Mindfulness Exercise 2 ~ Mindfulness Walk
One of my favourite mindfulness exercises is a walk in nature. As a new mum I try to do this a few times a week, but for a while it was a daily activity for me. A few years ago when I was processing and releasing some old experiences a daily walk in nature was incredibly healing for me. The crisp grass under my feet, the beautiful scents of native plant life after rain, the sun peaking through the trees, birds sounds and breathing in the fresh air all helped my nervous system to regulate. It was a deeply inspiring time and when I felt that calm I was able to get clear on ideas for the next chapter of my life. I always find inspiration flows when I am walking in the forest or the beach, especially during those longer walks. This exercise makes your incredibly present.
From a scientific perspective, long walks help us to stimulate our lymphatic system and move energy around the body.
Neuroscience of mindfulness walks in nature -
There is now a substantial and growing body of research confirming what you likely already feel in your body when you step outside — that nature genuinely changes the brain, not just the mood.
One of the most well-studied effects is on the prefrontal cortex and a pattern of thinking researchers call rumination — the repetitive, looping, often self-critical thoughts that tend to dominate when we are stressed, overwhelmed or processing difficult emotions. A landmark Stanford study found that participants who walked in a natural environment for 90 minutes showed significantly reduced neural activity in the subgenual prefrontal cortex, the brain region most associated with rumination, compared to those who walked along a busy urban road. Nature quite literally quiets the part of the brain that keeps us stuck in our heads.
Walking itself is also deeply regulating for the nervous system. The bilateral, rhythmic nature of walking — left, right, left, right — activates alternating stimulation across both hemispheres of the brain in a way that is now being studied in trauma therapy. It is thought to support the processing and integration of difficult memories and emotions, which may explain why so many people find that long walks help them work through things that feel impossible to sit still with.
Being in nature also measurably reduces cortisol, our primary stress hormone, while increasing serotonin and dopamine — the neurotransmitters most associated with mood, motivation and a sense of wellbeing. Exposure to natural light, particularly in the morning, helps regulate the circadian rhythm and supports healthy melatonin production, which flows on to better sleep, clearer thinking and more stable emotional regulation throughout the day.
There is also something profound happening when we engage our senses fully in a natural environment — the scent of rain on earth, birdsong, the texture of grass underfoot. This kind of multi-sensory presence activates the parasympathetic nervous system, our rest-and-digest state, pulling us out of the low-grade fight-or-flight activation that many of us live in without even realising. For a new mother whose nervous system is under extraordinary demand, this is not a luxury. It is medicine.