What is a medicine walk?
A medicine walk to me, is a meditative, healing walk on my own where I become at one with nature and ask nature to help me with something. It’s a simple (and free!) way to ground when I’m feeling unsteady, to inspire when I’m feeling blocked and to blow away any cobwebs. We are on our devices so much, it’s so important to get outside and connect with nature and it really is healing, which is why I see it as a form of medicine. I find I will begin in one state and end in another.
How does a medicine walk work?
Wherever calls to you, whether it’s the woods or the beaches, fields or meadows - find a place where you feel safe to journey within and enter a meditative, peaceful state.
1. Set an intention - Begin with an intention. Examples of an intention could be ‘to ground’, ‘to carry away any dense negative energy’, ‘to release anything that’s stagnant’ or ‘to calm and restore’ or perhaps you have a question that you’d like help answering. Call on the earth to help release anything you feel needs to go and carry it down into the soil, freeing you up to feel lighter by the end. You could write your intention down and bury it on the land where you are or you could speak it out loud.
2. Ask for help and support from nature with your intention and call on the nature spirits and your guides to be with you for this experience.
3. Take a moment to ground, slow down your breath, let go of your day and start to open up to what may come through for you. Perhaps place a hand on your heart and your womb space and take three slow deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth.
4. Begin to walk, feel the ground beneath you - open your senses. What sounds do you make as you tread? What birdsong can you hear? You may pause to listen more deeply. What can you smell? What colours are appearing to you. Notice any animals you come across or any shapes in the trees (you may see faces or creatures within the bark!). Really expand and open your senses to take in things that you may not notice if you’re mind was busy with to do lists or you were on your phone. You may feel called to pick a flower or a leaf, a pebble or a branch, something may feel like it’s literally asking to be picked and to be taken home. Notice what speaks to you and see what the meaning behind this may be later.
5. Finally, give gratitude - make an offering or clear some litter and feel that sense of gratitude to nature for taking care of you. I like to place my hands on the earth and say thank you.
Why I especially love them in Spring.
Spring has a quickening energy, it’s fast paced and dynamic. It’s a very active, growing and action-filled time of the year following the stillness of Winter. As we are mirrors of nature, this can be quite exhausting and it’s so important to maintain balance through the season of Spring so that you can sustain that energy of growth and new beginnings. Fill your cup up in whatever way works for you this season and if you try a ‘medicine walk’ I’d love to hear how it goes! Maybe you already practice your own kind of medicine walk.
Here is an IGTV video from last year around the same time LINK
Blessings for your walk,
Sadie
