Remembering how to consciously walk again
1 year on with Covid-19, walking has taking on a new found place in the lives and many of us have ended up doing more of it. This blog is inspired by the struggles that I have encountered and seen my clients encounter, when it comes to the experience of walking. Walking becomes another thing to do and is taken for granted. We forget that there is such a thing as mindful walking, which is a pity given the psychological and physical benefits that mindful walking can bring.
Here I share my insights, based on personal experience, clinical training, and research, about how we can find our path back to connecting intimately with walking through mindfulness and compassion. For those who have never heard of mindful walking, I am excited for you.
What type of walker are you?
First things first. Become aware of the type of walking you are doing now. Have a look at whether you become any of these ‘walkers’ as I do:
When I go out for a walk, I am sometimes that person who is speeding along to get my daily steps in, talking to a friend, and typing notes on my phone about things I need to add to my work project. If I had a dog, I would probably be walking it at the same time too.
I am sometimes that person fitting in a walk at the last minute ‘because I should’ and I walk feeling burdened; I am only doing it because I have to.
At times I walk to arrive somewhere; actually walking is a real inconvenience in this case because all that matters is getting to the destination to complete my tasks as quickly as possible (posting a letter, buying food), so that I can get to the next thing on my to-do list.
Sometimes I am that person who is so tired after the demands of a day that I am walking but I walk feeling empty, with my head down and oblivious to what is around me.
Other times I walk whilst totally consumed by worries about future challenges I am anticipating or caught up in regrets about what has gone wrong that day. Everyone and everything starts to irritate me on this kind of walk.
It is not always like this. I am grateful to have other walks where I am not caught in these trances. I am more in the moment where I am connected with my body and the environment. This brings a sense of ease, calm, and even enjoyment. I usually always carrying some form of negative stuff inside me too like worries from my day, stress, fear, sadness, and anger, however when I walk mindfully, they do not tarnish and take over my experience.
What does mindful walking look like?
Mindful walking is conscious walking. We walk with awareness that we are walking in this present moment, that we are breathing, that we are here. As we walk, we pay attention to the external world around us. We also notice that there is a lot going on in the internal world within us with all our thoughts, feelings and body sensations. When we walk mindfully we pay attention to all of this with acceptance and without judging it, getting lost in it, or trying to get rid of it.
What follows is an outline of some core components of mindful walking which I encourage you to try.
1. Congratulate yourself on getting out
When you take that decision to go for a walk, well done because it is not always easy to get to this point in the first place. You have made it. You have landed from the world of doing, demands, and busy-ness. Now pause for a moment and purposely bring an intention to walk consciously today. Even if you do not manage, it is OK, your intention is a stepping stone that gets you closer towards doing it.
2. Connect with your breath
A core part of mindful walking is to become aware that you are breathing. We are always breathing but we do not pay attention to it because it is (thankfully) automatic for most of us.
Take a moment to check you are breathing. Are you?
If you have noticed that you are breathing right now then you have become present- for a moment all your focus shifted to what is going on right here, right now and you have connected with your body. Noticing that we are breathing can remind us that we are alive. Another thing we can easily take for granted. So, the first step in mindful walking is to consciously breathe.
Breathe in and be aware that you are breathing in. You can say to yourself: "I am breathing in, I am here, I have arrived". Then breathe out. Breathe out as though you are sighing a sigh of relief after having faced a big challenge (e.g. resolving an argument, chairing a tough meeting, going for an interview). On every out-breath, breathe a sigh of relief, relax your shoulders, your facial muscles, and connect with the sense of ease that can come with this.
3. Connect with the movement of your body
Start to become aware of every step you make. Have you ever seen a baby as they take their first steps and figure out how their body parts move together? Bring this focus to your steps. Feel your feet rolling onto the ground, one part of the foot at a time; the heel, the arch, the balls of your foot, the toes. You may need to slow yourself down slightly to notice the different parts of the foot as it moves. You make notice the muscles of your calves moving too, the creaks and cracks in your knees and back after being indoors or sitting down all day. Just notice this. Notice with wonder. Without judging your body or yourself.
4. Connect your breathing with your body movement
Notice your natural breathing rate as you walk without trying to change or force anything. Notice how many steps you take as you breathe in. And how many steps you take as you breathe out. For instance, you may notice that you take 3 steps on your in-breathe and 3 steps on your out-breath. We can then use this to start counting our steps. For instance, as you breathe in count 1, 2, 3 steps, and as you breathe out take 1, 2, 3, steps.
If this sounds tricky to coordinate give yourself a chance to play around with it. It may take some time because we are not used to walking and breathing in this way. Over time you may notice that your out-breath starts to become longer than your in-breath, so you may need to adjust your counts to go with the rhythm that is comfortable for you now.
