Even if our job is wonderful, our family is healthy and our future seems bright, we can lose touch with deepest part of ourself unless we slow down enough to breathe deeply, to still our thoughts and to observe natural world with a sense of wonder. Walking with awareness provides us with an opportunity to connect with surrounding nature and our "inner nature". Then we are able to tend to trinity that we are made up of - mind, body and spirit. In creating a balance among all three, we enhance quality of all areas of our life.

Use a long walk or hike to come home to yourself. If you don't go within you’ll go without!

So often we walk hurriedly, rushing from place to place in a state of mindless detachment. Spiritual walking is a form of meditation in motion. Pick a route that will allow you to practice mindfulness by fully engaging your senses. Feel hard pavement or soft grass beneath your feet, drink in aroma of honeysuckle as you pass by and make a mental note of what flowers are in bloom. Notice feel of wind against your face. The rhythm of walking helps us to quiet our minds and from time to time we may receive inspiration or gain insight into some troubled area of our lives.

Plan a walking retreat.

You can use walking as a sort of mini-retreat. I'm not talking about going away for a week or even a weekend, unless you want to, of course. I'm suggesting that you set aside a few hours, or even a full day for an exploration on foot - far from demands of work, home, and family.

First, choose a date on your calendar and mark it as your "retreat day." You want this day to be yours, for your personal walking adventure. Next, identify a place that you want to explore on foot. If you enjoy being out in nature, call your local parks and recreation department to request maps of your area. If you love looking at homes and gardens (one of my favorite kinds of walks), think of a neighborhood that you'd like to see up close. You want to spend your time walking, not driving so try to choose a location that's not too far from home. If you never have to get in your car, that’s even better.

The hour-long neighborhood walk that I take ends in a long slope that leads to street that I live on. I listen to my body tell me, “we can’t do this, we’ll never make it home.” I hear my own inner demons loud and clear and then I bid them farewell using positive self-talk. As I approach top of hill I recount what a wonderful walk it was and how strong I am becoming. I’m glad it’s over, yet I’m already looking forward to next outing!

I am grateful for spiritual walking. For me, it is a new route to wellbeing, a merger of muscle and mind. Infusing my exercise routine with spirituality has turned a good walk into a God walk!

Is your inner voice helping you to feel inspired and encouraged? After listening to it, do you feel like a winner? Does it emphasize your strong points while gently and lovingly pointing out where you need to do some work? Are you learning anything from it? Train your ‘Inner Coach’ by telling it what you need in order to succeed! You are foremost authority on yourself.

I’ve begun to dialogue with my ‘Inner Coach’ more often and am getting great results. We do things together too. We took a walk yesterday and we plan to go to gym later this week. We’re making fast friends and I am achieving intended outcomes in my life.

You too, have an ‘Inner Coach’ ready and willing to guide you gently through life. Just imagine, your own personal coach! If our self-talk was broadcast to world through a loud speaker, we would ‘get it’. We would be able to hear for ourselves some of damage we do through our self-talk. Let’s tame our inner critic and form a healthy relationship with our ‘Inner Coach’.