Walk Your Way: The Mood Lifting Walk

Welcome to Walk Your Way - Week Five.

This week, I’m pleased to welcome you to The Mood Lifting Walk.

About

Most of us will experience episodes in our life which leave us feeling dreadfully low, disheartened and feeling powerless to take even the most straightforward actions.

Walking – and particularly walking in natural spaces – raises the levels of “feel-good” chemicals in our brains, (neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine) as well as endorphins that are known to trigger feelings of happiness and well being.

However there may be times when sadness seems to have a tighter grip on us than usual and hangs around longer than is helpful. At these times, it can be helpful to have some strategies on hand that will release you from your sadness, so you can get back into the flow of life.

This mood lifting walk is designed to get you in touch with whatever it is that’s causing your sadness, and then to release those feelings compassionately and constructively, so that new actions come more easily.

The pace of this walk practice is slow to easy going. You probably want to give yourself an hour or so for it and ideally find yourself some quiet space, if possible a forest or park or in a wilder space.

Resources

Listen to The Mood Lifting Walk practice

And for your post-walk reflections, here’s a handy structure to guide and note down your thoughts.