Meditation in Motion – Walking With Intent
Walk therapy creates wonderful changes in the human body. The intentional, mindful attention given to this physical activity results in empowering not only the body but, more times than not, the mind and spirit too.
Science has long ago proven that ‘exercise’, in many fashions, can greatly enhance the bodies capabilities in the fight against depression, obesity, heart disease, anxiety, chronic pain, insomnia, diabetes and high blood pressure, to mention just a few. It has also proven that the release of endorphins in the body, which is gained with exercise, walk therapy included, positively affects a person’s overall sense of well-being. (And that is a great place to start. Give the spirit peace and the body and mind will happily follow!) Walking for just an hour a day, every day, with intent and mindfulness, will be a small, and quite simple, change that has no choice but result in a healthier body, mind and spirit.
Meditation
Meditation, in any fashion, as many know, is a solid holistic approach to self-wellness and a conscious effort toward a peace filled life. Daily meditation can, without doubt, improve your quality of life, enhance your concentration, reduce stress and provide the cavernous connection to the spirit.
Contraire to popular belief however, meditation does not necessarily require sitting passively alone with your legs crossed and your eyes closed, although that type of meditation does indeed have it’s place in healthy living. Walking with intent and healthy purpose, on the other hand, is an ‘active’ and refreshing type of meditation that requires you to be ‘consciously’ aware of your very real surroundings and your place in this world.
Creating this small change in your life and interjecting this new type of habit into your daily routine can reap your whole self a plethora of wonderful, positive results. And it’s so easy to do. Walk therapy is probably one of the most ‘natural’ ways to refresh the mind, ease the spirit and strengthen the body.
Meditation in Motion
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Meditation in Motion
Connect With The Physical World Around You
In Walk Therapy, the activity of walking with mindful intent and healthy purpose engages one in the very real act of physical, mental and spiritual motion. In intent and purposeful walking, all of your thoughts and emotions become engaged in that ‘motion’ experience.
Unlike walking to get through the grocery store or around work or making your way to the hairdressers down a crowded sidewalk, where absolutely no thought is given the walking experience, walk therapy hones the senses in on that very experience in it’s entirety. The whole self immediately begins to drink in the ‘small’, but very real realities around them. Like a surface beneath your feet, the air that fills your lungs more completely, the sounds of an entire universe, that we take for granted daily simply by not ‘taking the time’ to stand still and listen to it.
Colors will lose their blur and become sharp again, thoughts will become clearer and the spirit will lighten immediately by visiting the world it truly belongs in.
Peace will surround you as you initiate intentional walk therapy into your daily routine and in fact will compel you to ‘look forward’ to this daily self care activity with anxious anticipation of that ‘self freedom’ again.
In other words, you will become a part of the reality that most of us robot through in a blind, almost disconnect fashion that produces anything but peace and good health.
Just Breath
Walk Therapy is a natural means of physical exercise. But, just as importantly, walking with intent and healthful purpose, which means removing all other purposes, save but for the experience of the walk therapy itself, is quite powerful for the mental and the spiritual self as well.
Walk to walk. Don’t consider your ‘walk therapy’ as part of multi tasking; like for part of a weight loss program, fetching the mail at the end of the lane or while you do the grocery shopping. That’s not what we are talking about here. Walking for the walk alone is what we are stressing and what will release your body, mind and spirit.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean that those financial woes will suddenly disappear. It won’t erase the fact that your kid is not passing the third grade and it won’t diminish the stress of putting a family member into a nursing facility. But it can mean that you might think a bit more clearly on such concerns after this activity becomes a part of your daily routine.
By allowing yourself to put things of this nature, any real woe that might consume you or keep you in a state of despair or anxiousness, (metaphorically) on the back burner for one hour everyday, could allow you to clear your mind of the clutter that, quite honestly, may be fogging up your logic on such matters.
Just enjoy the walk (and the space between you and what may bog you down in your day to day life) and just breath. Remember that your good health depends entirely on you and walk therapy is one small change that is as enjoyable as it is easy.
Rediscovering Your Whole Self
Whether you exercise at a gym on a weekly basis or have a daily exercise routine at home, nothing allows you to rediscover your whole self quite like walk therapy. Walking with intent and healthful purpose for just one hour every day gives you the one-on-one attention to ‘different’ details about oneself that might not be recognized from a work out plan.
Work out’s can get consumed by number of reps, speed, endurance and competition. Walk therapy, on the other hand, is none of these. Meditation with motion is slower, no real goal, never a competition and no hurry to get anywhere in particular. But the whole self will definitely respond in only positive ways. Walking peacefully releases endorphins and positively affects a person’s overall sense of well-being. This in turn causes a positive shift in mood. And mood, as we all know too well, determines so much about how a person faces, and handles, day to day living.
A daily walk will increase heart rate and blood circulation throughout the whole body, and feeds oxygen and nutrients to all the vital organs. It’s one of the easiest ways to strengthen the heart muscle for example.
Walking also helps with digestion and decreases blood sugar. And bathroom habits are improved almost at once. A wise doctor once said, “if the plumbing is always in proper working order, the rest of the structure will work properly too.” And walking is probably one of the simplest ways to guard dog the plumbing.
