The father of modern medicine, Hippocrates, said, “walking is man’s best medicine”. It’s a wonderful, gentle exercise for pregnancy and beyond with benefits for body and brain. However recent studies suggest that we are walking at a faster pace – one that isn’t good for our health. Chronic fast walking (not competitive speed walking) is associated with eating quicker, speaking faster and experiencing more impatience than those who walk a little more leisurely.
As a new parent I had that chronic fast walking T-shirt. I used to find walking with a toddler incredibly frustrating – they want to stop and look at EVERYTHING… a twig here… a dead insect there. I was firmly focused on the destination whereas my son was enjoying every step of the journey. A visit to the supermarket took twice as long and I’d hear myself muttering “keep up, come on”. When I was busy I would find that even walking the dog was frustrating. I found myself tugging at the leash to keep moving and thinking “get your ‘business’ done so I can get back to being busy” as I thought of all of the emails I had to answer. Many of us can feel like we’re on invisible leashes too. The leash extending from your laptop or your smart phone, always tugging to get our attention and that dreaded FOMO (fear of missing out!).
Mindful walking is the exact opposite to what I’ve just described.
Mindful walking means you purposefully walk a little slower and pay attention to all of your senses. It gets you out of your head and in to your body in a way that’s good for your mind and body. It’s like pretending you’ve just arrived from Mars (beginners mind instead of monkey mind). It’s something that you can do several times a day – walking through the door to work, walking through the door of your home after work. In pregnancy the bathroom is a frequent haunt so why not use those few moments to take your attention away from the worries of tomorrow or the reliving of yesterday’s argument with your partner and just be present in your body as it moves throughout your day. Simple moments like these reduce stress significantly.
You probably haven’t paid as much attention to putting one foot in front of the other since walking home after that Xmas party 2 years ago so as you walk notice how your body feels as your hips move, the way your knee bends and your foot makes contact with the ground and the other foot lifts. Mindful walking in the summertime on a sandy beach is divine but for now the gravel parking lot must do (or if it’s dry take off your shoes and feel the cool grass). Notice how your arms swing by your side. Is your baby moving too? What else do you notice physically? Sometimes as we notice our growing pregnant bodies thoughts will bubble up “I wonder if I’m going to get any bigger”, ”my back hurts” and it can take us off into a train of thought about the discomforts of pregnancy (usually stressful thoughts follow). Can you also notice any areas of your body that feel soft, areas that feel good? When you notice that you’ve gotten distracted by your wandering mind return your attention to what’s happening with your body. If you’re doing this with a toddler let them lead the pace. Notice how their little body moves, the way their hair moves in the breeze, how their tiny hand feels in yours. Allow yourself to feel gratitude for having the ability to see these often unnoticed ordinary miracles that we often miss when we are always in a hurry. As your mind jumps from thought to thought simply bring it back to what you’re noticing right now. The worries of tomorrow will still be there in 10 minutes.
Seeing
Be like that toddler who sees the world as an adventure waiting to be experienced. Look up at the trees – the clouds – the upstairs windows of the houses as you walk. What do you see that you never noticed before (maybe you were on your phone or miles away in your thoughts).
Hearing
As you walk what sounds do you notice? Exercising with music is always a great motivator but every now and then taking the time out to listen to the world around you keeps you in the present and turns down that stress response. As your mind wanders (and it will) you’ll bring it back to noticing those sounds again. Many of us don’t have the luxury of gracefully skipping through sunlit woods listening to birdsong like in those Disney movies so if noticing the sound of the traffic on the street and gossiping neighbours is what you have to work with so be it!
Try it tomorrow – slow down your pace a little, pay attention to your body and allow thoughts and emotions to come and go as you connect with the present moment even if it’s only briefly. Take a moment to stop and smell the roses – even if they are in a bucket outside Spar.
*On a rainy day toddlers love mindful walking around the house – which can give you a few moments to enjoy a few moments of mindful tea drinking*
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