• I have two doctors, my left leg and my right.- By G.M.Trevelyan
Much has been written and said about the joys and benefits of walking. It’s perhaps one of the gentlest, most inexpensive, most sustainable and universal ways of staying healthy.
There’s nothing wrong with that except that you could use your daily walk to do more than just improve your physical health. By walking ‘mindfully’, you can make a wonderful way of relaxing and de-stressing.
But how many times have you walked without having noticed a single thing on your way, either because you were too busy either chatting with your ‘walking friends’ or caught in your thoughts.
Are you ready to walk? Let us come with me.
First, make sure you are dressed right – loose, comfortable clothing, nothing that will slip off, needs holding on to or constant adjustment, nothing that is too loose, too tight etc. Your feet should be in a pair of Sturdy, comfortably fitting walking shoes. No slippers please. They may slip off, make flapping noises. And require too much of your attention.
Now, just before you set off, take a few minutes to stand still and straight, but not stiff. Gently close your eyes and bring your attention to your body. First, focus on your feet and the feel of the ground under them. If you find that you are standing unevenly, that is, with more pressure on one foot than the other or the full foot not pressed to the ground, then gently adjust your stance.
Slowly, feel your shoulders straighten up, your chest open out, Now gently shrug your shoulders, as if you are shaking off whatever baggage of plans/worries/schedules/pending business that you have and imagine them lying there in a pile at the door. Relax, feel your mind emptying out. Take a few deep breaths, open your eyes, look at whatever sight meets your eyes with a new awareness, and start walking.
Keeps your walking effortless, neither pushing yourself too fast nor slowing down so much that you notice. As you walk, become aware of everything that’s happening to you and around you. Feel the way your foot meets the ground and then lifts up again. Feel the rhythm of your walk in your body. Left, right, left right – not a hard marching cadence, but a slow, easy tempo and watch as your breath synchronizes with that rhythm. In, out, right, in out, left right.
Finally, when you are at the end of your walk, find a quiet spot and sit down. Then, with your eyes open or closed, observe one thing after another. The way the sweat feels on your brow as it evaporates. The way the air feels on your skin as it touches it and moves on. The way your chest is moving up and down as you breathe and your breath slowing down as you relax. Feel yourself become fresh, alive, alert and ready to face anything.
• Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time – By Steven Wright
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