Can you hear the water?

We know that walking is good for us. We also know that mindfulness has proven benefits. Put them together and it appears that you get an experience greater than the sum of the parts according to research conducted at Penn State University.

What is Mindful Walking?

Mindful walking is moving while retaining an awareness of your breathing, physical sensations and your surroundings. Generally you will walk at a slower than “normal” pace and actively engage your senses to become fully present and consciously aware of the here and now. Not dwelling on the past, nor projecting into the future but focusing on the act of walking where you are walking.

It is just as possible to walk mindfully in a busy urban environment as it is in countryside more like that in the header photo. The next time you set out on foot, rather than walk on autopilot (how often have you arrived at your next meeting with no idea what route you took to get there?!!) try this…

How do I walk mindfully?

As you walk, first of all tune into your breathing and consciously take some deep breaths in and out, then take time to really tune into your physical body and surroundings and reflect on..

• 5 things you can SEE

• 5 things you can HEAR

• 5 things you can SMELL

• 5 things you can FEEL/TOUCH

• 5 things you can TASTE

Tuning into some of your senses will take more focus and perhaps a sprinkling of creativity, but I guarantee that your previously whirring mind will be quietened and your walk will be a much more enjoyable one.

This time last year, the working day might have looked a little like this

• 7.30/8am - leave house and commute to the office or first client meeting, use travelling time to gather your thoughts/listen to a podcast etc.

• 8/8.30am - make a cuppa and chat with colleagues in the kitchen or pop into your local artisan coffee shop for a latte.

• 9am - First meeting of the day.

• 10.15am enjoy a 5-10 min breather and time to sift through the outcomes of the meeting as you walk/drive to your next meeting.

• 12.30pm - short break for lunch, possibly eaten at your desk while chatting and passing the time of day to your colleagues while working on some of your actions from the mornings meetings.

• Rinse and repeat for the afternoon.

All in all, we had TIME, it might not have felt like it, it may have been squandered occasionally but we had 60-90 mins of time to be in pre-covid times. Time when we moved between meetings, time when we could hit the pause button and think and reflect.

Fast-forward 12 months and our working day looks like this….

• 7.30am to 7.30pm - back to back zoom calls, webinars and networking events scheduled for the evening because everyone is on back to back zooms throughout the day!

Throw home schooling into the mix and is it any wonder there is a real sense of overwhelm and exhaustion at the moment.

There is another way…

It requires courage, going against the tide and a significant mindset shift. Are you ready to hear what it is…?

Say NO to just ONE Zoom call request, block out buffer time in your calendar between meetings to mimic the time you had moving between meetings before. Step away from the screen and GO FOR A WALK".

In an average working day of 8 hours, at least 60 mins of that would have been spent commuting/moving/making coffee and blethering. All offering time for us to change state, gather our thoughts, leave the crap of the day at the front door of the house before returning to the family.

We need that time for physical and mental well-being. Being zoomed-out is not a badge of honour it’s a pre-cursor to ill-health. Please reclaim that hour in every working day and do something to top up your well-being:

• make and eat lunch with the family

• take your coffee to another zoom-free room

• do some meditating

• go for a walk, run or cycle

Just DON’T offer up your diary for another zoom call.

Walking is often seen as inferior to running when it comes to improving your fitness, but brisk walking is an unsung hero. So what can walking do for you?

Benefit your physical health

Brisk walking burns as many calories per mile as running does, so it’s great for weight loss. Walking for just 10 mins at a time at a pace of approximately 3 miles an hour will build your stamina and contribute to your heart health.

But how do you know if you are walking briskly enough? Well there’s an app for that!

Active10 developed by the NHS tells you when you're walking fast enough and suggests ways to fit in some more brisk walking.

Download from Apple Store

Download from Google Play

Want to know more, check out the Walking for Health page of the NHS website.

Walking also boosts your immune system. Harvard Health Publishing states:

“ Walking can help protect you during cold and flu season. A study of over 1,000 men and women found that those who walked at least 20 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week, had 43% fewer sick days than those who exercised once a week or less. And if they did get sick, it was for a shorter duration, and their symptoms were milder.”

Benefit your mental well-being

Walking, particularly walking outdoors has a positive impact on your mental health.

But why?

Walking outdoors improves your mental health as sunshine (even the limited sunshine we get in Scotland!) naturally increases serotonin, a hormone that affects your mood. And exercise itself produces endorphins, another feel-good hormone that boosts your mood and reduces pain.

Studies show that walking can have a similar impact to cognitive behavioural therapy on preventing future episodes of depression.

Want to know more?

The Hunt Cohort Study tracked over 30,000 participants over 11 years and concluded that regular leisure-time exercise of any intensity provides protection against future depression.

Improve your creativity

Walking makes you more creative was the claim made by neuroscientist Professor Shane O’Mara, (author of In Praise of Walking: The new science of how we walk and why it’s good for us”) in a recent Paths for All digital lecture.

Referring to studies indicating that study participants had approximately twice as many ideas when faced with a problem to solve while moving (walking) than when seated. O’Mara also broke the good news that active older adults can beat sedentary youths when it comes to idea generation…great news for this 50 year old!

So three great reasons to get walking, and if you would like the added advantage of connecting with people while walking, check out our weekly NETwalking events.