TRAVEL, PHOTOGRAPHY, MINDFULNESS

A Slow but Everyday Action Leading to Holistic Wellbeing

He who has health has hope and he who has hope has everything— Arabian Proverb

In the maddening race of life, we consume most of our time rushing from one place to another, preoccupied with thoughts and apprehensions, risking it to the point of our health. In the long term, this is not sustainable.

Mindfulness is one such practice that brings calmness, stability, and strength, and reduces stress.

One of the rudimentary methods of practicing mindfulness is walking meditation. I practice that.

Walking Meditation

You don’t need to create or make a special set-up for meditation. Yes, you hear it right. Now you can meditate on the go or do your dishes!

Walking meditation is one of the best alternatives to the usual sitting meditation. We need to be mindful as much as we can — how we breathe — inhale and exhale, how we take steps, how we connect with the surroundings, with eyes open and the mind and body rooted to the present.

This is all about being aware and mindful of our body and our physical sensations, nothing good or bad., nothing right or wrong.

…We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth…- Thich Nhat Hanh

How to Initiate?

# Pick a location- I prefer to practice it indoors as my city’s pollution level is on the higher side. Choose an area that is peaceful and devoid of crowds, if possible. Prefer not to bump into people. Focus on mindfulness being in sync with nature.

# Initiate steps- I anchor myself for a minute, pause for a minute, unwind, take deep breaths, and exhale for about a minute. Feel the ground, sense how stable it is, register the thoughts, the sensations in the body, and the breaths.

# Maintaining mindfulness- Simply walk taking mental notes about the present moods, thoughts, breaths, and several bodily sensations. I go with the flow.

If you can’t meditate, pause before every sip of coffee.

If you can’t pray, simply say ‘thank you’ before every meal.

If you can’t manifest, enjoy what’s already yours.

And if you can’t journal, talk to yourself in the car.

There is no spirituality rulebook.

Just show up for yourself in ways that feel good to you- Vex King

# Speed and posture- The pace will be slow or extremely slow, with no hurry. Depending on your comfort level, you may either keep the hands swinging loosely by your sides, clasp them in the front, or hold them behind the back. Keep your leg muscles stress-free. Walk at your own pace, keeping the body straight and upright, aligned.

# Focusing attention- Try to focus on the sounds around you. And be attentive to your leg movement, your eyesight, your feelings, thoughts, breaths, etc. Focus on You in its entirety.

Why do we close our eyes when we pray, when we cry, when we kiss, when we dream; because the most beautiful things in our life are not seen but felt only by the heart- Unknown

Benefits

A series of research has discovered that just minutes of mindfulness every day and that

# helps clear mind,

# helps fight against depression,

#improves mood,

# boosts brain function,

A fit body, a calm mind, a house full of love. These things cannot be bought — they must be earned― Naval Ravikant

# reduces stress,

# improves sleep quality,

# improves blood circulation and blood sugar levels,

# slows down the aging process and

# supports a healthy metabolism

A calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health- Dalai Lama

Apart from practicing walking meditation, I love to (in my tiny winy way):

1. be imperfect- which is perfectly human; I try to create possibilities to improvize and become a better version of myself.
2. practice gratitude- in the form of clicking moments, appreciating what I have been grateful for — either writing it or saying that, and of course, a silent prayer would follow.

3. indulge- (taking breaks periodically from the daily schedule) in the comfort of doing exactly what my mind says — munching dark chocolates, mall hopping with friends on window shopping sprees, savoring food, watching movies, and so on and so forth.

4. be generous- I try to give something or the other to the ones who are less privileged — an instant mood uplifter.

5. be silly- this I do quite often. Life is one and precious, and most importantly, not be taken too seriously.

6. open up to my loved and trustworthy ones — when I am down, nothing’s wrong to open up, feeling vulnerable, even crying or getting angry, letting my emotions come out — doing so, I feel much lighter and better for sure.

7. soak up what’s going on around me — attending to my thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations, without judging them as good or bad.

8. self-talk- the more, the merrier — positive self-talk helps tremendously with respect to managing anxiety, work performance, learning, and self-awareness.

9. self-love- I believe that I am a unique beautiful individual armed with knowledge and humility who attracts positive energy from the surroundings and repels all negativity.

10. travel, photograph, explore, read and write- These make us humble and show how life experiences are more important than accumulating things.

Major Takeaways

Practicing mindfulness in the form of walking meditation helps — tried and tested:

1. You become more observant as your mind gets clearer, offering you a unique and positive perspective about anything and everything you land on or deal with.
2. Your stress level plummets and the experience of positive emotions increases.
3. You start prioritizing and making choices that appreciate your life, health, and values.
4. You become more agile, physically and mentally.
5. You learn to remain happy, come what may, and grow more beautiful, inside out.
6. You become more resilient, much more than you could even gauge!
7. You start letting go, considered one of the hardest life lessons— change is never easy, be it a loss, guilt, or betrayal.

They say compound interest changes our life. The small things add up to the big things. So practice the small things daily, be patient, celebrate the small wins, and enjoy the joyride of life while building the foundation brick by brick.

You don’t need to rush just because others are moving way too fast. It’s your life journey. Be steady, focus and your effort will be rewarded.

Promise yourself to be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit presence of trouble- The Optimist Creed

Gratitude and best wishes Dr. Gabriella Korosi & your stupendous DEP Team for a thoughtful and beautiful space. Much love to all ❤

Enjoy the majestic elephants with a joyride led by Dr. Preeti Singh

Every individual is a miniature version of nature and therefore contains all five elements of which nature is believed to be made up of. You may have a look! I would look forward to hearing from you about this.

Mind checking how do I indulge in doing nothing?

Let your well-being and my well-being complement each other and make the world a healthier, happier place to dwell upon for future generations to come. Amen!