Why I Started The Walking Challenge

Fall is by far my favorite season—I love the leaves, the crisp air, and the fall produce—but my favorite part of my favorite season has also arrived… THE PURE JOY WELLNESS FALL WALKING CHALLENGE!! 

If you’re in our private Facebook group or subscribe to the PJW newsletter, you’ve probably seen that the Walking Challenge starts THIS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1! Myself and the rest of the PJW community will be walking for 30 minutes every day, for 30 days straight. If you’ve participated in the Walking Challenge before, I hope you’re looking forward to joining us again—and if you’ve never done it before, welcome, I hope you’re excited! 

In honor of this occasion, I decided to use this week’s blog post to talk about why I started the Walking Challenge. Read on for a brief history, plus a few words of encouragement to kick off our fifth Walking Challenge! 

How it all started

As a wellness expert and fitness enthusiast, I’ve always been a fan of walking. As I’ve written about on the blog, the physical and mental benefits are unparalleled, and I love how accessible walking is for people of all fitness levels. Exercise is a critical part of my overall physical and psychological well-being, and I find walking to be one of the most enjoyable forms of movement. 

So when the world shut down in 2020, and everyone was stressed about the pandemic, I felt compelled to do something to bring our community together. On top of that, since we were all stuck at home and unable to go about our normal activities, I knew that a lot of us were getting less movement than usual. Gyms and studios were closed, which means fewer workouts and less socializing. I myself felt very isolated, and I knew that the rest of the community probably felt that way too. I wanted to start something that we could all do as a community, even though we couldn’t be together in person. With that goal in mind, the Walking Challenge was born! 

The first Walking Challenge started on October 1, 2020, with women from every region of the country getting outside to walk for 30 minutes a day. What came next was pretty remarkable. I saw how fantastic the women in this community were, and I saw all of us step into the feeling of “Wow, I can do this.” Women who were just starting their fitness journeys started to feel empowered and independent, and women whose routines had been thwarted by the pandemic realized they didn’t need fancy equipment or gyms to reach their goals. We all embraced the power of walking, and reaped the stress-relieving, heart-helping, and mood-boosting benefits. I saw this group reach new heights, and above all, I saw a group of badass, strong women truly support one another and hold each other accountable by posting photos and videos in our Facebook group. 

There was even an unexpected added bonus: Walking gave us all a creativity boost! The photos and videos you all submitted were amazing. We got to see each other’s hometowns, streets, walking trails, sights, and pets. It was incredible, like we were on each other’s walks. The Walking Challenge also seemed to make us all more aware of our surroundings. I’ve lived in New York City for years, but I even noticed things I never had before. The sense of community and joy that the Walking Challenge gave me and other members was palpable. We even branded ourselves the #PJWWalkingWarriors. 

Since that first Walking Challenge, I’ve hosted two of them a year—one in the spring and one in the fall—and each time, we have more and more women hopping onboard. I am proud to say that the Walking Challenge is now international, and there are women walking with our community from all over the world! Now, we have no intention of stopping…we’re up to our FIFTH Walking Challenge! As I mentioned before, it starts this Saturday, October 1, and I can’t wait to get going. I hope you’re excited too. 

There’s no time like the present to join the Pure Joy Wellness Community—this is our biggest event of the fall, and it’s set to be our best Walking Challenge yet! If you haven’t already, make sure to join our Private Facebook Group, where I’ll be hosting the Challenge and checking in with all of you. 

Now, let’s get movin’! 

Xo,

Renata