Richard Gorra has made a concerted effort over the years to appreciate many of life’s finer, yet simpler, moments. When things gets stressful, utilizing simple pleasures to bring yourself back down to earth is a great way to handle stress management as they are readily available and require very little effort. In this article, Richard Gorra discusses one of his favorite activities for remaining stress-free- mindfulness walks.
What Is a Mindfulness Walk?
Mindful walking can mean slightly different things depending on who you ask however, to Richard Gorra, mindful walking means to be mentally present during your strolls. Generally, we tend to get caught up in the thought of getting where we need to be as we walk. This is because we are constantly under time constraints that dictate many of our activities during the day. When mindful walking, pay close attention to the sensation of walking. Your feet picking up and eventually hitting the ground, the movement that the rest of your body follows when walking, etc. are all worthwhile things to be attentive of as you journey.
When you get the hang of it, some practitioners believe that it is helpful to shift your attention to your other senses. Allow yourself to experience the smells that you encounter, the sounds that you hear, and the objects that you see on your journey. The openness of allowing yourself to be engulfed in the experience of your journey and not succumb to the clutter that normally bogs us down is mindful walking in a nutshell.
How Can Mindful Walking Help Stress Management?
Richard Gorra proposes that mindful walking can help with stress management by restoring your sense of focus and momentarily clearing your head of clutter that fills it on a day to day basis. Mindful walking can act as a form of meditation and exercise, allowing you to experience nature or whatever surroundings of your choosing to relax. Richard Gorra personally feels as though so much of our existence harps on the destination instead of the journey, and even simple tasks such as walking are usually done in pursuit of something other than the process of walking. Some walk for health, some walk to get to work or another destination, and both of those processes are perfectly fine. Walking, when done mindfully, can serve a different purpose by allowing you to feel more connected with yourself and the world by taking time out for yourself.
