by Monika Korb, Health Practitioner, Byron Bay NSW
We started to do the Byron Bay Lighthouse walk every morning.
At different stages I’ve had the awesome opportunity to feel my body and where I am at with myself in my life, which is reflected in the quality I am and the vitality I feel, climbing to the Lighthouse each morning.
I noticed when I started with my friend, who is very fit and extremely strong in her body, that I was trying to catch up with her. She was always ahead of me and I felt I had to show no weakness: I took her as my measure for where I should be at in my body too.
I used to be very fit and a regular gym person, but after years of doing no exercise or gym my body was not prepared for this ‘full-on’ walk up the Lighthouse steps, which is 7 km up and down from the bottom car park.
As I walked it felt like I was pushing to keep up with my friend, so I felt to allow my body to be my guide.
When feeling out of breath I take a moment and come back to my rhythm with me, with my body aligned.
I don’t look ahead to the stairs I have to climb – I take one step a time. I look at my feet and to the ground and feel my entire body.
Since I am focused only on that, I have no disturbing thoughts coming in that want me to look ahead, how hard it will be, how bad my body will feel, how annoying it is to watch others doing it easily.
I allow myself to climb the Lighthouse stairs in my own way and notice how it still feels enjoyable. I let others overtake if they want.
There are moments I feel that it is too much, that I don’t want to go any further and that I want to quit – so I look and ask, have I pushed myself too much again? Did I lose the joy of the connection to the earth with each step I take?
My walk should be neither struggle, nor hardness or pushing, but a good feeling within my body; a feeling of inner strength, a foundation in my body.
It is absolutely great to feel my body and this aliveness and to re-build my core strength, which is feeding me back during my day. My body feels fit and toned and vital. Doing the walk is a great start to an awesome day being with my body.
And it feels sexy even being over 50 now!
Inspired by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
The Truth about Serge Benhayon 
Exercising in connection supports us to build a body of love and truth, for it is our responsibility to constantly fine-tune what is truly needed for us to express the wisdom of the universe for all.
Your walk Monika sounds like it provided the perfect template from which to do life, with the quality established there echoing throughout.
I am amazed at how much power and awareness we can have by simply being present with our body in everything we do. It may feel strange at first to not have the influence of the mind coming in but it is in fact normal and natural to live this way
This blog shows us that we can never walk in another’s footsteps! Others can inspire us but we have to walk our own walk and reflect who we are in full.
Great article and very simple. We see all the things we do and rate them, work, rest, play, exercise and the list goes on. Usually the time and the heading dictates the feeling and yet it’s not truly like that. Any time you are truly with yourself no matter what the time or heading is a reason to feel, appreciate and celebrate for that very reason. That way no matter where you are, what time of day, what the heading or what the landscape you will be settled just being yourself.
Feeling our bodies as we move is a great way to check in with ourselves and to observe how we are moving and if it is in rhythm or pushing through. I also find that connecting to each movement helps to bring simplicity and flow to life and thinking 4 or five steps ahead is just too hard and takes me out into my head leaving me feeling drained and fuzzy. Clarity is found in the connection to each fine movement we make as we then get to observe the world and enjoy the rhythm of life.
‘My walk should be neither struggle, nor hardness or pushing, but a good feeling within my body; a feeling of inner strength, a foundation in my body.’ True Monika and this foundation in your body takes you through the day as life should never be a struggle, I know when I start to be hard on myself and push myself to do certain tasks in a certain timeframe I have lost the connection with my body and it becomes about ‘to get the job done’ instead of the quality I am in with my body.
There is a huge difference in taking care of your body through connection to it and the concept of building a body through stimulation. I have been caught between the 2 states. How I became aware between the 2 different states in my body was the support of my esoteric practitioner advising me and showing me through an esoteric healing body session, and how they live in their body.
I love being out in the fresh air, walking, and connecting with my body, ‘I take one step a time. I look at my feet and to the ground and feel my entire body.’
Good analogy for life … one step at a time and no comparison 💕
Thanks Monika, you reminded me of over 10 years ago when I too used to walk up to the same lighthouse, and how I came to realise I was pushing myself too much and ignoring my body with this strenuous walk.
Great reflection Monika, we often push ourselves to get where we want to get to without considering our own body, yet when we take one step at a time in full connection with our body, we don’t worry about what’s ahead.
True piece of writing, it is not in how our walk looks – but the feel of when you walk that is going through your whole body. Bouncing through up and down. When this is love – it is felt.
When this is lacking love – it is felt.
Hence, we need to be very open and honest to feel how we are walking , in our day, in life in everything we do between a and b and so forward. Giving ourselves the opportunity to feel that which we are and which we are not – so we can make a difference. Change whatever is needed – being and bringing all the love that we are and belong to back in our movements.
Walking in our fire, in our true state, in our connection to our body and God – is a true blessing that we give ourselves every moment of every day, simply it is at this time in life a blessing because we have stepped away from all of that. But in truth, once we fully accept it again – it will be our absolute normal -which forever expands.
Fantastic blog of truth – sharing how our own body has its own true pace and that once we follow – truth remains.. We grow by listening to our body – and who would have thought that – but it is so simple. Just connect, breath and come back to you – you will know what to do..
It is so easy for us to go into comparison and make ourselves feel lesser. I love that you kept checking in with your body so that you maintained your own rhythm. The idea of taking one step at a time rather than looking ahead, and anticipating failure or hardship is a great tool for staying focused with the task at hand.
