffic jams, angry and rude people all around… it is enough to make the sanest of us go crazy.
What better way to clear it all out and recharge your batteries than a nice day out on a lake in your kayak, paddling away, maybe casting to catch a few fish? It is so simple and yet it has so many benefits.
The view of birds, and sunlight nature all around you, with no sounds but the water splashing and insects chirping. It is an oasis just outside of the city of your own making.
All of it can be done on the coast but then it would not be half as fun and relaxing.
It is important to relax and fight away stress and anxiety, and kayaking sure is a great way to do it.
It Can Give Structure to Your Life
Last but not least, it should be mentioned that kayaking is also great to give your life more organization and structure.
Once you are hooked to something like that, it takes some time and planning to get ready for it and find time to do it within your schedule constraints.
Since it is so beneficial to you and since you feel so good about it, you will begin to eliminate other things that you do not really care that much about and favor kayaking more.
There needs to be a place to store the kayak, which means to take it to the water and back, and enough skill and time to fit it out with all the accessories and features you need.
It usually takes a whole day to do it properly and get enough time to enjoy it without any worry. That is actually the key to kayaking health benefits.
On top of all the exercise, fresh air, and less stress or anxiety, you need to approach it without worry and as something that makes you happy.
When we are happy, our body and mind are thriving and it is the ultimate sign of doing something that suits you in every way imaginable.
Meet Maria Alexander, the fearless adventurer steering the ship at KayakPaddling.net. Her mission? To convince you that life’s too short for dry land and that the best stories always start with “So there I was in my kayak…”
