Walking the Walk - How 3 Miles Changed My Life

Post date: Nov 15, 2016 8:18:44 PM

5 years ago today, I popped my very first Walk DVD into my DVD player, with no inkling of how walking with a woman named Leslie Sansone was about to change my life. I was at an all-time low mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and it didn’t help that the annual cycle of winter weight gain & depression was already starting. I recall walking down a hallway at work with my head hanging low, eyes on the floor, shoulders hunched forward. I couldn’t will myself to walk upright… and it wasn’t physical. I was waking up daily with negative thoughts about myself, which is Walk with Leslie right now! Video courtesy Walk at Home

completely against my nature – and it was scaring me.

Thankfully, a radical change took place by the end of my first 3 miles with Leslie. It’s hard to put into words, because the experience was unlike anything I’d ever felt before or since. It went well beyond the normal endorphin rush I got from a run. A joy came over me and into me and through me… it got right into my bones… that’s the best way I can describe it. I was actually walking around the house afterward wondering what the blazes was going on, saying things such as, “What IS this?” A very heavy weight had tangibly lifted from my shoulders – it was the most liberating feeling I’ve ever had. The next day at work, people were asking what had happened to me – I was bouncing off the walls with excitement, there was fire in my eyes and a spring in my step; a complete contrast to my countenance in the days and weeks prior.

I couldn’t wait to get home that day for another workout from the DVD, and it was during that walk that I clued in as to what had happened the previous evening. As Leslie interacted with a cast member, she said, ‘Amen!’ to his comment. A light went on in my mind. She then started a set of kickbacks and said, “Raise your hands to heaven!” and went on, “C’mon, ya gotta put a little heaven into it – it makes me feel so good!” She talked about how important it is to count our blessings every day. It suddenly dawned on me - God was in the house… and my house. The Holy Spirit had intervened and filled me with joy… the Joy of the Lord. There’s nothing like the presence of the Spirit of the Living God to instantly, radically change a person. The impact of the whole experience was profound and long-lasting.

There’s much more to the story, as you can imagine, but in the weeks that followed the initial ‘joy infusion,’ I found myself bawling my eyes out as I walked with Leslie – tears of joy and healing. It was incredibly cleansing and felt so good. It seems funny looking back, because as silly as it sounds, I couldn’t wait to get home every day so I could cry with Leslie again. Walking and crying. Knee lifts and crying. Side steps and crying. Kicks and more crying. Now and then I’d shake the walls by shouting “Hallelujah!” when Leslie said ‘Raise your hands to heaven!” I still shake the walls now and then when I walk with the DVDs.

I know what it feels like to live in a deep state of oppression… and what it feels like to be set free. Oh. My. WORD. My circumstances didn’t change – I still had the same daily stressors to deal with – something inside me changed. Nehemiah 8:10 says “for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” I can attest to that!

I thank God for bringing Leslie’s program into my life and using her the way He did and still does. May He bless her 100-fold.

- Nancy Ehle, Master Walk 15® Instructor, Founder & CEO, Witness 4 Fitness