Mindful walking means walking with a deliberate intention, focus, and attitude. It is mind training, just like physical training, which improves our body, mindfulness improves our brain function.
What happens in the brain when we are awake? It thinks about the past, the present, and the future. Mindfulness training helps apportion appropriate times to reflect on the past, live the present, and plan for the future. The focus of mindfulness is on the present moment. Why?
When we regret, we live in the past; when we worry, we live in the future; when we live in the present, we will have neither worries nor regrets – we will have the only time we have – the present moment. The mind has a strong tendency to wander off. Most of our thoughts are self-directed and concern the same issues. We need to focus on the present and notice all aspects of life.
I am not advocating that we live all the time in the present moment. It is unrealistic. The past has experiences that will benefit us. We can look forward to the future after appropriate planning. We should not overlook the importance of living and enjoying the present moment.
We can train our brains to be mindful (in contrast to mindless) through mindful walking. A helpful way of starting mindfulness walking is to ask ourselves our intention in practising mindfulness. It could be for stress relief, a better understanding of our thoughts and emotions, or moving to a greater sense of kindness and compassion. Purpose focuses our brain and commitment. The aim is a prerequisite for success.
We can start our walk with focused awareness on breathing. Why focus on breathing? Breathing is done in the present moment, not in the past or the future. It makes us aware of life itself. Most of the time, we are not mindful of our breathing. Stop breathing, and we become aware of the need for breathing and energy. We learn to be more attentive and knowledgeable of ourselves, others, and our surroundings by learning how to focus on breathing.
We can also focus our attention on any of our other senses: look at the plants; see the shape of the leaves or the bark pattern. Listen to the sounds around us: birds chirping, water flowing, or people talking. Feel the feeling of our walk: the sensation on the soles, the lifting, and placing of our feet.
We can also focus on our inner attention, thoughts, and feelings that surface during the walk. What are we thinking about? Where do they come from? Are they troubling? There will be many moments when we shift our attention to contemplating the past or planning the future. Are we aware of this drift to living in the past or the future? This drift in attention is normal. Being able to bring our attention back to the present purposefully is not. It is trained.
See things afresh with a beginner’s mind – like children’s mind – without preconceptions. When we experience a beginner’s mind, we live in a world of fascination, curiosity, creativity, attention, and fun. When we walk, we can also discover patience. Are we impatient to finish our walk and hurry on to something else? Be fascinated by the experience of impatience! What are the thoughts generating our impatience? Through reflection, we can get closer to our thoughts and feelings. And we begin to question some of our assumptions and review situations leading to more control over our minds.
When we are aware of our thoughts and emotions, we can focus on the present, and when we can balance the past, present, and future, we think more mindfully and less mindlessly.
Vince
Dr Vincent Chong is a retired Professor of Radiology at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
