The Washington Post - December 22/29, 1998

Mother Theresa did it. Mahatma Ghandi did it. Spiritual teachers from John the Baptist to Martin Luther King did it.

Prayer-walking, also known as "walking meditation," has been practiced by poets, philosophers and holy people from many religious traditions for centuries. Now this age-old discipline is experiencing a modern revival as stressed-out, harried Americans seek to commune with the divine while they shape up, enhancing fitness of body and soul.

"In our culture, we love to do two things at once, so we can be as efficient, effective and practical as possible," says Linus Mundy, author of "The Complete Guide to Prayer-Walking" (Crossroad Publishing Company, 1997). Prayer-walking is especially helpful during busy times, like the holidays, he says, because it provides an easy way to be active, relieve stress and embrace the true spirit of season--all at the same time.

Prayer-walking is simply "taking a stroll with your soul," says Mundy. "There is no wrong way to do it."

It can be a meandering saunter down a garden path or a brisk march around a track. The point is "to walk with prayerful intentions," he says, "realizing that your real journey is an interior one."

Ideally, prayer-walking is done outdoors in nature, where you can experience a divine presence in the whisper of wind in the trees, the soaring flight of a bird or the scent of freshly-fallen snow. But even if you can only get to the mall, Mundy says, you can still see the Creator's handiwork in human nature.

"We are all busy-busy and hurry-hurrying in our society, yet we know we have to slow down, physically, emotionally, spiritually," he says. "The wonder of prayer-walking is that it lets us keep moving, keep acting and doing on the outside while we slow down, quiet down, 'center down' on the inside."

Mundy, 51, first started walking to lose weight more than a decade ago. During his exercise walk one day, he recalls, "I found myself walking, then praying, then prayer-walking." The experience inspired him to write an eight-page pamphlet called "Taking a Prayer-Walk," published in 1992 as part of Abbey Press's "Care Notes" series. The pamphlet's popularity led to a small book, "Prayer-Walking" (Abbey Press, 1994), and then to his larger guide released last year.

While there's no way of knowing how many people prayer walk, spiritually focused walking is increasingly popular in varied locales, from health spas to religious retreats. At Canyon Ranch Spa in Tucson, Ariz., walking meditations are led by a "spiritual awareness educator." At Plum Village, a retreat community in southwestern France, Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hahn has been leading walking meditations for years and teaches the practice in his poetic guide, "The Long Road Turns to Joy" (Parallax Press, 1997).

Focused walking can be an excellent stress-buster because it prompts a physiologic calming effect known as "the relaxation response," says physician Herbert Benson, the mind/body medicine pioneer who coined the term Relaxation Response in the late 1960s and is now president of the Mind/Body Medical Institute in Boston. The opposite of the body's "fight or flight" reaction to stress, the relaxation response is a tranquil state in which blood pressure is lowered and heart rate, breathing rate and metabolic rate are decreased.

It can be elicited, Benson says, by doing two things:

1. Repeating a word, sound, prayer or doing a repetitive physical activity like walking or running.
2. Gently brushing aside distracting, everyday thoughts to return to your repetition.

"If you do this regularly, for 10 to 20 minutes, once or twice a day, you can reverse the negative physiological effects of the fight or flight response," Benson says. While it's possible to ellicit the relaxation response without moving, he notes, "when you exercise and simultaneously focus your mind, your exercise becomes more efficient--that is, you require less energy to do physical work. And our research also shows that focused walking is associated with reduced anxiety and diminished negative thoughts."

Including prayer as part of a focused walk can help activate the therapeutic effect of belief, says Benson, who explores "the biology of belief" in his book, "Timeless Healing" (Fireside, 1997). "People feel better when they use a word, sound or prayer that conforms to their belief system," he says. Protestants might use "The Lord is my shephard," Jews "Sh'ma Yisroel," Catholics "Hail Mary, full of grace," Moslems "Insha'Allah," Hindus "Om" and non-believers "Nature heals."

During this season of peace on Earth, stride toward inner peace with a focused walk using these simple steps:

1. Breathe consciously. Notice each breath and the number of steps you take as you breathe in and breathe out. If you take three steps during an in-breath, say, silently, 'One, two, three,' or 'In, in, in,' one word with each step. If you take four steps per inhale, count 'One, two, three, four'--whatever is comfortable.
2. Switch to using meaningful words, instead of numbers, to keep time with your steps. Walk in time with a phrase such as "Breathing in, I calm myself; breathing out, I smile."
3. Keep your mind in the present. If past anxieties or future worries pop into your head, gently let them go and return your thoughts to the present moment.
4. Feel free to stop and look at something beautiful. But be sure to continue breathing consciously as you admire.
5. Don't worry if you're doing your focused walk "right." If you feel peace and joy while you're walking, you're practicing properly.