Walking mindfulness practice (Video)

As you learned in past broadcasts, mindfulness simply means being focused on the present moment. During that time, we become aware of our thoughts, our emotions, our physical sensations, and the surrounding environment without judging how we are feeling, what we are thinking about, or what is around us. This helps us to cope better with negative or difficult thoughts and feelings that can cause stress and anxiety in our everyday life.

If you work in a fast-paced, stressful environment, mindfulness is an excellent way to de-stress and rebalance your nervous system, you can tone down that fight-or-flight response and engage the wise and creative part of your brain. That way, you reduce mistakes, you increase productivity, and you also make better decisions instead of simply reacting to situations.

Today, I’ll guide you through a very easy walking meditation that you can practice when you take a break during the day, when you walk to a meeting, or doing errands. You can just find an area at home or indoors where you can walk in small circles or back and forth, or go outside if you can. Being surrounded by nature is wonderful as it helps our brain to rest and recharge. In addition, natural light improves our mood, and it can regulate sleep patterns, helping us boost productivity levels. So, yes, taking a break can actually make us more productive 😊

Ready?

Start the practice standing up, and keep your eyes open, but try to have a soft gaze in front of you.

Step 1

Notice your feet on the ground and keep your spine straight. If you can move your shoulders towards the back and relax them, even better! We always tend to have a slouchy posture when we sit in front of our screens for a long time, and our energy, focus, and productivity suffer from that bad posture.

Step 2

Pay attention to your breathing. If you notice your breathing is fast (maybe you’re feeling a little stressed because of your busy day), try to slow down a little. You can count to 4 while you inhale and count to 4 while you exhale, and if you feel you can hold your breath for a little, add between 2-4 seconds between your inhalation and exhalation. Repeat this for a few times until you feel comfortable and try to keep this pattern during the entire practice.

Step 3

While you are in a standing position, pay attention to your lower body while you keep breathing slowly and regularly.

Watch the video above where our coach expert Sabrina Cadini guides you to continue your mindfulness practice as you start walking.

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If you find it difficult to remind yourself about being more mindful, you can set reminders on your phone or, even better, you can create a mindfulness goal in Mana so that you can track the progress.

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