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Walking is one of the best exercises for work-life balance, physical health and mental well-being--all of which contribute to work engagement and productivity. You can choose from many types of walking. I have written previous stories on the 6-6-6 walking challenge and the Japanese Walking method. In honor of Mindfulness Day on September 12th, I recommend taking mindful "awe walks" that offer different benefits from traditional walking methods.
An "Awe walk" is a mindfulness stroll in which you intentionally shift your attention outward instead of inward and anchor yourself in the here and now. You're not thinking about the tight deadline, the unfinished project or the strain in your relationship with your boss. You fully immerse yourself in nature, noticing instead of thinking. No earbuds, no music, no radio shows, no podcasts and no thinking.
As you listen with curiosity, noticing as many different sounds as you can, you might hear the wind brushing the trees, sounds of birds twittering or crickets in the bushes. You might notice the wind on your cheeks, the smell of blooming flowers or notice various shade of green.
When you're fully engaged with curiosity in the present moment, you notice that previous worries or stressful thoughts are absent. You might be aware that your heart and respiration rates are slower and your tight muscles have loosened. That's because mindful "awe walks" take you off red alert of the thinking mind and bring you into the present moment of the noticing mind, activating your rest-and-digest-response. You get physical exercise and calm the mind at the same time--both of which offset burnout and prepare you for better job engagement.
Standing in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza was nothing short of jaw dropping for me. And the feeling of smallness and humility in the company of greatness moved me to tears of joy during an audience with His Holiness The Dalai Lama. If you've hiked the vistas of the Great Smoky Mountains, gazed at a magenta bruised sunset over the Pacific Ocean, had your eyes filled with tears during childbirth or Goosebumps witnessing someone you love honored in an award ceremony, you know the feeling of Awe.
Since the early 2000s, a movement has been afoot among psychologists to study and better understand the science of Awe -- an overwhelming, self-transcendent sense of wonder and reverence in which you feel a part of something vast, larger than you that transcends your understanding. It can be nature, music, art, a political march, spiritual figure or a ceremony. Some people refer to Awe as a form of rapture or reverie or an altered state that unearths joy, well-being and inner calm.
Studies show that in an Awe state, you feel the presence of something larger than you. You're engaged with the expansiveness of the external world, less focused on yourself, which takes your mind off your financial hardships, layoff worries or job frustrations.
A study in the journal Emotion found that a regular dose of awe reduces your stress and boosts your mental health. In the study, 60 older adults took weekly 15-minute "awe walks" for eight weeks. Half of the participants was randomly assigned to a simple walk group. The other half was placed in an awe walk group, in which researchers described the emotion of awe and suggested the walkers try to experience that emotion as they strolled.
People in the "awe group" reported increasing experience of awe on their walks as the study went on, suggesting some benefit of practice. The awe group had significant boosts of positive emotions such as compassion and gratitude over the course of the study. Awe walk participants had a growing sense of wonder and appreciation for the details of the world around them. One participant reflected on "the beautiful fall colors and the absence of them amidst the evergreen forest . . . how the leaves were no longer crunchy underfoot because of the rain and how the walk was more spongy . . . the wonder that a small child feels as they explore their expanding world."
In contrast, participants from the control walk group tended to be more inwardly focused. For example: "I thought about our vacation in Hawaii coming up this next Thursday. Thought about all the things I had to do before we leave." Another reflected on "what a beautiful day it was and that later I was going to go see my great granddaughter."
The researchers also asked participants to take selfies at the beginning, middle and end of each walk. Analysis of these photos revealed a parallel, visible shift in how participants portrayed themselves. The awe group increasingly made themselves smaller in their photos over the course of the study, preferring to feature the landscapes around them.
At the same time, the smiles on participants' faces grew measurably more intense. Increased positive emotions and less distress in their daily lives were reflected in "selfies" participants took on their weekly walks, in which an increasing focus on their surroundings rather than themselves was paralleled by measurably broader smiles by the end of the study.
"One of the key features of awe is that it promotes what we call 'small self,' a healthy sense of proportion between your own self and the bigger picture of the world around you," explained Dr. Virginia Sturm lead investigator and associate professor of neurology and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California at San Francisco. "To be honest, we had decided to do this particular analysis of participants' selfies on a lark -- I never really expected we'd be able to document awe's ability to create an emotionally healthy small self literally on camera!"
The scientists discovered a simple intervention right under our noses that can make a big difference in our workday. Awe walks are simple, easy, short and cost-free. Yet shifting our energy and attention outward instead of inward can be some of the best medicine that leads to significant improvements in our emotional well-being. More joy and connection with our surroundings is something all of us can use nowadays.
"Awe walks" are simple and easy ways to reduce stress and prevent burnout. "Experiencing awe is such a simple practice," Sturm concludes. "Just taking a moment to look out the window or pausing to consider the technological marvels that surround us -- and we now show it can have measurable effects on our emotional well-being."