Walk It Off
***Guest Blog by Dan Knopp, Area General Manager – Hyatt Place Buckhead and Livable Buckhead Board Member***
Knopp, Livable Buckhead’s Denise Starling and the Hyatt Place crew during buckheadWALKS! in 2019
Walk it off is a fairly common expression in the sports world. Usually, if someone suffers a minor injury, their coach will tell them to simply walk it off. This is because walking seems to be a proven, low impact way to stretch and relax the body, which can help to reduce pain or at least take your mind off it. Research also shows that walking it off, in regards to emotional distress, can be helpful. This is surely because walking is believed to reduce feelings of stress. If nothing else, it certainly allows that person time to calm down and regain control over themselves and their situation.
As more and more people are getting vaccines and the world begins to imagine what post-pandemic life might look like, maybe we all could benefit from the opportunity to walk it off a little bit. Sure, the transition from where we are to where we want to be will take time and probably include some ups and downs along the way. But I want to share, what I believe to be, a significant “up” you may want to include in your move forward.
Livable Buckhead will once again be sponsoring buckheadWALKS during the month of May, a FREE month long walk challenge that is open to all who live and work in Buckhead. Last year amid so many concerns and uncertainties, the event made an amazingly smooth and effective transition to fully virtual. This year the event will once again offer virtual options for all of the activities and will look to safely and thoughtfully add back some socially-distanced in-person activities.
Knopp leads the Buckhead Run Crew, sponsored by Hyatt Place Buckhead
Our team at Hyatt Place Buckhead has participated as a group in buckheadWALKS since its inception and look forward to it every year. We see it as a fun team-building exercise and a way to support each other on our individual wellness goals. Plus, it’s been a great way to get to know more about the Buckhead community and some of the fitness and wellness options, many of which we were previously unfamiliar. So, whether you round up a team, join a team or go it solo, you’ll find this event to be inclusive, rewarding, and quite engaging.
Plus, the event includes tracking, score-keeping, ranking and prizes! And even though it can get our competitive juices flowing, it’s all in great fun and has allowed us to meet some great new “competitors” that we remain friends with from year to year. Now, we are already getting excited about meeting more of our Buckhead neighbors this year.
So, whether you’re looking for fresh air and exercise, more knowledge of our Buckhead community, or the chance to meet and safely interact with new folks, buckheadWALKS will offer all this and more. I see this as one of the more creative things Livable Buckhead does each year and it is certainly one of my favorites. The circumstances of the past year have made creativity even more vital and Livable Buckhead has stepped up in a huge way. I urge you to check it out and see for yourself how the Livable Buckhead team has addressed our common concerns for health and safety and designed an amazing event that we can all enjoy.
I trust you’ll find, as I do, that buckheadWALKS could be the perfect blend of outdoor walking and virtual events that might help us move a bit more towards that imagined and highly anticipated “next”. Let’s all take this as a wonderful opportunity to just walk it off!
