Mindful Walk Therapy

In every walk of nature, one receives far more than what one seeks. There is never a wrong time to head outdoor. But if you are serious about scoring the best conditions, enjoying a peaceful sunrise, or just fitting more adventure into life’s busy schedule, you are going to need to master the art of walking.

 Walking meditation, also known as mindful walking, is an active practice that requires you to be consciously aware and moving in the environment rather than sitting down with your eyes closed. It is a simple and comfortable form of meditation that can be particularly valuable for newcomers or anyone who prefers a more active form of this practice.

Mindful Walking produces the opposite of the sense withdrawal, known as Pratyahara, that we experience during a seated meditation practice. In mindful walking, all our senses are actively engaged in the experience of walking. We are deliberately being mindful of the earth beneath our feet, the air flowing in and out of our lungs, the sights, sounds, smells, and even tastes that we experience as we walk. Every step of walking takes you towards health. If you walk for 30 to 45 minutes daily with a balanced diet, then gradually you will start feeling your weight loss.

 Walking is beneficial for our heart health. Walking relieves the problem of high blood pressure. This makes the blood pressure normal and the blood flow in the body goes smoothly. In addition, it also helps the cardiovascular system to function optimally.

In natural surroundings, the improved air quality also has a positive impact on your lungs and cleansing of your blood for circulation. In a forest or near trees, you also absorb phytocides which are natural plant health boosters. This helps us to lower stress, become more observant and tune in with our senses rather than with our digital gadgets.

Walking gives us a sense of happiness calms our agitated nerves and cools the mind-body and soul. The fresh oxygen that we often miss in the concrete jungles of our cities may be easily utilized in the early hours of the morning. The freshness and mist that you feel in the early morning is hard to find. 

A 30-minute walk early in the morning is equivalent to 2-hour hardcore exercise in the gym. The best time for a morning walk is 5:00 Am to 7:00 Am. It is also termed as the best medicine.

Some Facts to Know

Our overall strength declined because, as technologies improved and our tasks also diversified. People became less active. The result: today’s man is not only more sedentary than ever before but also less productive. “We do much, much less than our ancestors,” says Robb Wolf, author of The Paleo Solution, “and our skeletons reflect this decrease inactivity.”

Indeed, the hunter-gatherers of 30,000 to 150,00 years ago travelled extremely long distances while hauling all kinds of weight. They were much stronger than the long-distance runners of today,” says Shaw. In a study he published earlier this year, he concluded that “the people back then were monsters by comparison. What you see today is quite pathetic.”

Ways to get started with Mindful Walking

•     Bringing attention to the beauty of our surroundings is another way to bring deliberate awareness to walking, and to shift our perception of the world out of the “negativity bias” or inherent pessimism wired into us, toward the positive and beautiful.

•     You might also, if you take the same route each day, choose to focus on the changes that you encounter. Notice each day as the seasons gradually change, how the sights, sensations and even smells and sounds also change. What is one new thing that you find, each day on your walk?

·      Hear the birds chirping, the blue sky above you, different trees & leaves. Just walk and imagine how beautiful nature is. Keep other thoughts aside. Try to do more self-realisation and thank God for everything.