BRATTLEBORO — If you are looking for low-cost recreation opportunities this winter, one of your best options is free: walking. But not just any walking; this is the season for hiking on snowmobile trails. You may have mixed feelings about the noise snowmobiles make or the gasoline they require, but the trails left in their wake make this winter's deep snow passable for walkers. These transitory paths offers a unique way to experience your landscape, and it can be as close as your own back door.
The benefits of walking are well documented. Numerous studies have made the link between depression and lack of sunlight, and winter, with its short, cold days, makes getting adequate sunlight a challenge. Walking is a reliable way to add a little sunshine to your life.
Getting regular exercise can be a challenge in winter, too, and walking provides an effective, low-stress, low-impact way to keep from putting on that dreaded winter weight.
Measuring the value of fresh air is, well, more ethereal. But the air in our houses, where we spend most of our days and nights holed up for warmth, can get a little stale after awhile. Breathing deeply outdoors away from confined spaces and traffic stimulates the entire body, especially the lungs, heart, and circulation system.
The snowmobile trails make paths in places that are inaccessible at other times of the year, providing a unique perspective on the land that changes from storm to storm, season to season.
A brookside trail, for example, choked by weeds and brush during the summer, can now be negotiated with ease. Fields too muddy in late spring and fall, then planted with crops the rest of the year, suddenly are open to you. Walking in winter provides a rare glimpse of the land you think you know.
Beyond the obvious - dress warmly - there are a few things to consider when walking. Exercising in the cold can be deceptive; because you do not sweat profusely you may not be as aware of your need for fluids as you are during summer. Be sure to drink water before you begin and when you return, or take a bottle with you.
Most landowners are open to having you walk across their fields and forests this time of year, especially after the snowmobiles have broken the proverbial ice. But if the land is posted for trespassing, there are plenty of other routes you can take out of respect for the property owner.
Another question confronting the winter walker is choosing the best time of day. While the warmest temperatures are usually in midday, the most spectacular light occurs in early morning or late afternoon. The slanting light on freshly fallen snow reflects a dazzling array of hues, from peach and lemon to rich purples and blues. Bathing your eyes in this light is enough to transcend all but the bitterest cold.
Of course, not everyone can get out to walk. But a related option is yoga. There is a type of yoga for almost every age, fitness level, and mobility, and you can practice it in your home at any hour.
Most yoga consists of a series of poses that stretch your muscles and get the circulation going. But its goal is more than physical; yoga is concerned with your mental as well as physical well-being. For muscles - and mental activity - that have been ignored or are worn down, yoga provides a kind of restorative realignment. You get a good workout yet feel relaxed at the same time.
It's important to find a class that matches your level of fitness and experience. A good choice for beginners is Hatha yoga, which teaches the basic poses in a relaxed, gentle setting. Vinyasa yoga is more physically challenging, and matches movement to breath. Ashtanga and power yoga are more intense, moving quickly from one pose to the next.
There's Bikram, or hot, yoga, which takes place in a heated room to help loosen the muscles and encourage the cleansing properties of sweat. There are yoga classes for people with limited mobility. There's even laughing yoga, a recent development based in the knowledge that laughing relieves stress, and Christian yoga, for those whose sensibility is put off by yoga's Hindu origins.
There is a cost for yoga lessons and classes. The price per class, typically lasting one to one-and-a-half hours, ranges from $10 to $20 (often with discounts if you sign up for a series). But after you have learned the basic poses, you can do them in the privacy and comfort of your home, even while a blizzard is raging.
Whether you are practicing yoga in your home or attending a class, remember to wear comfortable clothing. For the home practitioner, it may be helpful to choose a favorite piece of music of the desired length to exercise by. It adds pleasure to the experience and helps the time pass when you are doing some of the more challenging poses.
As with walking, do not be deceived by yoga's apparent gentleness: you still need to drink plenty of fluids when you exercise.
If you both walk and practice yoga, you may discover other similarities between the two. When walkers reach out to regain their balance while slipping on snow, climb up or down a hill, or turn to follow a flight of geese, they may recognize certain yoga poses. Yoga distills these and presents them in a structured fashion, and it has you hold and repeat them for maximum benefit.
Whichever you choose, walking and yoga are powerful prescriptions for combating winter malaise, good for mind, body, and soul, as well as your pocketbook.