Today I wanted to share something I’ve really been enjoying in my life recently.
A quiet, mindful walk.
But I don’t want to just tell you about it, but really share it with you by guiding you through the experience of a mindful walk for yourself.
And if you enjoy this mindful walk experience, you should really check out my weekly mindfulness group, Mindful Creators. I guide two mindfulness practices for the group, and then email out the recordings of those practices if you can’t make it live.
It’s all free! Truly a great deal if you want to experience more mindfulness in your life.
Audio Transcript
Hello there and welcome.
I just wanted to let you know right up top that this is a different kind of podcast-y audio experience.
It's going to be half podcast-y type stuff, me talking about a recent experience and how it's benefiting me. And then I'm actually going to guide you in experiencing the same thing for yourself.
And the thing is a mindful walk.
So if you would like to take the full experience of what I'm offering today, I suggest listening to this while you're out on a walk or or getting ready for a walk, and then making sure that you're on a walk or something, we'll get into that a little bit later, that you can adjust this to fit your needs, you know, when we get to that actual part, I'm going to guide you in that experience.
So, you know, you should be out doing that. But obviously, you know, make this work for you. But that's just my suggestion. If you want the full experience, go ahead and start preparing yourself for that now.
So as I just said, so lately I've been enjoying quiet, mindful walks around my neighborhood.
And I actually did a video about this recently where I talked about taking a dog walk.
Walk around your neighborhood with or without your dog and experience your neighborhood, experience your walk like a dog does.
Because the dog doesn't listen to any doggy podcasts or doggy playlists.
The doggy just sniffs the world, and looks at the world, and barks at the world, and all of that kind of stuff, and just experiences the world and totally loves it.
It's a very sensory experience for the dog. He's enjoying everything, my dog is at least.
Why not do that for ourselves as humans?
When I'm on these quiet walks, I'm not listening to music. I'm not listening to a podcast. I'm just listening to and experiencing my neighborhood.
I listen to the birds and the bees and the dogs and construction that's going on in my neighborhood and cars going to and fro.
And it's really nice.
And it actually becomes a full sensory experience, much like a dog experiences.
I also smell my neighborhood, not in the same way I'd say as my dog where I'm like actively sniffing everything, but I certainly notice and observe the general smells as I walk. If I see a particularly interesting flower or plant, I smell that.
I also obviously look at stuff in my neighborhood, observing things and taking in things through my eyes.
And I can feel the air. I can feel my clothes on my body. I can feel the sunlight when it's present. Sometimes I can feel the texture of a plant or a rock or something like that.
And I usually have my coffee beverage with me, so I'm usually tasting something delicious as well as I walk.
So it really does become a full sensory experience.
It's a way to do a mindful walk, but it's not necessarily mindfulness of walking per se, because I'm not intentionally holding my awareness and attention on my feet and the experience and movement of walking, but I'm staying present to what's around me on my walk and present to the thoughts that come up as I walk.
And just staying present to my present experience.
And that, in and of itself, is mindfulness.
And sometimes I get really great creative ideas while I'm walking, which is also nice.
But mostly, it's just a peaceful, quiet experience. And the world honestly feels slower, certainly slower than it ever does online or on TV.
I just see people walking their dogs.
I see people going to work.
I see people working.
It feels like an easy, calm pace.
The world feels slower.
And I find that very, very calming.
Especially when so much of our world and our experience of the world right now feels so chaotic.
So because I've been enjoying this way of walking and being mindfully in the world so much and finding it so calming, I decided to share a guided experience of that with you.
That's what we're going to be doing for the rest of this podcast-y audio experience.
I'm going to start guiding you on a quiet, mindful walk and then when the audio ends, you can keep practicing on your own.
If you want to experience this mindful walk in all of its glory, this is the time to lace up your walking shoes and head out the door.
And honestly when I say “walk” you can make that work for you.
So you could also just go sit outside, you could sit inside and do this. You can use a wheelchair to do this. You could be on a bike or a scooter. You can take a run. Good for you.
You could probably even be driving. Because I'm just going to be guiding you to be fully present to your experience, but use your best judgment on that one, so take care of you, but basically at the end of the day, make this work for you feel free to adjust it to suit your needs. Even if my words reference examples of things that are not part of your present moment experience, you're smart. You can make this fit your needs.
If you need a moment to get ready just go ahead and pause this recording and start it back up again when you're ready.
Okay, so I'm assuming now that you're ready.
And to start off your mindful experience, I just want you to find your breath and just tune into that sensation.
So just see what your breath is doing right now in this present moment.
What does it feel like to breathe in?
What does it feel like to breathe out?
Just experience breathing right now.
And as you continue to experience your breath, I now invite you to tune in to the experience of your body.
And even though you may be moving, I want you to make your body as relaxed and as comfortable as possible.
So just go ahead and set the intention of relaxation and let that settle into your body in whatever way it does for you.
And now as you're walking comfortably and experiencing your breath in this present moment, start to notice the world around you.
Go ahead and take in whatever you see, observing it with curiosity, and maybe even observing it with wonder.
Go ahead and let your world delight you.
And now as you're taking in the world around you, what do you hear?
How many different sounds can you notice as you continue to walk and breathe in this present moment?
And now go ahead and take a whiff of the air and see what smells you notice in your world.
And if a plant or flower has caught your eye, you could go ahead and smell that.
Just go ahead and experience whatever the world has to offer you in the way of smells in this present moment.
And now can you feel the air around you?
What does that feel like? Or even can you feel the clothes on your body as you move and breathe in this moment?
Maybe there's even an interesting plant or other textured surface that you want to experience.
Just walking and breathing in this present moment, mindfully experiencing the world around you with all your senses.
Look and listen.
Smell and feel and taste, as works best for you.
Again, just mindfully experiencing yourself and the world around you as you move through it.
I'm going to sign off for now, but I encourage you to continue your quiet, mindful walk on your own and just see what you experience as the present moment continues to unfold around you today.
Enjoy!
I’m Amy Schloerb, The Aligned Actor 👋
I’m a life coach and mindfulness practitioner helping people align with their true selves and take inspired action to create a life they love. With my background in acting, I bring presence, connection, and playfulness to transformation.
Let’s align, create, and make amazing things happen—together!
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