Walking Your Way to Freedom, Control, and Mindfulness

Walking is awesome.

Indubitably the most practical exercise I know of. Gentle and effective. Not only is it transportation, but walking gives you time to think. Also gets your brain primed to make each thought count.

I started this paragraph, got a few lines in, and just couldn’t stand what I’d written so far. It was drivel. Then I went for a walk, came back. Now I know what to say. Walking rocks.

When I shed 150 pounds, walking was my primary form of exercise. No speed or power walking, either. Nice and leisurely. I walked everywhere.

There is satisfaction in putting some sweat into getting from point A to point B. Watching the world move by you at a slower, more intimate pace. Catching sights and sounds you never would have otherwise reveled in. Is there honestly any real reason to get in a car to go three miles away?

There’s a beautiful Buddhist temple in Mason, Michigan called Quan Am. On my first visit, I participated in a group walking meditation. No instruction was provided. I just went with the flow, which basically amounted to walking around in a rectangular formation in a lengthy chain of people. Following the person in front of me, doing my best not to trip. Solemn, stoic facial expression. Straining to exhibit grace in my movements. Looking as enlightened as possible. There were some cute girls around, after all.

Yeah, didn’t get too much out of that. But there may be hope for me yet.

In the book Focused and Fearless, by Shaila Catherine, there’s a simple walking meditation technique I’ve experimented with and modified, with promising results.

Mindful walking

Give this a try. Just mentally count your steps while walking, using one of the following systems, or combining them however you like. Or feel free to create your own system (If you do that, please tell me all about it).

Count your steps from five down to one, and then from four to one, three to one, two to one, and then just one.

Like this:

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

4, 3, 2, 1

3, 2, 1

2, 1

1

Or count from one to five, one to four, one to three, one to two, and one.

As so:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

1, 2, 3, 4

1, 2, 3

1, 2

1

Another method:

1

1, 2

1, 2, 3

1, 2, 3, 4

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

And, naturally:

5

5, 4

5, 4, 3

5, 4, 3, 2

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

After you get comfortable with it and if you like the results, you could go ahead and take your count to ten rather than five. I started off with ten but my brain protested. “Ahhh, numbers!” Perhaps you’d be fine starting with ten. Or eighty. Go wild.

When I began practicing this, I wondered how quickly I’d get bored with it. It takes energy to concentrate. Energy that I could be dedicating to worrying about the future or obsessing over the past. Wait… Ohhh, I get it.

At any rate, my fears of losing interest were promptly assuaged. After ten or so rounds of counting my footsteps in variations of the above patterns, I gave it a rest for a few moments. Stopped at a crosswalk, scanning my body for sensations, tickled by a pleasant warmth in my solar plexus.

Satisfactory. Upon receiving the walk signal, proceeded across the street, no intentions of getting back into the counting right away. But I did, anyway. Automatically.

Isn’t it a relief to know that empowering habits are built the same way self-limiting ones are?

And I just kept feeling better and better. With each step I took.

Now let me say, I am not claiming that counting your steps is the key to happiness.

Truth is, walking meditation is a tool. An anchor for the present moment.

It’s very difficult (but not impossible for the truly persistent amongst us) to worry about the future or obsess over the past when we’re counting our steps. This practice establishes a fortress in the moment.

The process of coordinating numbers with steps develops focus and concentration. You’re not just counting. Not just walking. You’re initiating a direct and intentional connection between mind and body, strengthening their bond. Merging cognition and motion. And by refining your skills of focus and concentration, you’ll possess a greater capacity to take your life head-on like the shining star you are.

My favorite benefit of walking meditation in terms of recovery (mental health and addiction) is that following through with it bolsters volition.

Volitional fortitude

Volition is like the muscle that governs your ability to make choices. Poor volitional fortitude equates with an impaired ability to follow through with commitments. This is why addictions are often shortsightedly seen as ailments of willpower.

Every time we successfully complete a task that we’ve committed to, we get just a little better at committing. Counting footsteps provides an easy framework for building up that volitional muscle.

Gamifying pioneer Jane McGonigal recommends snapping your fingers on both hands fifty times. Commit to reach fifty, no matter what.

Or, starting at 100, count down to zero by subtracting three at a time (ahhh, numbers!).

In either case, by following through, you just got a little better at committing. Your volition leveled up. Do this frequently and you might develop superpowers.

Once you understand how this works, make up your own techniques. Make better ones. Get your creativity muscle involved. These practices can be so simple, yet have applications that carry over to more complicated processes. Like having wonderful relationships. A consistent exercise program. Kicking smoking, stopping drinking. Courageously letting go what hinders you. Following your dreams, making them real. The stuff that requires serious, hardcore commitment.

Speaking of commitment. A couple years ago, I decided I wanted to do pull-ups. Had never done one before then, not even close. But I was determined. Every single day, I walked to a nearby park and gave my soul to that pull-up bar, pulling, pulling, pulling…. but not going up.

I kept at it. Kept showing up. Joyful days and miserable days, rainy, foggy, dreary and sunny. And finally, I did it! Nothing could have felt more monumental. I didn’t rest on my laurels; I continued coming back, building my muscles. Felt myself getting stronger every day. Laughed with myself, flexing in the mirror. Proudly gave my loved ones big, buff hugs.

Focus, concentration, volition. Creativity, too. These are just like muscles. Neglect their development and they won’t have much controlled influence on your daily life. Put them to use every day and they will get buff. Stronger and stronger, until they take you places you never thought you’d go. Never thought you could go.

Start small. With a single step. Let’s go for a mindful walk today. Let’s make it count!