«Walking means opening up to the world. The act of walking immerses you in an active form of meditation that solicits the participation of all the senses». The words of the French anthropologist and sociologist David Le Breton perfectly describe the so-called conscious walk (in English mindful walking), a meditative practice that allows those who experience it to make a mental evolution and to reach a profound state of well-being.
This is possible thanks to the exercises that characterize it and that allow the person to be gift in the here and now. Such self-awareness is the best antidote to mental wandering and the anxious thoughts often associated with it. Conscious walking has no sex or age limits. Anyone can practice it, even the elderly. The benefits, once you become familiar with it, are innumerable. Let’s discover them together.
Mindful walking: scientific evidence
Mindful walking, as already seen, is a mindfulness practice, i.e. a set of meditation techniques aimed at seeking awareness. Being anchored in the present moment, pushing away the shadows of the past and fears for the future, means fully grasping one’s own potential and the beauty of existence in every smallest detail.
The advantages of mindful walking are amplified if it is practiced in the middle of nature. To affirm it Gregory Bratman of Stanford University with one studio Published on PNAS. The researcher compared the effects of a ninety-minute walk in the countryside with those of a walk in the city.
Bratman noted that there was a significant reduction in the rumination, or the continuous and morbid thinking about negative aspects of one’s existence, and of the brain activation in the subgenual prefrontal area after an hour and a half of walking en plein air. It has long been known that daily rumination is an important risk factor for the onset of anxiety and depression.
The benefits of mindful walking
Mindful walking is not only a good way to switch off and recharge after a stressful day, but it is a technique which, if practiced consistently, gives important long-term benefits. For example:
- Lower the values of blood pressure;
- Reduces the so-called hormones of the stressi.e. cortisol and adrenaline;
- Prevents the diabetes;
- Stabilize the heart rate;
- Promotes the bone mineralization thus counteracting the risk of osteoporosis;
- Adjust the levels of bad cholesterol;
- Stimulate the immune system;
- fights theanxiety and the depression;
- Improve the sleep;
- Encourage the creativity.
Tips for mindful walking
Although there are no general rules for a perfect mindful walk (everyone, in fact, adapts exclusively to their own feelings), some advice can prove useful, especially if you have recently practiced mindful walking. First of all it is good to walk a natural rhythm as we always do. Otherwise the practice would be forced and its positive aspects would not be grasped.
Once the best step has been identified, attention is focused on the body. First of all about breathing which must synchronize with the movements. To do this, therefore, one must be attentive to every slightest movement and to the way in which it occurs. While inhaling, for example, one can focus on the consistency of the earth on which the sole of the foot rests. While exhaling, however, the thought can be directed to the temperature of the ground.
After having found an “internal resonance” it is possible to move the gaze ei sensi about what surrounds us. The sounds, the smells, the colors must be accepted without judgments and thoughts. Everything exists because it is. There is nothing to do or even to change. There is only the body in harmony with the environment in which it moves.
The conscious walk ends by slowly bringing the focus back on the physical sensations: the heaviness of the steps, the breaths, the swinging of the arms. It won’t be easy to drive away intrusive thoughts at first, but don’t be discouraged. With a little practice and perseverance mindful walking will be able to donate a state of well being deep and lasting.