Take a Walk

Listen to the Sages philosophize on 

the art of walking

Below are some excerpts from scholar, Saurabh Bhattacharva's, author of "Walk Therapy, the Walk of Life", who presents a great opportunity for guided imagery. You may even imagine yourself walking along with Aristotle in the 4th century!

"...and when you want to reach your self, there's nothing better than a stroll through nature. It is a new day and the sun is just beginning to peek over the horizon. Your bare feet press down dew-drenched grass. The sweet and soothing smell of fecund earth seeps into your lungs with each deep breath, making you one with nature's creative force, asking you to throw out your arms and embrace creation. Intimacy could never be more profound.... the left foot alternates with the right, the conscious side with the unconscious, between heart on the left and reason on the right. Walking erect and balanced, like a vertical line, the world axis, can unite conscious and unconscious mind and matter, in a way that thinking can not.

Picture a shaded street of Athens, circa 430 B.C. A stout, balding man in his  sixties ambles along in deep conversation with an aristocratic youth, discussing ethics, politics, morality and other ideas. The logical flow of thought smoothly permeates into words with each step, and the plinth of western philosophy is laid on the walks of Athens. The elder teacher is Socrates, walking with his acolyte Plato. A century later, Plato's favorite disciple Aristotle will create the Peripatetic school of philosophy, modeled on the walks he took with his students in the natural environs of his academy.

And if that's not enough...

Walking plays an equally, if not more, important role in the development of eastern thought. France-based Vietnamese Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh has even developed a form of meditation on these lines—the walking meditation. Describing this, he says: "We walk slowly, in a relaxed way, keeping a light smile on our lips. When we practice this way, we feel deeply at ease, and our steps are those of the most secure person on Earth. All our sorrows and anxieties drop away, and peace and joy fill our hearts. Anyone can do it. It takes only a little time, a little mindfulness, and the wish to be happy." Thich, or Thay (teacher) as he is popularly known, considers walking the best way to deal with stress and anger. "Practice walking, even with your anger still within you," he says. "After a few minutes, your anger will subside."