Muscles stretch, lungs expand and the skin drinks in important vitamins. Increasing perspiration, even slightly, allows the body to detoxify and rid itself of excess water.
Be a Walk Meditator
Once involved and committed to walk therapy, many describe how the senses are heightened when you walk with a peaceful, open and happy spirit. The colors are more vibrant. Sounds are more distinct and purposeful, the smells become independent and obvious and textures become more precise.
One man, who has been a ‘walk meditator’ (his own words – but they actually fit) said that when he takes his afternoon stroll, he does so with the sole purpose of ‘feeling’ his body, ‘listening’ to his own mind and allowing his spirit to soar where ever it wishes to go. He goes on to say that ‘feeling’ his body means simply being mindful to how his body maneuvers. Does he walk with confidence in his movements, speed and balance? He said once you start walking daily, you will learn so much about your body it will surprise you.
For example, Bob (74 at the time) appeared to be in remarkable shape, but he said when he started walking daily he realized, contraire to what his doctor said, that he ‘felt’ he was carrying too much weight. He couldn’t exactly say why he felt that way, but he said he could just ‘feel’ it. So he dropped just seven pounds and that ‘ too heavy’ feeling went away. His body told him what weight it should be carrying and he listened. He said he felt so much better, even though you couldn’t tell Bob had lost an ounce.
As for listening to his own mind, Bob simply said they are the minutes ever day where he talks openly with God. (He chuckled softly here, as if someone had whispered something funny in his ear.) And he adds, it’s sometimes where they argue too. But, he added softly, God always wins, but I always feel better anyway.
As for allowing his spirit to soar, he said I would only understand that when I stand quietly and let the world move around me rather than the other way around. He added that sometimes if you allow yourself to feel small, your spirit will fill to the brim and an overwhelming peace will engulf you and the things that are actually important in this life will reveal themselves.
Then he chuckled again and added that he was once late for supper because his spirit was having too much fun to head home. His wife, he said, had scolded them both.
Then he winked at me. ‘Walking alone with God and the dog is the most important hour of the day,” Bob said before he turned to go. “And,” he added, “all of me is happier and healthier for it.”
In all fairness, I think Bob nailed it. Becoming one with the whole self: putting the body in motion with intent, relating personally with your own thoughts, beliefs and desires and allowing your spirit to wonder without worry for a bit every day is exactly what walk therapy is all about. Meditating with motion releases not only the mind but the body and spirit as well and all in a very positive way.
You Might Be Interested In
The Healing Stride: Walk Therapy for Holistic Wellness is your comprehensive guide to embracing the transformative power of walk therapy. Dive into the rich history, purpose, and practical aspects of this meditative practice that harmonizes mind, body, and spirit. Learn how daily walks, when approached with intention, impact your mental health, reduce stress, and foster a deeper connection with nature. This ebook provides actionable steps for incorporating walk therapy into your routine, answering essential questions, and guiding you through a journey of self-discovery and well-being. Experience the healing stride and rediscover your whole self.
Choosing To Walk Daily
Taking a daily walk outdoors, no matter the weather, (within reason, of course) can get you out of a cerebral fog or an ever-lasting train of thoughts that never seem to quiet. This elucidation may only be a change of scenery, and that’s okay. That might be all one needs to shift a ‘conditioned’ mindset, allowing it to open up to a newer, more universal perspective. That perspective being that there are no real requirements to race anywhere. No competitor. No set deadline. This moment, this step, this breath is all there is, and you can welcome it in all its affluence. Mindful, purposeful walking is about taking your time, clearing your mind, flexing your muscles and soothing the spirit. Remember, it isn’t about how fast you move, but rather how deeply you engage and how earnestly you search to free yourself.
Connect With The Present
Walk therapy is truly not complicated and can be one of the most freeing and rewarding simplicities you can ever give to yourself. Dedicating just one hour a day to the wellness of the whole self with mindful walk therapy is quite a simple, ‘small change’ to make when considering the boundless rewards gained for the body, the mind and the spirit on your holistic journey toward whole self wellness.
But be forewarned, on occasion that peaceful quiet sometimes becomes enormously profound. Your awareness goes far beyond the walking, and the passing terrain into the vast field of unalloyed awareness. Such moments feel as if time is standing still as the walker, the process of walking, and the environment amalgamate together. In this present, there is no past or future, only the boundless now stretching out forever. Moving into this unbounded monarchy beyond thought, time, and space allows us to experience, or even catch a glimpse, of our happy, soaring soul. And that is a wonderful, nearly unexplainable feeling of peace and purpose! And all because you went for a walk!
Check out the book Breathwalk: Breathing and walking comprise two of our simplest activities, yet they are also two of our most powerful actions. By bringing them together in a systematic and meditative way, we can enhance our physical, emotional, and spiritual fitness.
A Few More Favorites To Get You Started
Disclaimer: The information and/or products mentioned in these article are provided as information resources only and are not to be used or relied on to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The statements made in this article have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Any products mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, but rather to be considered as an informational resource only to encourage critical thinking and personal research. The information in this article is intended for educational purposes only. The information is not intended to replace medical advice offered by licensed medical physicians. Please consult your doctor or health care practitioner for any and all medical advice.
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