Walking to improve mental health
Let me start by saying that I love walking. For me, the mental health benefits of walking are immeasurable. It’s what helps me through a bad episode of anxiety the most. I walk regularly, sometimes for just a brisk half hour, and often long weekend walks. I walked a lot as a child, out of force rather than by choice. Long walks were always something we did as a family. I recall being extremely resistant to these walks, but I look back on them fondly.
It’s something I’ve continued to enjoy into adulthood. I did a lot of hiking in my 20s and dragged my children on walks throughout my 30s. They always responded in the same way as I did as a child – with a great deal of resistance!
In January 2022 I suffered a severe mental health episode. It’s what led me to start this blog. During this time resting was impossible, so walking got me through it. I walked for hours daily with my dog, sometimes with family or friends, but mostly I walked alone. I’m extremely fortunate to have great walks on my doorstep as I live in a semi-rural area. As I walked most of the physical symptoms I was experiencing disappeared. I felt most at peace when I was walking.
Mindfulness
We spend most of our time distracted by thoughts, always thinking about the future or past. Thinking can prevent us from enjoying the simple pleasures to be enjoyed every day.
A few years ago, I completed an 8-week mindfulness course, something I would highly recommend to anyone suffering from anxiety. Mindfulness has become extremely popular in recent years as a way to improve mental health. According to the Samye Foundation Wales, Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to and seeing clearly whatever is happening in our lives. It can help us respond to life’s pressures in a calmer manner. It helps reduce stress and develop more focus and mental clarity.
In a nutshell, mindfulness involves resting the mind in the present moment without judgment. It directs our attention away from thinking and preoccupation.
It’s not difficult to understand why mindfulness can be so beneficial for anxiety sufferers. Anxiety feeds off negative thoughts and overthinking, leading us to believe the fallacies, exaggerations, fears, worse-case scenarios, and imminent catastrophes – oh the despair! Resting our minds in the present moment and noticing our surroundings allows us to move our attention away from thinking.
Mindful walking practice
My favourite time to practice mindfulness is when I’m walking. I try to rest my attention on my surroundings either by sight or by sound. It could be something simple such as noticing a tree that I’ve passed many times before and never noticed. I might notice colours of flowers, moss, fungi, or leaves – the changing seasons. I may rest my mind on sounds, the birdsong, or wind blowing the trees. Sometimes, it’s as simple as gazing up to the sky and feeling a beam of sunshine on my face, standing still for a minute or two to embrace the comforting warmth.
These micro pleasures make me feel rooted in nature and grounded in the present moment.
Mindful walking or just walking slows down my mind, the adrenaline, the rush and removes me from the unhealthy habit of overthinking. I find that it’s during these moments when I’m walking that I feel most at peace.
Give it a go
Mindful walking can be practised anywhere. Below is an idea of how a mindful walk would look.
Why not try the following mindful walking practice? It can be done anywhere – walking from the car park to work for example – but preferably alone.
Begin by walking at a natural pace. Notice your thoughts. Don’t try to push them away or suppress them, acknowledge them and guide your mind to the present moment. To help you maintain this state of presence, try the following practices. You can try them all at first, you will find that you prefer some mindful walking practices over others.
Sight: Gently rest your attention on your surroundings. Do not engage with what you see, or name it, simply notice. Your mind will naturally begin to wander – that’s fine – acknowledge your thoughts and gently bring your attention back to the present moment.
Sounds: Rest your attention on sounds. There is no need to name the sounds or engage with them, simply notice them. Your mind will wander – that’s fine – gently bring it back to the present.
Smell: Rest your attention on what you can smell. The smell will be different depending on where you are, for example in the countryside or in a city. Your mind will wander – that’s fine – gently guide it back to the present moment.
Sensations: Rest your attention on what you can feel. It might be the wind or sun on your face. Notice the ground underneath you and how it supports you every day. There is no need to engage with your feelings, simply notice the sensations. Your mind will wander – that’s fine – kindly guide it back to the present.
Your mind will naturally want to wander during the above practice. Within no time you’ll notice that you’re thinking about something. That is perfectly normal. Gently guide your mind back to the present moment each time and rest your attention on the sounds, sights, smells, or sensations. You can even rest your attention on your breath. Notice how your chest moves as you breathe. Feel the sensation of air entering your nostrils and filling your lungs. You might want to rest your attention on your footsteps and the feeling and sounds of the ground beneath your feet. Your mind will always wander but gently bring it back to the present each time.
I find this kind of meditation easier some days than others, depending on how busy my mind is. It always strikes me how much it slows me down, my movements, my breath, my mind which brings a real sense of calm.
Thoughts and distractions prevent us from appreciating the beauty in our everyday surroundings. Thinking often situates us in the past or present – it places us on autopilot.
We can enjoy our surroundings even if the purpose of our walk is to get us from A to B. The above mindful walking practice can be done anywhere. You may walk past beautiful buildings every day on your way to work without noticing them. It might be that you enjoy the warm feeling from the sun, birdsong, the feeling of a gentle breeze, or the colours of the trees when walking through a local park.
Those A to B walks are often spent in a state of distraction – distracted by our thoughts or our mobile phones – but practicing mindful walking can bring a micro-moment of joy, peace, and tranquility to an otherwise hectic day.
My point is that so much worth seeing and feeling can be missed through distractions as we go about our busy lives.
I have found walking particularly helpful during difficult times. It brings enjoyment and a sense of well-being and achievement that’s hard to describe.
In my opinion, doing anything that contributes to that feeling of personal wellbeing is important, but even more important during adversity. It instils calm! The most important state to maintain in most, if not all situations.
