Mindfulness Walk (5 Senses) Exercise for Stress and Anxiety

Research has shown that both mindfulness and physical exercise can be effective in reducing stress and anxiety in people. I developed a brief mindfulness activity that you can do while going out for a walk that is a great way to get the benefits of both mindfulness and physical exercise.

In this activity, you will be using all 5 of your senses (Sight, Sound, Feel, Smell, and Taste). This can be done in any particular order, but I’ve found that the below order works well. The key here is to try your best and practice bringing your attention back to whatever it is you are focusing on, and without judgment, if it’s hard to do or is challenging.

Mindfulness Walk (5 Senses) Exercise

I recommend trying this at home first, to get a good idea of how to do this when you leave your space. When you are ready, find a safe space to walk (outside if you can) for at least 10 minutes. You’ll be practicing the below steps while you walk. This can be repeated for as many rounds as you would like, and feel free to tailor this to your particular situation and needs. I recommend doing this without a listening device (headphones), but feel free to adapt this to suite your needs.

1. Sight – Start by noticing 5 things that you can see, focusing on one thing at a time for at least 5 seconds. If your mind wanders, bring it back to focus on that one thing.
2. Sound – Now shift your focus to notice 4 things you can hear. Again focusing on one thing at a time for at least 5 seconds. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to that one sound.
3. Feel – Next, shift your focus to notice 3 things you can feel. This can be as simple as your shoes on your feet, the fabric of your clothes against your skin, or the wind touching your face. Do this for at least 5 seconds, bring your mind back if it wanders.
4. Smell – Next, turn your focus to 2 things you can smell. Sometimes this can be tough, and if you find it hard to smell something, notice that it’s hard to smell something and move on to another smell. If you have trouble smelling anything, that is OK, just move to the next step while noticing what is happening without judgment.
5. Taste – And lastly you will turn your focus to 1 thing you can taste. Just like smell, this might be a tough one. If you cannot taste anything, just notice that you cannot taste anything without judgment and continue the practice.

References:

Anderson E, Shivakumar G. Effects of exercise and physical activity on anxiety. Front Psychiatry. 2013 Apr 23;4:27. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00027. PMID: 23630504; PMCID: PMC3632802.

Bassam Khoury, Tania Lecomte, Guillaume Fortin, Marjolaine Masse, Phillip Therien, Vanessa Bouchard, Marie-Andrée Chapleau, Karine Paquin, Stefan G. Hofmann, Mindfulness-based therapy: A comprehensive meta-analysis, Clinical Psychology Review, Volume 33, Issue 6, 2013, Pages 763-771, ISSN 0272-7358, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.05.005.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735813000731)