By doing this we start to create alignment between our breath, our body movement, and our focus of attention. This alignment can generate a sense of cohesion compared to the disharmony we experience during periods of stress where our heart is beating fast, our breathing is struggling to keep up because it is shallow, and our mind is all over the place racing with thoughts. As we become aware of our steps and breathing rhythm, we start to create a steadiness even if we experience negative emotions and thoughts inside us . This can help our body to calm down, our mind to slow down, and our attention to become more focused as we walk.
5. Imprint your footsteps on the earth
“Your foot is like a seal. When you put the seal on a piece of paper, the seal makes an impression.”, Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk, global spiritual leader, peace activist
Have you or your children ever done that activity where you paint your hands and print your hand mark on a paper? On your mindful walk imagine that you have painted your feet and that with each step you take, you are leaving a footprint. With each footprint we can also imagine imprinting a message; I was here in this spot, I am free, I am grateful, I am alive, I am experiencing joy in this moment, I am steady, I am connected with the earth beneath my feet. Leaving a trail of these messages can be a lovely offering to ourselves.
6. Take your pain along on the walk
As we walk, we may be aware that we are in pain. We may be holding negative emotions (shame, anxiety, sadness, loneliness, hurt), and thoughts patterns (others don’t care about me, I am a failure, the world is a horrible place). We may be holding physical pain- an aching back, and sore wound.
We cannot get rid of our pain because it is a part of being human; it may be there for a good and important reason and reflect that something needs to be attended to. However, this physical and psychological pain may also distract us away from our footprints, our breath, and our walk, and pull us powerfully into an abyss of suffering where we can easily get lost.
Sometimes it can help to imagine taking our pain on the walk with us. This does not mean that we have to like our pain. Of course, we all want to be free of pain. However, it is part of us and you will be surprised that if we do not fight it, our pain may settle slightly, and we may start to suffer less .
So, as you breathe in, connect with where you feel the physical and psychological pain in your body and say 'hello' to it. As you breathe out imagine reaching out your hand and telling it ‘come, please join me for the walk’. By doing this we are acknowledging that parts of us are in pain. We are sensitive to them and not judging them as wrong or pushing them away. We are responding to ourselves gently like a caregiver reaches out a hand to a child who is upset. We are guiding ourselves to carry on with the walk even though we hold pain, because we know that this is nourishing and nurturing for us.
Please be aware that connecting with the pain in our body, and responding to ourselves with compassion and loving kindness can be a complex process that may even trigger painful memories from our past. If this part of mindful walking feels too difficult, then do seek support from a psychologist or psychotherapist who can explore your experiences with you in greater depth.
7. Connect with your environment
You can also extend your attention to fully connect with the sensory experience of the walk. Have you had those moments when you are totally absorbed in the beauty of the environment around you? We can internally generate these sensations of wonder, peace, and ease through mindful presence.
Just like you may marvel at Niagara Falls, the African Savana, or a Californian beach, bring this attitude of marvel and curiosity to your walk, wherever you are, by connecting with all your senses. Notice the obvious things and the subtleties too. Here’s an example:
Sight: notice the play of light and shadows on the leaves, the different shades of brown and greys on the pavement.
Sound: notice the silence when cars stop passing by, the different types of birdsong.
Smell: notice the change of how the air smells after it rains, the grass, car fumes.
Touch: notice the movement of your hair against the breeze, the texture of your clothes.
Taste: notice the taste of the last thing you ate or drank, the dryness or lack of taste in your mouth.
8. Manage the mind’s attention
You may notice that while you are doing this, without even realising you get caught in thinking. Thinking about worries of the future or regrets of the past and before you know it you’ve been out of it for the last 5 minutes. You may also notice yourself judging everything around you as nice or ugly, as good or bad, comparing it, wanting or wishing it to be better or different.
This happens because we have a mind that has evolved to ensure we do something about the problematic things that can be a cause of danger. This is not our fault. However, when we judge without any filter or regulation, we can start to create negatively charged energy that biases our focus and cause our emotions and body to enter a threatened state, to the point that we disconnect from the present.
So, we need to train ourselves to land back on earth again; out of our head back into the moment. How do we do this? Breathe in- as you breathe in remind yourself that 'I am breathing in right now, I am here, I am back'. As soon as you do this, you have returned back to the present. Then breathe out that sigh of relief. And re-focus your attention on your feet imprinting stamps on the earth, on the pace of your breathing, or on your senses as you connect with the environment around you.
This is of course easier said than done and I guarantee you that your mind is going to wander again and again. We just have to work with that and guide ourselves back into the present time and time again. If you notice that you get frustrated with yourself or caught in thoughts that you are doing this mindful walking business wrong, name that as a thought. We don’t need to debate it further. Just thank your mind for bringing this thought to your attention and come back to your breath, your body, your environment. With practice it gets easier.
Walk on forward
We are walking all the time, even to the fridge, to the toilet. I encourage you to think about how you can walk on forward through life more consciously. When we are connected with our breath, our body, and our environment as we walk, we become present. We no longer live in our head in the surreal world of the past or the imagined world future, but land back into this moment now which is when living is actually taking place.