Walking for body and soul
In “Why walking might be the prayer we’ve forgotten” Cerith Gardiner recalls how, long before neuroscience, Christians understood that walking could steady both body and soul. We seem to think prayer needs stillness, a chair, a chapel, a quiet corner, Gardiner says.
“For centuries, Christians have also prayed on the move, walking fields, cloisters, and city streets,” Gardiner says. Recent studies suggest that walking helps regulate stress, improve mood, and sharpen focus. I suggest running has the same effects. The gentle rhythm of steps appears to calm the nervous system, making the mind more grounded and receptive.
"Walking prayer” allows prayer to settle into the rhythm of movement. The regular steps, breath, and quiet structure gently hold the attention without forcing it. Even the sound of gravel underfoot, the movement of leaves, the presence of other people, or the light, help focus on the moment.
God feels less distant. We become more present. A short line of scripture, the repetition of a familiar prayer or even the concerns of the day are offered up, allowing the movement to create a space. And all this without special equipment, expensive investment or even a planned objective.
Simply “going for a walk” can help us reboot our focus on life. Walking can generate words as we explore the forest or walk on the beach.
William Wordsworth composed “Tintern Abbey,” one hundred and sixty lines, as he walked from Tintern Abbey to Bristol in several days. None of it was written down until he entered Bristol, and scarcely a line was altered.
Pilgrims and prayer are as old as Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales of the 1300’s. Today the Santiago de Compostela marks the walk of St James in Spain. Many pilgrims traverse the camino, or path, the Saint travelled. We all have a path to follow in life and with the help of the saints we can draw closer to God as we journey.
St. John Paul II reminded us of the spiritual impact of pilgrimages when he anticipated his visit to Santiago De Compostela for World Youth Day in August 1989: “Jesus is for us a way that leads to the Father - the only Way. Whoever wants to reach salvation must set out along this way.”
John Paul challenged young people in particular to represent the Churches of the whole world: “you will all be hеirs to the ‘Santiago Trail’ with the urge to proclaim the Good News.”
Walking is a metaphor for life. All of us have a path to walk. Walking allows for a poetic, even a sacred experience. In a poem “Slow me down Lord” Mark Link SJ says:
Let me look upward
Into the branches of the towering oak and know
That it grew great and strong
Because it grew slowly and well.
There is a quiet joy in walking. Time slows slightly, thoughts become less tangled, and prayer becomes something that accompanies the movement, as natural as breathing.
Walking is poetry. My father had a Clydesdale who danced when she walked! “A new calf walking with its mother” wrote Samuel Taylor Coleridge. David Morton wrote:
Who walks with beauty has no need of fear;
The sun and moon and stars keep pace with him.
Happy on the mountain are the feet of the one who brings good news. (Isaiah 52:7). We can walk in the Spirit, in God’s purpose, and with our gifts. The ordinary act of walking can become, once again, a place where prayer can take root.
(586 words)
