<p><em>New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.</em></p> <p><em>---</em></p> <p>This scientist says that walking is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Here are some ways you can incorporate it into your life.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>Today we're going to talk about something so obvious, but so incredibly powerful. Walking. This is the third of a three part mini-series we're doing focused on the benefits of spending time outdoors.</p> <p><br /></p> <p><a href="https://www.dacherkeltner.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr. Keltner</a> is one of the world's foremost emotion scientists. He is a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and the director of the Greater Good Science Center. He has over 200 scientific publications and six books, including Born to Be Good, The Compassionate Instinct, The Power Paradox, and Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. He has written for many popular outlets, from The New York Times to Slate, and has consulted extensively for Google, Apple, and Pinterest, on issues related to emotion and well-being. He also hosts the podcast The Science of Happiness.</p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>In this episode we talk about:</strong></p> <ul> <li>The practice of "awe walks"</li> <li>The ritualizing of walking</li> <li>How it can help your concentration and anxiety levels</li> <li>Walking meetings</li> <li>And walking meditations</li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Related Episodes:</strong></p> <p><a href="https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/dacher-keltner-bonus-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Science Of How Nature Changes Your Brain—From Sleep To Cognition To Your Nervous System | Dacher Keltner</a></p> <p><a href="https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/dacher-keltner-bonus-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How To Get The Physiological And Psychological Benefits Of Nature If You Don't Live Near Nature | Dacher Keltner</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.happierapp.com/podcast/tph/dacher-keltner-546" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#546. This Scientist Says One Emotion Might Be the Key to Happiness. Can You Guess What It Is? | Dacher Keltner</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.happierapp.com/podcast/tph/linda-akeson-mcgurk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">We Know Nature Is Good for Us. Here's How To Make Time for It, Scandinavian Style | Linda Åkeson McGurk</a></p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Sign up for Dan's newsletter</strong> <a href="http://www.danharris.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>here</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Follow Dan on social:</strong> <a href="https://bit.ly/3tGigG5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Instagram</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="https://bit.ly/3FOA84J" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>TikTok</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Ten Percent Happier online</strong> <a href="https://bit.ly/46TZglY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>bookstore</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Subscribe to our</strong> <a href="https://bit.ly/3FybRzD" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>YouTube Channel</strong></a></p> <p><strong>Our favorite playlists on:</strong> <a href="https://spoti.fi/3Qa8kMT" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Anxiety</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="https://spoti.fi/3MjtMxF" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Sleep</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="https://spoti.fi/3QvyA5J" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Relationships</strong></a><strong>,</strong> <a href="https://spoti.fi/3QxZASc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Most Popular Episodes</strong></a></p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Full Shownotes:</strong> <a href="https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/dacher-keltner-bonus-3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://happierapp.com/podcast/tph/dacher-keltner-bonus-3</a></p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Additional Resources:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/podcasts/series/the_science_of_happiness" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Science of Happiness Podcast</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.happierapp.com/podcast/tph/jon-kabat-zinn-2024" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How to Start (Restart, or Upgrade) Your Meditation Practice: A Master Class | Jon Kabat-Zinn</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.happierapp.com/podcast/tph/jon-kabat-zinn-580" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#580. Tripping Out with a Legend: Jon Kabat-Zinn on Pain vs. Suffering, Rethinking Your Anxiety, and the Buddha's Teaching in a Single Sentence</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Outside-Brain-Annie-Murphy/dp/0544947665" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain</a></li> <li>Download the Happier app today: <a href="https://my.happierapp.com/link/download" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://my.happierapp.com/link/download</a></li> </ul>
Actionable Insights
1. Practice AWE Walks
On your regular walk, cultivate a quiet, meditative state by syncing breath and footsteps, then actively seek out wonder by focusing on small details before panning out to vastness, to deepen feelings of awe, kindness, and reduce distress and pain.
2. Dan’s Walking Meditation for Insomnia
If experiencing restlessness or insomnia, get out of bed and perform a walking meditation, using phrases like ‘There is a body’ to ground in physical sensations, ‘What’s the attitude in the mind right now?’ to observe mental states, and ‘This is nature’ to cultivate awe and a sense of interconnectedness.
3. Practice Synchronized Walking Meditation
Engage in walking meditation by synchronizing your breathing with your footsteps (e.g., four steps on an in-breath, six on an out-breath), and then perform a body scan to feel physical sensations and calm the mind.
4. Ritualize Your Daily Walks
Transform simple walks into meaningful rituals by creating repeated patterns, such as visiting specific spots or performing small, significant actions, to deepen their personal significance and benefit your well-being.
5. Mindfully Guide Walk Awareness
During your walks, mentally guide your awareness to your physical sensations (e.g., body movement, soreness) and observe your current attitudes and thoughts, which can powerfully orient your day.
6. Cultivate Awe as a Skill
Understand that the capacity to experience awe is a mental practice and a skill that deepens and becomes richer with consistent engagement, rather than diminishing over time.
7. Cultivate Kindness, Reduce Pain
Foster states of kindness and gratitude, as these emotions activate the vagus nerve, reduce stress, and stimulate dopamine, thereby making the body less susceptible to pain and daily stresses.
8. Walk Regularly for Well-being
Make walking a consistent part of your routine, as it significantly improves basic physical health metrics, enhances concentration, reduces anxiety, and fosters feelings of ease and contentment.
9. Conduct Walking Meetings
Opt for walking meetings, whether indoors or outdoors, as movement can improve concentration and information retention, while also providing physiological benefits like calmer breathing and reduced stress, even if not focused on nature.
10. Walk to Enhance Cognition
Utilize walking to aid cognition and problem-solving, as this activity, rooted in our evolutionary history, can help generate new insights by calming the body, activating curiosity, and expanding your field of vision.
11. Embrace Mind-Body Unity
Adopt the perspective of mind-body unity, recognizing that mental states are inseparable from physical sensations, and that cultivating positive mental states can directly influence physical well-being, such as reducing pain.
12. Avoid Overworking for Productivity
Resist the impulse to constantly overwork, as you often achieve more by doing less and incorporating breaks, a principle exemplified by Darwin’s highly productive schedule that included significant time for walking.
13. Sync Walks with Nature’s Rhythms
Integrate your walks with natural patterns and times of day, such as walking during rain to observe streams or towards dusk, to help synchronize your body with environmental rhythms.
14. Diverse Walking Practices
Incorporate various forms of walking into your life, including walking in nature, walking meetings, and walking meditation, to benefit your concentration, performance, and anxiety levels.