Back in early October, a few of us gathered for what has become an annual event for me: We walked from Battery Park, at the southern tip of Manhattan with views of the Statue of Liberty, all the way up the west side, along the Hudson River, to the Northern tip of the island at the forested Inwood Hill Park (a total of around 15 miles!)

Walking longer distances is great for exercise surely, but it differs from other activities like running, not only in intensity but in how it allows for different experiences:

Walking allows for contemplation, and how it stimulates the brain is touted as what helped many creatives find the inspiration for their work and art.

Walking allows for communication and communion with others in a different way than would sitting in chairs around a table.

Walking allows for a new relationship to develop between the walker and the environment. You see the world at a different pace, with more detail and appreciation than you would at the faster pace of any other means of transportation. Some might say it’s the natural pace of interacting with the environment that aligns with the way we evolved, and maybe that’s why our brains are so positively stimulated by moving in that way.

Walking longer distances carries you through a mental barrier (especially if you have not been accustomed to moving that far) and moving through barriers in easeful (not forceful) ways not only develops a sense of empowerment for what our bodies can do, but it opens us to seeing all sorts of possibilities in our lives.

Emily, one of the brave walkers from the Walk the West Side event, described it this way: “It was such a great sensory experience in kind of unexpected ways, it's hard to describe but walking like that kind of brought everything to its full sensate potential.”

I think what she experienced and expressed was very much akin to what Nan Shepard wrote in her book The Living Mountain:

“Walking thus, hour after hour, the senses keyed, one walks the flesh transparent. But no metaphor, transparent, or light as air, is adequate. The body is not made negligible, but paramount. Flesh is not annihilated but fulfilled. One is not bodiless, but essential body.”

Doing events like this and taking walks, even on your own, allows for contemplation of the ecology, or relationship, between our culture and our bodies. Maybe the contemplation of these things can help us develop a better relationship, a healthier alignment, where moving and walking our bodies can help heal our culture as well.

So, here are some of the questions and topics we talked about while on our walk along the west side of Manhattan. May they inspire you to walk and to contemplate them while walking. And if you do feel so inspired, feel free to share your answers with me! I hope to see you at the next event!

What barriers do you recognize that keep you from taking longer walks?

Why would you choose to walk in a group or walk alone?

What is the difference between walking and hiking?

What is the difference between walking for recreation/exercise and transportation?

What is the difference between choosing to walk and having walking as your only means of transportation?

What’s one activity you do in your life that could be done on foot instead? What would it take to make that transition?

If you’d like coaching on what’s preventing you from being more mobile or on how to develop a more movement rich life, contact me for a free initial consultation!

“I have lived in New York City for 40 years and never thought of walking the length of the Hudson as something I'd ever do. But walking along the Hudson took on a whole new level of meaning under Patrick's guidance -- he makes the art of walking something to explore, ponder and celebrate mile after mile. When the experience of living in New York can bring on a bout of unwelcome stress just getting across a street, this extraordinary walk felt relaxed and compelling through and through. It was a wonderful moment to engage with people in conversation and locomotion.” - Emily S.