Mindful Strides: Energy from Above and Below

A mindful walk is an excellent way to soothe a troubled mind, and can be accomplished by just about anybody. For this guide, you will need to be able to find a tree along your route. If you don’t have any good routes where you are for this, try to apply the visualizations to any other large structure you might see.

You’ll want to begin this journey before you’ve left your home. Start by setting an intention for the walk, as simple or complex as you’d like it to be. Maybe you want to explore your new neighborhood, or you want to try to walk for 30 minutes. Maybe you just want to breathe some fresh air, or visit an old tree that fills you with wonder each time you pass by. Whatever you land on, go ahead and tuck it into the back of your mind. Once you’re ready, head outside.

Notice the ground that you move out onto: is it sidewalk? Dirt? Grass? Take a moment to really take in the earth beneath you.

If you’re walking, feel how hard or soft it is with each step. Pay attention to the way this feeling moves through your feet and into your legs. Does it feel good? Bad? Are you moving your body in a way that changes the feeling?

If you’re using a mobility assistance device, notice the way the ground you’re on interacts with that. Do you sense resistance, or ease? Does the feeling move through your arms and body? Are you changing your body movements in any way to adjust the feeling?

Work on focusing your attention to the ground and its interaction with your body as you move along. Address any feelings that come up neutrally: they are they, they are valid, and they are allowed to pass. Work on this while you’re moving for as long as you need to. Once you feel like you have a good rhythm, turn your focus upward.

Notice the scenery around you: trees, flowers, buildings, windows, clouds, animals. As you’re noticing, see if you can spot a large tree. What type of tree is it? Whether you know the name or not, think about some of its characteristics that are standing out: the shape of the leaves, the color of the bark, how big the tree is, where it is. What do you notice?

You can continue on moving forward, or pause for this next part. Think about how long that tree has been there: imagine the day that it was planted, and how joyful it must have been for the people planting it. Imagine it growing bigger and bigger each year, expanding its roots beneath the earth and developing a solid support for the path you’re on now. Imagine an energy from those roots, or perhaps notice that you are feeling that energy right now. Let it connect with your body. Visualize that energy connecting with every other body that has ever walked over these roots before.

Now, go back to the days when the tree was small and new. What kind of life can you imagine in that tree? Perhaps small insects, maybe even a little bird’s nest as its branches developed enough strength. Maybe as it grew older, squirrels were able to call it home; woodpeckers were able to bore holes for food; children were able to climb and hide out. Look up into the tree, or try to imagine it as it is now if you’ve continued forward: what kind of life exists here today?

Pause for a moment, and try to identify every way that you can see life within that tree.

Now, hold all of those ways in your mind, and imagine or feel the energy that they are projecting down onto you. Do you feel it coming from above and below? If not, can you imagine what it might feel like? Whether you’re really feeling it, or just imagining a feeling, hold on to what is in your mind right now. Move forward again if you have paused.

Think back to the intention you set at the beginning of this journey today. Have you achieved this goal yet? If not, what do you need to do to get there? Do what you have to now in order to get there, and once you’re satisfied, bring in that feeling of energy from the tree. Let the energy fill you up and radiate out towards your intentions in the world. Let it surround you as you finish your walk outside and head back home.

Once you make it back inside, tuck the energy you found away in your back pocket. When you need a boost throughout the day, remember that it’s there, let it fill you up, and let it have influence over your intentions.