LINCOLN SQUARE — What started as one Chicagoan’s weight reduction journey has advanced into group walks for residents to discover their neighborhood and construct group.
Pamiya Opoku lives between Edgewater and Andersonville and commenced taking lengthy walks nearly a decade in the past, utilizing them to drop pounds and destress. These routine walks led her to launch The Strolling Hour final yr.
The Strolling Hour’s free excursions enable individuals to get to know one another whereas they take a soothing jaunt by totally different communities, Opoku stated.
“Throughout one stroll, one girl stated, ‘I assumed a group is one thing that you’re born in, not one thing that you simply create.’ And I all the time assume that assertion is so eye-opening,” Opoku stated. “And so I like to make use of my very people-forward, very extroverted persona to carry folks collectively.”
Opoku’s most up-to-date occasion was in April, when she organized a 2.5-mile tour that began in Lincoln Sq.’s Winnemac Park and continued by western Andersonville. Contributors included Ald. Andre Vasquez (fortieth) and Chicago’s city historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas.
“Working is nice, but it surely’s not as inclusive as strolling. If you happen to can run, you’ll be able to stroll, proper? However if you happen to a walker, you is probably not a runner. And so I wished to create an area that was for everybody,” Opoku stated.
Since beginning her passion of taking lengthy walks, Opoku stated she’s misplaced about 100 kilos.
Over time, she has additionally realized how calming the expertise is. The walks grew to become a good way to cope with the stress of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, she stated.
“I simply actually began to mirror extra as I began strolling, and I began to really feel higher about myself,” Opoku stated.
She began inviting buddies to hitch her on socially distanced walks, which helped her navigate the sentiments of isolation earlier than the vaccine was extensively accessible, she stated.
“We didn’t must do every little thing by Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Groups and all of the enjoyable issues that we acquired artistic with by COVID. We might really be collectively in particular person, social distanced, however strolling and speaking,” Opoku stated. “We had been nonetheless in group, as that sort of acquired taken away from us in COVID.”
Now, The Strolling Hour occasions provide another for individuals who won’t wish to pay for a fitness center or different health membership to remain wholesome and energetic, and the group facet helps with individuals’ psychological well being as effectively, Opoku stated.
For the extra info on the group and to maintain up with upcoming walks, comply with Opoku’s Instagram web page.
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