Walking & Counting

I try to get 15 minutes of brisk walking done every day—but my mind starts ruminating and even obsessing on current problems and concerns and I feel stressed. Any ideas?

I can tell you what I do when my mind decides to ruminate unhelpfully: I count my steps in relation to my breaths. Walking briskly, I count four steps while breathing in and four steps while breathing out. That keeps me in rhythm and the counting distracts me from ruminating. The counting seems to slow my conscious mind to match the rhythm of the steps my body is taking. Try it, or some variation of that. Brisk walking is touted as an excellent type of physical exercise and one that is very beneficial to the brain, as well as the body.