Walking releases chemicals that improve mood and reduce anxiety — yeah, we know that. Some poking around online this morning led me to this story mentioning a local psychologist who pioneered the practice of getting counseling off the couch and into an ambulatory mode.

“It speeds up therapy,” says psychologist Keith Johnsgard, PhD, professor emeritus at San Jose State University, who is considered a founder of the practice. “Vigorous physical activity elicits emotions better than slouching in a chair does,” he says.

Johnsgard, who started using the mobile-couch technique in the 1970s, reviewed studies of exercise as a treatment for mood disorders in a recent book, Conquering Depression and Anxiety Through Exercise (Prometheus Books). In some instances, physical activity can be as effective as medication for treating depression, he says, with none of the side effects. Exercise releases feel-good chemicals that provide post-workout feelings of well-being, and exercise-induced hormonal changes are likely at the root of the more permanent relief from depression that can come from routine physical activity.

No research has yet looked at the effect of exercise during psychotherapy, but Johnsgard and others say the combination can work better than doing both separately. Kate Hays, PhD, a clinical and sports psychologist in Toronto and author of the book Move Your Body, Tone Your Mood (New Harbinger Publications), says, “For some people, physical activity seems to allow more access to right-brain thinking, which is more holistic, more intuitive. They’re able to figure a problem out better than if they were sitting down with it.”

Hmm, must be why my best ideas always happen in the shower (double hmmm… maybe I’d blog smarter if i did it standing up)

I found out about Dr. Johnsgard from another article about a recent hike he led at the Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve, in which he pointed out and described the medicinal herbs of the Ohlone Indians.

The group stopped as it approached a sprightly, yellow-tinted plant Johnsgard identified as poisonous hemlock.

“This is what Socrates used when he decided to say ‘sayonara,’ … and when the plight of the Indians became so god-awful, they would chew the leaves to commit suicide,” he said, prompting a morbid silence.

Of course, the Ohlone people were in excellent physical condition and rarely needed such shortcuts (though one supposes the arrival of white folks might’ve changed their mood a bit.)