When you've finished here, check out the free audios and resources on www.padraigomorain.com

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Mindful walking from The Irish Times

Journalist Anna Carey quoted me in her New Year's Eve article on walking in The Irish Times. The article disappears behind a paywall in a few months' time but it's well worth a read meanwhile. Here are the two paragraphs on mindful walking:

Walking is also a good way of practising mindfulness, which has been shown to have a positive effect on mental health. “Mindful walking means bringing your attention back to your walking as you go along,” says Padraig O’Morain, whose book Mindfulness on the Go will be out in May. “Mindfulness really can be seen as returning your attention again and again from the wandering mind to the present moment. Mindful walking is one way of doing that. If you’re a person who enjoys walking along and thinking about everything and anything, that’s fine. Just try to give the first 10 minutes or so to walking with awareness.”

Walking, says O’Morain, “is very conducive to practising mindfulness – if you are a person who finds it difficult to sit and be mindful of your breathing, for instance. But it’s also a really good mindfulness practice if you’re feeling agitated. I think the rhythm of walking is helpful. Also when you’re walking mindfully you can, if you prefer, try to be aware of movement in your field of vision. This could be birds in the sky, cars on the road, ripples in the river. Or you could be aware of the feeling of the breeze against your face or hands.”

Using a smartphone? Click here to learn about my online, two hour and six week mindfulness courses.