Mindfulness Walking for Seniors in Independent Living
An AARP survey suggests that although many people have heard of mindfulness practices like meditation, few have personally made them a habit. However, coupled with walking, mindfulness is an especially effective strategy for promoting a grounded and more positive outlook on life in general.
At Morada Deer Park, our residents report that mindfulness walking is among their favorite activities and a skill they're keen to share with others. If you're curious to learn more about mindfulness and how well it pairs with walking in Deer Park, TX, read on to find out more!
What Is Mindfulness?
In short, mindfulness is the name given to the state of mind where we're aware, balanced, and poised to interact with the moment at hand. While this might not seem like such a big deal, achieving it is somewhat more elusive than you might expect.
Now more than ever, with so many screens to contend with, accessing a state of relative peace and present-mindedness is an unfamiliar experience for many.
This is a disaster for mental health and a positive outlook. Our attention is often pulled this way and that in a bid to persuade or trick us into spending money or time in unfruitful pursuits, leading nowhere. Our mode of life is shifting into a state where we're stuck in thoughts of the past, or where we might be in the future.
Ultimately, becoming mired in these thoughts is an easy trap to fall into, especially since we're so seldom taught to avoid or recognise them. The pitfalls of a mind that never stops thinking, and thinks without conscious aim or direction, are many.
Fortunately for us, the solution is simply to recognise these thoughts for what they are, but that doesn't mean there's not a trick to it!
Stress Relief for Elderly Folk
Mindfulness is easily accessible for everyone and requires only that you pause and consult your thoughts for what they are. Despite how loud and incessant our thoughts can be, they often go unheard. If we're not careful, our consciousness can take a back seat to a stream of endless internal dialogue that often plays on repeat, without rhyme or reason.
Before long, this internal chatter becomes second nature and a kind of constant background noise we don't even hear anymore. We talk to ourselves in a voice we don't take much heed of other than in a general background sense.
The truth of the matter is that more often than not, this internal dialogue is far from constructive and tends to err on the side of negativity, anxiety, and fear.
Fortunately for us, noticing the dialogue for what it is and the patterns that repeat is often enough to knock them out of automatic rotation. The disruption of this endless internal chatter feels like finally surfacing for air, and is an undeniable and instant reprieve. The weight that lifts in that moment is all the proof anyone needs that mindfulness is a potent tool, and one to be wielded at every opportunity.
Mindfulness Walking
Mindfulness walking is a combination of two of the simplest activities available to us. That is, turning off the automatic dialogue that bars entry into the present moment, and moving through the world at our own pace. Separately, these activities are, despite their simplicity, a tonic more powerful than even some prescription medications.
When used in conjunction, they're a combination so effective at diminishing negative thoughts and feelings that the effect has to be felt to be believed. We're taught that effective solutions are usually:
- Expensive
- Time-consuming
- Difficult to obtain
In reality, that's all the marketing tactics to keep us from making use of a solution available to anyone at any moment.
The idea that going for a walk couldn't possibly help our mental state for the better is held because it seems like too simple a solution. In a world where solutions don't come freely, it stands to reason that going for a walk would be nothing but a waste of time. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the proof is in the pudding!
Walking Meditation for Seniors
It's astonishing how well mindfulness walking helps once you've felt the benefits for yourself. The combination of physical exercise and mindfulness promotes a much more balanced mind-body connection.
Negative thoughts and unhelpful perspectives thrive when we're unbalanced, so balancing ourselves directly serves to bolster our defences against unwanted and unnecessary negativity.
Walking is a pleasure in and of itself, but walking purposefully to enjoy the experience while immersed in the present moment is a joy. Gratitude comes hand in hand with mindfulness, and there's something about getting outside and appreciating a stroll that seems to soothe something integral within each of us. Going outside and leaving our past regrets and future anxieties behind us is like going on holiday.
Once we divest ourselves of all the useless mental detritus we carry around with us, we experience a sudden lightness of being. This lightness comes in the form of astonishment or wonder for the world around us, and all it takes is a few moments to remind ourselves of our position.
The amount of energy we use maintaining an internal dialogue is suddenly ours to use as we like, opening up possibilities and freeing us from a prison we weren't previously conscious of.
Senior Outdoor Wellness at Morada Deer Park, TX
At Morada Deer Park, we take independent living fitness seriously and are proud to say our seniors do too. Mindfulness walking is a skill that many of our seniors swear by, especially after feeling the benefits for themselves.
The nature-filled landscape of our beautiful Texas surroundings is perfect for practicing mindfulness skills and appreciation for the present moment. Our fitness center is tailor-made for seniors, too, as is our chef-prepared cuisine!
Our community is built on the idea that residents ought to be free to experience relaxation and excitement exactly how they want to. If you'd like to learn more about Morada Deer Park and our many second-to-none amenities, such as our landscaped courtyard and library, don't hesitate to reach out!