Walk silent either silent walking It is a practice that became fashionable a month ago on social networks when a user named Mady Maio shared the benefits he had found by incorporating the habit of walk through a natural environment for 30 minutesin silencethat is, leaving the headphones at home. It is a very simple practice that allows our health to benefit from the nature, exercise and mindfulness. Nowadays we name everything but, the silent walking it is not more than go for a walk while we admire the beauty of nature. This is how the sound artist explained it to us Carlos de Hita during an interview: “Nature is a constant source of beauty and Beauty is essential for a balanced, healthy and interesting life. “I look, listen and walk through the countryside and what I’m doing is admiring the beauty (…) Anyone who ignores it while wearing headphones misses a lot of things.”
Walking in silence: the benefits of walking 30 minutes a day without headphones
Your 30 minutes walk they should be no music, no podcasts, no calls. It is about letting the mind wander or focus on what the senses show us. A way of walking will give you calm. He silent walking It allows us to benefit from 3 sources of health that, if we wear headphones, we miss.
- He contact with the nature. There are multitudes of scientific studies that show the power of natural environments to generate our physical and mental well-being. Even physical exercise performed in natural environments is associated with a greater increase in positive emotions, decreased stress, greater attention, satisfactionect., that if carried out in indoor environments (Physical activity, nature and mental well-being: a systematic review, 2022). That is, nature heals us.
- He physical exercise. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends practicing between 150 and 300 minutes of aerobic physical activity of moderate intensity per week. Walking is a perfect option and, if you do it at a good pace, it will have more impact on the health of your muscles and bones, your mood or your heart. The Spanish Heart Foundation points out that Walking at least 30 minutes a day at a brisk pace increases life expectancy and reduces cardiovascular risk up to 11%.
- The full attention. Dacher Keltnerprofessor of psychology at University of California It invites us to pay our attention to what is happening around us: the song of a bird, the beauty of the sky, the rays of the sun on your face, the aroma of earth, etc. Activate all your senses and let your attention wander from the immense to the small. Flow through all that wonder without trying to hold it back. According to psychology, all of this makes you less focused on yourself and more so in others, which takes your worries and tribulations, your anxieties and frustrations out of your mind.
