Mindful Walks to Reduce Stress & Anxiety Part 1: Grounding Techniques
Mindfulness and Walking
Just a 30 minute walk (think lunch hour!) can make a big difference in your mental health! Think about how much more aware you are of your surroundings when you’re somewhere new. Why is that? When we are tourists we are truly in the present moment because we are taking in everything that is happening around us. But day to day, we become desensitized to our surroundings and don’t really notice what is right in front of us. What if we tapped into that sense of wonder as we walk? This is the first in a multi part series into the benefits of mindful walking. Each part will encourage you to focus on a different element to focus on. Today we’re going to focus on grounding, and make this walk a multi sensory experience!
What is a “Grounding Exercise?”
Grounding exercises are helpful for many situations where we find ourselves feeing overwhelmed, distracted or feeling overwhelmed by distressing memories, thoughts or emotions. If you find feel irritable, angry, anxious or notice you have with “monkey mind”, taking a moment to get grounded can bring you into the present moment and settle the part of your brain (the amygdala) that has told you there is danger. Grounding ourselves using our senses is one very effective way to be present. A common grounding technique is to notice FIVE things you see, FOUR things you can touch or feel, THREE things you can hear, TWO things you can smell and ONE thing you can taste.
Questions to ask myself on a walk:
How does my body feel at the beginning of my walk? Where do I hold tension? What do I notice about my breathing? How does it feel to start walking without the intention to go anywhere; not doing, just being and noticing? What do I see? What color do I notice the most? What thing is the farthest away? What is the smallest thing I noticed? How many shades of blue (or gray!) did I see in the sky? What most delighted me? Why? Can I bring that memory with me? Where can I put it? Did anything repulse me? Why? Did I hang onto it? What if I left it where it was and never thought about it again? What did I smell? Did I seek out any smells, like the fragrance of a flower? Did I feel where part of my body touched my clothing and noticed I never noticed that before? Did I notice my senses being heightened as I focused on them? What did I think about on my walk? How does my body feel at the end of my walk? Do I notice less tension?
How was that?
I’d love to hear from you! What other things did you notice? Were you surprised by anything on your walk? Did you make any discoveries? How did it feel taking photos? Any other questions you think would be good for someone to ask themselves before setting out? Next time I’ll be adding something specific to look for on your walk!
