Sunny summer days

After what seemed like an eternity of cold, wet and uninspiring weather, we finally seem to have turned the corner and are now experiencing some lovely early summer weather. 

As many people nowadays have jobs that require us to be shut away from nature and so limiting our sensory channels, now is the perfect time to really experience and get in touch with our surroundings, to heighten the awareness of our senses. 

What I’d like you all to do is to spend some time outdoors, anywhere you like – a golf course, a beach, a wooded path, a park, a flower garden, the choice is yours, but somewhere where you can really appreciate nature in all its beauty. 

Now you need to centre yourself, and to do that, you need to close your eyes and take some deep breathes, this can be done either standing up or sitting down. Use a balancing breath, which is breathing in using your diaphragm for a count of four then exhaling for a count of six, again using your diaphragm, just like bellows.

After a minute or so, when you are feeling relaxed in in the present, open your eyes. Using your visual channel, take some time to look at your surroundings, making sure it is a really detailed non-judgemental observation. Look at things in depth, the colours, the textures, the sizes. Look in wonder at things as if it is the first time you really seeing things as they truly are. 

Now using your auditory channel, listen to the sounds again in a non-judgemental manner. Maybe it’s the birds chirping, can you differentiate the different bird song? Listen to the buzz of bees and insects. Perhaps it’s the gentle sound of waves breaking on a shore or the gentle babble of a brook, focus on the sounds one at a time.

Now it’s time to use your last primary channel – the feel channel. While you are standing there, feel the ground beneath your feet, is there a slope so you can feel the different weight distribution beneath your feet? Feel the wind as it brushes against your skin, or the coolness of the air if your are in a wooded glade.

Now slowly start to walk, observing in a non-judgmental manner the changes in any of your primary senses, the different feelings underfoot, hearing different sounds, seeing different things. Keep your focus on the present, if your mind starts to wander, close your eyes and bring your attention back to your breathing. Once you have re-centred yourself, open your eyes and continue with your mindful walk.

There are a further two more main human senses, namely smell and taste, both of which can possibly be used will performing mindful walking. Maybe there are flowers giving off their sent, the smell of pine trees sap, freshly cut grass or the smell of the ocean. Not so easily to use but even taste in certain environments can be experienced, like tasting the salt in the air by crashing waves.

You can do mindful walking for as long as it suits you, but always keeping yourself in the present and maintaining a non-judgemental approach - its a great way to recharge, reconnect and refocus.