Mindfulness and Hiking
Mindfulness and hiking
Mindfulness and Hiking. We often only function during a stressful daily routine. We catch ourselves putting our life on autopilot. Mindfulness is even more important, especially in stressful moments.
It doesn’t require much preparation or previous knowledge to practice mindfulness. We often don’t even notice it ourselves, but most of it already happens when we spent time in nature. Intuitively we go out or take a trip into nature because it relaxes us and we feel recovered and recharged afterwards. Hiking in nature relaxes and brings the body, mind and soul back into balance.
Hiking works like a meditation. You will learn in this article how practice mindfulness while hiking. You learn to connect concisely with nature to recharge yourself with her energy.
It’s best if you are on your own at least at the beginning. For this choose a quieter route so that you can be completely undisturbed while meditating.
Step 1 -Consciously perceive nature-
Consciously perceive your environment while you are hiking. How does it look like around you? What can you perceive? Often we are so concentrated on where we are stepping that we no longer really perceive the beauty of the nature around us. Feel you breath as you walk. How does it feel to walk slow? How does it feel when you’re going up a hill? Can you feel the blood circulating in your body?
Step 2 – Feel nature with your senses
At the beginning it’s also recommendable to simply stand still, close your eyes and feel or to observe.
Use your senses to connect with nature. As soon you focus on your senses, your thoughts and worries have no place anymore. We arrive completely in the here in now.
What animals can you hear? Do you hear the birds chirping around you? Or the woodpecker that hammers on the next tree? Maybe an owl? Do you hear the wind moving the treetops or blowing through the gras?
What can you smell? How does it smell where you are right now? Does it smell after moss? Or a pine tree? After fresh sea air?
Feel the wind! From which direction is he coming? Is he cold or warm? How does it feel like when the wind passes you by?
Step 3 -Let the power of nature flow through you-
Let every breath flow like precious energy through your whole body. Imagine that every breath is like an energy charge for your batteries. Take as much time as you need to fully recharge it. Do you feel a change? How does it feel when you breathe deep into you body?
Step 4 -Finish-
At the end of your practice, feel into your heart and thank yourself for taking this special time.
When we stand and breathe like this and feel the environment and fully engage with this moment, we enter a meditative state and connect with nature. This practice grounds us and give us a feeling of inner peace.
Use this practices as often as possible. You will find that regular contact with nature makes us more relaxed.
