8 Benefits of Mindful Walking

What is Mindful Walking?

Mindful walking is going for a walk and being present in the moment with an awareness of what is around you and how you are feeling. Quite often, we can find ourselves doing things on autopilot and don’t pay attention to what is around us. Mindful walking is the opposite of walking on autopilot!

What are the benefits of mindful walking? Firstly, let’s go into the benefits of walking in itself.

1. Vitamin D

Another benefit of mindful walking, or walking in general is your exposure to sunlight. Sunlight gives you Vitamin D, which is an essential vitamin to keep us healthy. It can improve your bones, muscle strength, immune system, and many other things such as hypertension (high blood pressure).

2. Fresh Air

There are many benefits of fresh air, such as improved oxygen levels in your body. You can read more about the benefits of fresh air here.

3. Walking Can Improve Your Mood

Exercise releases a chemical in the brain called endorphins. Endorphins can improve your mood and give you a feeling of euphoria.

4. Walking Can Help Relieve Pain

This one also comes down to the work of endorphins. The name endorphins actually come from the term ‘endogenous morphine’, because it acts as your body’s very own natural painkiller.

5. Walking Can Improve Sleep

The fresh air you breathe in when walking increases the blood flow to the brain. This can improve overall brain health, and therefore your brain is more capable of allowing you to have a deeper, more refreshing sleep.

If you have done a good amount of exercise in the day, your body will also be more likely to be ready for sleep at the end of the day.

6. Mindful Walking Can Regulate Emotions

Being aware of what is around us can help calm our emotional state. A big part of mindful walking is noticing the things around you. It could begin by noticing the trees. As you get more used to mindful walking, you may notice more details such as leaf patterns or insects. By noticing these things, your brain is focussed on something other than thoughts that may have been worrying you before. This can help your brain regulate your emotions and can make you feel more emotionally balanced.

7. It Can Make Mindfulness a Habit

Being mindful is a skill. A bit like learning to play an instrument. The more you practice, the better you will become at it. By practising mindful walking regularly, you can turn mindfulness into a habit. You will soon begin to use mindfulness in other situations too, as your brain adapts to this way of viewing and processing what is happening around you.

8. It Can Open Your Eyes

Metaphorically speaking, mindful walking can really open your eyes. It can give you a much more vivid experience of the World around you. There are so many beautiful things that we often don’t notice when we are busy. Mindful walking can help you view the World in a whole new way.

If you want to learn more about mindfulness, you could enrol in my free course here.