I love this practice.  Spiritual guru and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh said,

“We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the Earth … be aware of the contact between your feet and the earth. Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet”

Mindful walking is like ‘meditation on the go’.  It’s an open awareness meditation and whether you’re sitting or walking, meditation is known to improve your quality of sleep, reduce stress and anxiety and provide a deeper connection to yourself. It improves your memory, concentration and problem-solving abilities and enhances your relationship skills. Although seated meditation has its obvious benefits, mindful walking has some different kinds of benefits, so a combination of both is good. Also, mindful walking can be done at any time when you are walking.

It gets you out of your head when your thoughts become all-consuming and actively engages you with all of your senses. You have to be aware of where you’re walking, what your feet are walking on, the colours, sights, smells and sounds around you. It fully connects you to the world around us of which we are a part. If we are within walking distance of a park or other places of nature then walking with mindful connection can bring healing to our mind, body and souls. It can also give us an opportunity to connect with spirit and the Higher Self, whatever that means for you.

As I mentioned last week in the body scan, we can often not give our bodies much attention, so mindful walking is another way to connect with our bodies by bringing conscious awareness to our movements and how our body feels. How we walk and the gentle rhythm of the steps we take. Sometimes we may start off by pacing as we escape from where we are coming from but through conscious practice we can connect in with the body and start to slow down the pace and express gratitude to our bodies for carrying us around every day.

Mindful walking can also be full of distractions such as other walkers, traffic, sounds of the hustle and bustle of life, so these need to be incorporated into your walk without judgement. Remember the quote above ‘walk in a way that brings peace and serenity to the earth’. So, without judgement and with kindness you just notice the distractions and then bring your focus back to your walking and the present moment. Again, as we walk we can often wonder how we got from A to B as we were so busy thinking about a problem or a situation.

If you give yourself time to get out of your head and especially connect with nature, then so often the solution or response to the problem or situation will come to you.

Walking is something most of us do almost every day, so it’s a great way to develop your mindfulness practice. If you’re struggling at the moment, then it can be quite difficult to go out for a walk as you may not be motivated so walk round your house or round the garden. I have a small garden with very little space to walk around but I still walk around it a few times to feel the cool breeze against my face and experience how secure I am on the earth. I breathe deeply in and out and gaze at the sky or the trees & plants in the garden. I listen to the birds singing and the sound of the cars on the busy main road that drive by near our house. It’s by no means a perfect environment, but it doesn’t need to be. Life is not perfect and that’s ok. If we wait until it is then we’ll be forever waiting and actually the more you practice mindfulness the more your life feels pretty near perfect just as it is. It’s about bringing yourself fully present to the moment with gratitude, acceptance, kindness and non-judgement.

The ethos behind mindfulness practice is all about kindness towards yourself and others. It takes courage to acknowledge how you’re feeling and then be gentle, patient and kind towards yourself.

When we’re walking in nature, with practice, we often find that our minds become quieter and the natural connection of energy between all living things can bring a sense of pure awareness. When experiencing such awareness, past and future concerns melt away and only the present moment is experienced. That’s mindfulness!

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Enjoy your mindful walking and I’ll see you next week!

Love & blessings, Sam