From Silent Walking to Boldly Go

It’s the latest trend – but do you dare to go where it may take you? It could be the greatest adventure you have ever embarked on.

What is it?

Silent walking is a new take on an old theme. Walking improves muscle tone and circulation. That has been known for centuries. That it also increases blood flow to the brain thereby encouraging repair and growth is again a given.


But walking without pouring music and podcast sounds into your ears also gives the neurones in your brain a different kind of workout – by feeding them with ambient silence you allow them to recharge and renew as they gently interpret the sounds of the surrounding environment.

How do you do it?

Just walking is not enough. You need to concentrate. On your feet and how they feel as you place them one after another, deliberately and with intention. On your body and how it moves. On your breathing and how it fills you. And on your surroundings and how they impact your senses. At the same time allowing your thoughts to leave the mundane and activity of life behind and move into an inner space of calm and wellbeing where you achieve genuine ‘me time’.

Podcaster Mady Maia, who started the trend on TikTok after advice from her nutritionist, said that the first two minutes  initially felt like ‘mental mayhem’. Now she’s hooked on the ‘flow state’ she has achieved. And so can you. A state where your thoughts flow through your oasis of inner peace allowing creativity and fresh ideas to surface. Negativity can be dealt with as it flows past. Wellness, in its purest state, rises and flows like water.

It is the ultimate mindfulness of a previous trend. It is the detoxing of the mind as we once concentrated on detoxing our bodies. It is the decluttering of our thoughts as we decluttered our living and working environments. It is the ‘back to nature’ cry of the Flower People. (Gen Z onwards ask your grandparents…)

But Silent Walking is not the invention of Gen Z or TikTokkers. For many centuries Zen Buddhists and other ancient cultures have practised silent Walking. Zen Buddhists call it ‘Kinhin’ or walking meditation. They walk slowly, concentrating on each mindful step, with synchronised breathing as they disengage from everyday living and reach the inner space within themselves where their meditation dwells.

This is the place where you end up. The silent space of your own inner being. The place where God speaks and listens. Where you speak and listen to your God. The place where you find the ultimate spiritual health.

The silent walk finishes and you return refreshed to your everyday life. But the place you ended up is the beginning of another journey. And for that you need the spirit of adventure to boldly go and see where it leads you.

Hilary Higgins (November 2023)