I think I may have answered this in the response above. The harmony of movement that you describe when you are walking for speed is precisely what I experience with intense workouts. It is not unusual.
The route that leads through body to spirit is familiar to many athletes. Twenty-five years ago psychologist Michael Murphy wrote about a "spiritual underground" in sports that was seldom covered on the sports pages. He identified it as the feelings of exaltation, and being "in the zone" that athletes experience but rarely reveal in interviews.
When we think about walking meditation, we immediately think about slow, contemplative walks. And certainly, enormous coordination of body and mind is required for this practice. Traditional walking meditation is often done at a pace that seems unnaturally slow so that it forces one to pay attention to movement in body and mind.
But racewalkers meditate too. No significant physical achievement is possible unless a person focuses clearly on a goal and believes that it is possible--a combination of physical, mental and spiritual energy. This was a form of meditation that I had never imagined in my years of sedentary "om-ing."
Even when I was competing in races, I didn't realize that I was "meditating." For me, the goal of finishing a race, or getting a certain time in a workout provided a clear objective. But when I stopped competing, I discovered that I had to create my own inspiration in order to maintain a level of workout that brought aerobic benefits. I began singing songs as I walked to keep momentum going and to drown out chatter in my mind. Sometimes I recited rhythmic mantras: "I am here and I am strong." The words kept me moving. That's when I realized that the skills I had learned in racewalking were the same skills of focus that I had learned in meditation practices.
This was an exhilarating discovery for me because I'd spent most of my life disliking and discounting my body. I'd never considered that it could be a component of spiritual expression. Now, that seems so obvious to me. I am a person with a body, a mind, a soul. Why would one part be more or less spiritual than another? And what could be more spiritual than wholeness, a sense of connection with myself and with the wonder around me?
As for "endorphin rush," I'm tempted to call is a synonym for that sense of elation and wholeness that I experience as spiritual connection. Studies show that the combination of physical and mental focus does produce emotional and biological responses for people. Walkers who simply repeat "in" and "out" with each breath reach a state of relaxation much faster than walkers who use no mental focus.
When walking slower, especially out in the forest or countryside, I sometimes find myself singing hymns. I try not to do it out loud....
In Chapter 3 of The Spirited Walker, I interview racewalker Elton Richardson who holds more American records than I can imagine for masters competitions. She is an amazing walker. And what keeps her going? Singing hymns! "Oh, you brought me, yes, you brought me, from a mighty long way. Thank you Jesus, than you Jesus," she sings to herself to set an upbeat pace that leaves casual walkers behind.
Gratitude is not an unusual outcome of Spirited Walking. Sometimes it just happens, but I think that we can nurture it, encourage its growth, by making appreciation an intentional part of the cool-down of a walk. In the last five minutes or so of a walk, take time to give thanks for what you just did. Acknowledge the time you spent doing something healthy for body and spirit. Give thanks for health. Give thanks for another day. The habit of gratitude is powerful. It's worth cultivating.
After several years of practice, gratitude spills into my walks automatically now. I plunge into the final steep pitch up the hill to my house with the rhythm of "Yes, I Can, Yes, I Can" powering my steps. By the time I reach the top of the slope, the words slip into "I give thanks, I give thanks." Thanks that I am at the top of the hill, yes. But also thanks for a good walk and thanks for another day. It's very simple and very short, but it reminds me to acknowledge the joys in my life.
"The Spirited Walker : Fitness Walking for Clarity, Balance, and Spiritual Connection"
By Carolyn Scott Kortge, Harper San Francisco, May 1998
[Compare Prices]
