Introduction
Mindful walking refers to relieving one’s stress through taking a walk aimed at eliminating overwhelming stressful thoughts. Various psychologists and scholars argue that mindful walking is an effective tool for dealing with stress and anxiety. Such an argument holds since the exercise allows an individual to get rid of the stressing thoughts through interaction with the new environment (Tong, Gromala, Choo, Amin, & Shaw, 2015). To deal with my stress, which was propagated by various stressors during my daily activities, I adopted a meditative walk. The walk helped me in three significant ways, viz. emotionally, physically, and mentally.
Physical effects
The meditative walk caused some physical changes in my body since it increased my stamina. After going through the meditative walk, I felt more stable than before. Additionally, I could accomplish various tasks requiring physical involvement. Moreover, the walk boosted my accuracy and changed my view about my overall physical abilities. During the meditative walk, I focused on the various movements made by different organs to maintain balance and support efficient walking. I realized that I was in a position to accomplish tasks that would require physical strength. Additionally, both the pulse rates and the breathing rates increased gradually, thus giving me enough energy to make the necessary movements.
Emotional
Emotionally, the walk had the effect of relieving the overwhelming stress that engulfed my mind. Firstly, it instilled a feeling of trust in me, thus elevating my self-confidence level. A close look at the movements of various organs revealed that at times, the body makes unintended movements, thus causing imbalances. However, it adjusts quickly to maintain balance. Similarly, the mind indulges in activities that may cause stress. However, after having a meditative walk, the mind is compelled to forget about the stressor and focus on the body movements, thus causing emotional relaxation (Payne & Crane-Godreau, 2013). Additionally, the walk fixed attention deficits that often occurred in my mind and I realized I could concentrate on an activity for longer periods.
Mental effects
Mentally, the walk introduced a relaxation feeling coupled with a sense of peace of mind. The walk diverted my attention from the stressor. Therefore, I was compelled to focus on the current events, which entailed the movements that I made continuously. Consequently, the stressful feeling that once characterized my mind was forgotten, thus causing a relaxation feeling. My engagement in the walk also slowed down the overactive mind, thus causing a relaxation effect on my mind. Moreover, the walk gave insights and creative ways to deal with the stressor. The insights that I obtained were helpful as I employed them in dealing with the problems in my mind.
Conclusion
A meditative walk is characterized by the desire to unravel the bodily interactions that result in an efficient motion (Rogers, Keller & Larkey, 2010). Even though my meditative walk was the first of its kind, it changed my view of stress since it enabled me to forget about the stressful events and instead focus on ways to make myself busy. Emotionally, it helped boost my self-confidence levels coupled with causing a relaxation feeling in my mind. Physically, it increased my stamina as I realized that I could handle tasks that needed physical strength. Lastly, the walk averted the stress that characterized my mind and instilled a sense of peace of mind.
References
Payne, P., & Crane-Godreau, M. (2013). Meditative movement for depression and anxiety. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 4(7), 56-98.
Rogers, C., Keller, C., & Larkey, K. (2010). Perceived benefits of meditative movement in older adults. Geriatric Nursing, 31(1), 37-51.
Tong, X., Gromala, D., Choo, A., Amin, A., & Shaw, C. (2015). The Virtual Meditative Walk: An Immersive Virtual Environment for Pain Self-modulation through Mindfulness-Based Stress. New York, NY: Springer International Publishing.