20-Minute Walking Meditation

Put Some Spring in Your Step 🌼

Practicing gratitude can be an amazing thing for both your body and mind. Studies have shown that gratitude positively contributes to our spiritual wellbeing and mental health, our mood and sleep, and our cardiac health. Walking has innumerable health benefits on its own, from reducing heart disease to increasing mental cognition. 

A walking meditation is an especially great practice for those who feel stress and worry and have trouble shifting a negative state of mind to one that is positive. Your 20-minute meditative walk can be anywhere: your neighborhood, a park, or somewhere that inspires you. 

As you walk, think about all of the things you are grateful for. Start simply, and see if you can mentally express gratitude about something relevant to that moment: I am grateful for this time I have to go on a walk. I am grateful for the trees.

Pay attention to your senses - the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings - and see how many things you can find to feel grateful for. Pause, take a breath, and be grateful for the air that fills your lungs and makes life possible.

As you walk, think about the people and things that fulfill you in life and the capabilities of your body and mind. Think about the person who offered you support today, for the opportunity that came your way, and for that hard lesson learned that will potentially help you have a better tomorrow.

If you find your mind begins to wander to negative or critical thoughts, come back to the present, using your senses to find things in your immediate surroundings to be grateful for. This practice in gratitude is an effective way to shift your mood, awaken your mind to the abundance that surrounds you, and see the glass as half full.

Find some time today to cultivate gratitude and support your health with a meditative walk.