10-minute practice

Sense Walk

person running hands through long grass as they walk

Connect to your senses with a sense walk. Whether you’re walking through the woods or your garden, sense walks are a simple way of bringing a little dose of mindfulness to your day. Tuning into your senses is calming for the nervous system because it both shifts your focus away from your thoughts and emotions and inspires a sense of connection with the world around you.

The Practice:

1. While you’re walking, shift your focus. Take a moment to notice that your body is walking, to take a few intentional breaths, and to notice where you are.
2. Bring your attention to what you can see around you. Notice things you wouldn’t normally pay attention to, like shadows, or things that are high up.
3. Tune into the sounds you can hear. What can you hear in the background? What about in the distance? What direction are the sounds coming from?
4. Notice what you can feel. You may feel sensations outside of yourself, like the breeze on your skin, or your feet in your shoes. You might also notice sensations within, such as the expansion and contraction of your lungs as you breathe.
5. Take a breath in and become aware of what you can smell? You may notice subtle layers of smells in the air. Or you may notice changes in smells as you walk past different parts of your walk.
6. Focus on what you can taste in your mouth right now. Allow your awareness to linger there for a moment before coming back to your breath, and your body walking.

As you experience the world around you through each sense, try not to get caught up in judgments and thoughts about your observations. Just notice.

A sense walk can be done anywhere, it can be done alone or while walking alongside others, and it need only take a few minutes. Additionally, if you are someone who feels overwhelmed in busy environments, this is a useful tool to pull out in the moment (if it safe to do so) to help regulate your nervous system.

Sense Walking with Children:

Sense walking is a wonderful mindfulness activity to do with children. If they are very young, you can narrate what you are noticing through your senses, inviting them to notice, too. If they are old enough to talk, ask them what they notice, or you can each share your sense experiences. Taking a sense walk with children not only lays the foundation for a more mindful life, but it is a lovely activity to fill their – and your – connection cup.