Walking with attention

Walking with attention is mindfulness for people who cannot sit still. You walk more slowly than usual, without headphones and without a destination, resting your attention on the contact between your feet and the ground — heel, arch, toes. When your thoughts drift off, you come back to your feet. You can do it along a corridor, around the block or on the way to the shop. Ten minutes is enough. If you got carried into rumination, there is no need for regret; rumination while walking is less sticky than rumination on the sofa.

When to use it

When sitting practice doesn’t work, when you’re restless, and after an argument. When arousal is high, movement is often easier than stillness.

How it goes

1. Walk more slowly than usual, along a familiar route.
2. Put your attention on the contact between foot and ground: heel, middle, toes.
3. Every few steps check your shoulders and jaw, and let them drop.
4. For the last two minutes, widen your attention to sounds and to the air on your skin.

Why it works

Rhythmic movement helps burn off the mobilised energy that stress has left in the body, and makes it easier to return to your window of tolerance.