Evolve > Mindfulness > Why Should You Try Mindful Walking?
What is mindful walking?
Mindfulness is the practice of staying in the present moment, being fully aware of what you’re experiencing without judgement or distraction while engaging all your senses to it. A great way to practice this is through mindful walking.
Mindful walking is the process of staying in the moment and noticing how your body reacts while you walk. It is truly about enjoying your walk and allowing yourself to be fully immersed in the experience of walking. Walking mindfully a great way to cultivate mindfulness and get closer to yourself along with some physical activity. It is simple and can even be practiced by someone new to meditation and mindfulness. In fact, you can even do this at home!
But what makes mindful walking a great option? Let’s take a look.
Reasons to try mindful walking
- It strengthens your connection with your body
- It increases concentration
- Mindful walking improves your mood
- Get connected to your environment
- Clear your head
It strengthens your connection with your body. With regular mindful walking, you get a chance to experience and notice everything about your body. You can notice every sensation and reaction with every step, your posture and the feeling in your legs. Since your mind goes quieter and you stay in the moment, you are truly aware of what’s going on in your body and can connect with yourself.
It increases concentration. Unlike other types of mindfulness practices, mindful walking may take place in a dynamic environment, as you are constantly moving. There may be distractions around you but mindful walking allows you to focus on every step you take. This process of bringing your attention back onto a particular moment and maintaining focus will help improve your concentration levels in other activities as well.
It improves your mood. Walking and exercising leads to an increase of endorphins and other feel good chemicals into your body. This, along with the satisfaction your mind gets for accomplishing something good for you, elevates your mood. The mental clarity it provides helps reduce tension and stress as well.
Get connected to your environment. When you walk mindfully, be it at home or outside, whether barefoot or with shoes, you connect with your surroundings. You’re tuning your body to be aware of the moment and engaging all your senses to truly feel the experience. You feel the ground below, hear the sounds and see the beauty around you while noticing the air flowing through your lungs. Thus, it’s a holistic experience which connects you deeply with your current physical environment.
Clear your head. As you walk, engage all of your senses and stay in the moment, you process one thought at a time. This allows you to truly understand your thoughts and feelings, observe them without judgement, As a result, mindful walking recharges your mind, making you more aware. You can clear your head and be rid of any negative thoughts and gain a positive perspective on things.
Mindful walking is good for your mind and body, and is a great way to cultivate mindfulness. All it takes is 5-10 minutes of your day to recharge and become aware of the moment. Try out mindful walking on your next break, you won’t regret it! Here’s what you should keep in mind before your next mindful walk!
Try out Evolve’s mindful walking guided audio the next time you decide to take a walk! The Evolve app is now live globally on Android & Apple, click here to try for free!