Book Review: The Surprising Science of Walking

[Full disclosure - it's not my book review. Not my book, nor is it my review :)] The review is here at the Undark website.

Image source: https://tourscanner.com/blog/hiking-trails/

From the article:

...we have two main modes of thought: active mode and mind-wandering. It's the latter that walking can stimulate, allowing our minds to drift and "integrate our past, present, and future, interrogate our social lives, and create a largescale personal narrative.

Walking seems capable of shaking us out of old ruminations and opening up the possibility of new potential and patterns of thought. It sets our thoughts free...

Looking back, I have certainly overlooked the aspect of being in one’s own thoughts as I place one foot in front of the other during a trek. I mean this in the context of being an outdoor leader with a group of participants on a multi-day trek.

Besides allowing for the organic ‘lulls’ as the physical and mental challenges wear on the participants as the trek progresses, it is common for outdoor leaders to divert or occupy their participants’ minds with side activities like nature spotting or introducing ‘road blocks’ in the form of problem-solving activities with the aim of breaking up the monotony of the trek.

While these are perfectly fine, we could try to be more deliberate in encouraging participants to use some segment of the trek to be ‘by themselves and with themselves’, using the time for some introspection and practice mindfulness. Of course, the outdoor leader would guide them on how to do this. Arguably, treks of longer duration or length are more conducive to such an activity.

What do you think?