Article by Kalina Kostova.

If you are a walk-enthusiast like me, then luckily you are in the right place. From Sandbanks to Poole Harbour to the markedly long Bournemouth beach promenade, you can start at one central point and exit at a completely different residential area. There are green corridors like the Bourne and Mude Valley Greenways and cliffs to conquer like Hengistbury Head and nearby Old Harry Rocks.

Intentional walking

Walking offers many benefits to well-being, including health and mental ones. Going for a walk to ‘clean your head’ or ‘circle around the block’ without the sometimes stress-inducing notions of vigorous exercise is certainly a way to get your body moving. It can also serve as a leeway into mindfulness when done with the right intention. But what does walking with intention mean exactly? Not with a destination, pace or an errand to run in mind but simply with the intention to be aware of both the world surrounding you and how your body reacts and moves through it. We seldom slow down and exist in a place without an external incentive. This technique of walking asks you to do exactly that, to take the time to observe and notice the things we haven’t before or become too used to.

Take notice

It can be the same walk you do every day but just slowed down to notice a pattern in the architecture you haven’t before, how the trees have changed with the season or smile to another passer-by. It could be the widening of your knowledge of the place you live in, finding hidden walks just because you took a different direction this time.

Words of the wise

The Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho tells us to “Walk neither faster nor slower than your own soul. Because it is your soul that will teach you the usefulness of each step you take.” Intentional walking helps you find what works for you, getting to know whether you are a slow or a fast person, patient or impatient. For example, I imposed upon myself a rule to walk in half-speed for a while and as a serial speed-walker it required effort and awareness which I hadn’t given to myself before. It was like a deep breath I had neglected to take just because I had forgotten I could take it. But it also taught me that I can get easily impatient, that the quickened pace was something that suited me and could be a release of energy. I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t take the time to explore, simply by paying attention.

Get to know your place

When you master that, you start to notice things like how the murals in Bournemouth aren’t accidental, and that you can recognise the art by local street artist TechMoon, and the variety of chines in the area. Soon that can open a whole new appreciation of culture, people and your own community.