Mindfulness Walking

Mindfulness Walking Perfect PamperMy Mindfulness Walk experience started through the dunes on Great Yarmouth beach on a warm, sunny and peaceful day this October and finished with the sea lapping at my feet.  Usually a beach walk would include me nattering away to a friend, but this day I’m taking it slowly and not a word leaves my mouth.

My one-to-one coach is Monica Porter a holistic health and healing practitioner with over 20 years of meditation knowledge.  Monica has a holistic practice in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk offering life coaching, stress-busting workshops and meditation sessions.

After finding the perfect place to start we stand still to pay attention to my breathing, to slow it down and then to clear my mind of any day-to-day thoughts.  She guides me to my inner-feelings to release the stress and to find a peaceful place.  Our Mindfulness Walk begins.

We start to slowly walk through the dunes with Monica quietly speaking in low voice instructing me to concentrate on physical sensations of the body, to notice each movement that’s made, to be aware of what the movements of the body are when walking.

As we get closer to the oceans edge I include listening sensations and sounds I hear.  The crunch of the sand and shingle under foot, the waves running to the shoreline, the birds screeching overhead and light winds blowing all sounds, soft and close all mixed together, except singled out not identified as actualities, but as sounds.

Walking along the water’s edge I’m paying attention to what I see around me.  I notice colours, shapes, the sun partially eclipsed by the numerous white and light grey fluffy clouds, the smooth stone free sand.  All unlabelled as objects but studied as colour and shapes.

Closing my eyes I stop to observe the feeling of the sea breeze against my skin, feel the warmth from the sun, inhaling deeply to fill my lungs with clean sea air and experiencing the sensation as I exhale.  I pick-up an isolated stone, I feel the dampness, the uneven surface and roughness of the grainy sand clinging to the object.

Now all this mindfulness walking didn’t go without me being distracted by a sudden thought triggered by a sound or seeing an image that reminded me of my present and my things to do list.   I had to get back on track several times after having to have a word with myself on the way.  Nevertheless the whole experience made me find relaxation and discard the stressful feeling.  It made me feel calmer and to understand that a walk is not only a way of exercise and to work out problems, it’s a way to empty you mind and find inner peace in your immediate environment.  You do see, feel and hear things differently.

Monica finished by saying “Our time on this earth is for reason, be it to bring something big or deliver something small, to be of help to people, or to make things for people.”  I walked away feeling calm, ready for the rest of the day and thoughtful of my contribution to this earth.

Monica Porter provides meditation and re-energising workshops for our retreat packages including Mindfulness Walks.  We offer walks in Norfolk and Suffolk.

If you’d like to know more about a Mindfulness Walk contact us.

Stay Calm.

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