It is summer, so that is a good reason to go out for a walk. Leave your phone and dog at home, say no to your friend who wants to join you for a chat and put on some walking shoes. Make space to have some quality time with yourself. Go out for a mindful walk!
Why go for this walk? Mindfulness is beneficial for your own health, like a better mood, less stress and it improves the immune system. It also affects your environment. If we all would welcome mindfulness in our lives, how would the world be? At least a bit better, friendlier and more peaceful than it is now. Your family and friends will be thankful for your mindfulness practices. One of those practices is a mindfulness walk.
If you have some forest or beach near your home, it is easy. But even when you only have a city park in your neighbourhood or a crowded street, you can still go for a mindfulness walk. As that is the good thing about mindfulness, it is not about where you physically are, but where you are mentally. Ready to go?
Start walking, it doesn’t matter where you go, as the destination is not important. It’s all about the journey. This walk is mainly about bringing your awareness to the present. Thoughts will come and go and that is fine. Let them come and also let them disappear. Don’t hold on to them but let go.
Use your five senses: touch, taste, hearing, sight and smell. Pay attention to the sensations of your body. Notice how you walk and how your shoes touch the street. Feel your arms. Do you feel any muscles? Become aware of your surroundings. Appreciate the moment and enjoy what you see. Don’t be in a rush, but be amazed to see everything around you. Like you see things for the first time, like when you were a kid. Or when you travel and get excited by all new things around you. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell?
Take it all in and enjoy your walk mindfully. If you practise this more often, it will get easier. Just try and let me know how you experience it.
Jane Regina Sauer 