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Mindful and attentive walking Mindful walking blends two important de-stressing and renewal practices: outdoor movement and mindfulness. It steadies your heart rate, lowers blood pressure and reduces stress inducing hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline.
A basic walking meditation is pretty simple. All you need do is notice yourself walking as you walk, using body sensations as your anchor to stay present. Notice the sensation of your feet on the ground or the movement of your muscles, especially as you encounter different surfaces beneath you. Notice not just what your legs are doing, but also your arms, torso, spine, and head as you walk. Notice the moment at which the right step becomes the left step and the left step becomes the right step.
When you finish walking, simply stand for a moment and notice all the sensations in your body as you come to stillness. Living in the moment
It’s easy when we take a break from being busy for our mind to decide otherwise, and to go into overdrive, too often time travelling to September when its only the beginning of August! When you find yourself lost in thought in this way, take a moment to reconnect with the here and now using your breath.
Step one: Simply stop, and bring your attention to your breath.
Step two: Note with each breath: ‘in - out’, ‘here - now’, ‘calm - ease’ or whatever words help you stay anchored on the breath. Your mind will still wander. As soon as you notice this, return to your breath.
Step three: Move into the next moment of your summer, a little more present to yourself and those around you. Savour that which you love
Neuroscience research has found that our brains have a ‘negativity bias’. Negative experiences tend to stand out in our minds, while positive ones are easily dismissed or forgotten. In order to find renewal in that which we love we practice intentionally savouring positive experiences. When we savour something we bring our whole attention to it, and open up our senses in order to ‘imprint’ it in our minds and bodies.
So when you have that first taste of a cold beer on a hot day, take your time to feel the coolness of the glass, the colour and smell of the beer and the first moment you bring it to your lips. What are those summer moments that you intend to savour as part of your commitment to replenish your resources? Go back to those carefree summers of childhood
Why not this summer go back to something you used to enjoy as a child, whether thats rock pooling, drawing or singing and dancing, and allow yourself that feeling of complete abandonment in doing something that you love, with those you love.
If you have time, and are intrigued by mindful and attentive walking this short video takes you on a walking meditation exploring how you can open up all your senses to find peace of mind whilst walking.
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