I love the analogy of taking one step at a time and being with that step in full and not ‘looking up’.
I know the walk you are referring and it is very familiar to me to ‘look-up’ and take in all the steps ahead and feel a little daunted by them. Also what I can feel is that I would want to get a ‘look’ at the light house itself, try and take it all in as much as possible. All leaving myself while at the same time making my body climb. No wonder it becomes hard work. This understanding I can apply to anything. If I’m looking for the end while working through the steps then I’m not with my steps at all- this is what sets up a ripple effect of ill-ease.
What a truly loving question to ask ourselves:
“Did I lose the joy of the connection to the earth with each step I take?” How many steps do I take in a day that include this simple awareness? Today is going to be a day where I observe how this goes, (haha – the kookaburras are singing their agreement!).
“There are moments I feel that it is too much, that I don’t want to go any further and that I want to quit – so I look and ask, have I pushed myself too much again?
It is like a light globe moment for me reading the connection between the wanting to quit and simply asking “have I been pushing too hard”. There is a truly deep love available in caring, listening and responding to what is being felt simply by asking the question. No matter what the answer it is the connection that becomes present when we stop for a moment and feel what is there with-in that was being over-ridden.
Love how you let your body be your guide rather than a comparison with where others are at!
‘It is absolutely great to feel my body and this aliveness and to re-build my core strength, which is feeding me back during my day.’ Thank you Monika for such a beautiful reminder of the power of true exercise and how it supports us in so many ways.
Very cool Monika. And a big ‘yes’ to feeling our innate and gorgeous sexiness, through taking such (literal 🙂 ) steps in honouring your body.
You have smashed the consciousness, i.e. way of thinking, that has permeated exercise for so very long – i.e. that we should push past our body’s limits, and essentially create pain. You’ve shared how enriching and indeed powerful in terms of our well-being it is, to embrace exercise from exactly where we stand, and not be caught in measuring up to others or outer ‘bars set’ that simply do not honour our body and being. Love all that you’ve shared here.
It is always important to listen to your body, even if it means being slow.
No matter the undertaking, taking one step at a time, connected to the body and not looking ahead towards what is still to be done, is definitely the way to go and keeps it all present, joyous and light.
Just coming back to this blog as I was experimenting today at my work at the check out. Scanning product after product I started to feel a rush and wanting to get it done quickly feel coming up in me and then I had to think of this blog. I focussed on scanning one product at the time and It was beautiful, my body relaxed and my contact with the clients was more relaxed and joyful.
It is so easy to want to go ahead in time, think about where we are going instead of being in every moment. Something I like to experiment with thank you.
“My walk should be neither struggle, nor hardness or pushing, but a good feeling within my body” I used to walk with a hardness, especially when I was at work. I can remember the forceful impact on the surface I was walking on and the jarring throughout my body, but I didn’t realise the impact this was having on it. Coming to understand my body more than I ever have and growing the connection I have to me I can no longer walk with this hardness and drive but in a way that supports and nurtures me, and I am loving every gentle step I take.
Thank you Monica – this is a good reminder for me too to keep the connection with the body in each moment in exercising. It is not about exercise being a ‘chore’ nor a tick box exercise, but it is about exercising just the right amount and in just the right way that is needed for the body at that moment in time.
On a walk this morning, I handed myself over to my body to see what it wanted to do… Surprisingly, on the flat, it was pumping and power walking even though my head was still half asleep! On the hills, it slowed down and took larger steps to stretch out my hips and calves. Pretty cool. My body walked me.
I have been exploring how I walk up stairs and found that I view stairs as a real pain and drudgery to go up and come down them. I have been taking a slight stop at the bottom of the stairs and then making my posture checking my posture and then walking up them with my full presence and it has made a huge difference. before the space around me even felt heavy, now I feel a lot more freedom and flow. The space has been cleared because I am allowing my body to move at its full capacity and it feels awesome. Our bodies really are amazing and show us so much constantly, when we choose to listen and learn from it.
“My walk should be neither struggle, nor hardness or pushing, but a good feeling within my body; a feeling of inner strength, a foundation in my body” – I love this, and when I apply this to anything in life I can see where I am still holding an ideal, and why I am experiencing so much pain and ache in my body lately. It is gorgeous to feel the simplicity and ease when our focus is just to remain connected with our own body, and whatever gets done – a walk, project, housework… is a bonus, it is a confirmation of joy in movement.
I appreciated reading this blog because it exposes in me how in the past I used to play catch up with people all the time. When I would be exercising, if anyone was watching I would really push my body. And even this morning I was doing some exercise and a neighbour opened their curtains and looked in at me, and I could feel my whole body tense. So I sat with this and came back to me and said to myself it is about how I am exercising first, not what other people’s opinions are. It was a beautiful lesson to show me how we can give our power away to others when this is just a game to make me feel anxious .
I have also found that putting one step in front of another without looking ahead towards the goal is the way to go. It allows me to keep up with the true pace and harmony of my body rather than the images and aspirations of my fanciful mind.
So true Suse, a great lesson for life, when we stay connected with ourselves and not allow the myriad of distractions in life to sway us we remain steady at at one.
Being true to our own bodies is the way to go, I agree Monika. I remember this walk, it can be challenging yet when you stay with your own rhythm it is really enjoyable.
Moving with presence will get us where we have to go so much quicker.
I’ve recently started to walk a long steep hill daily so can relate to what you have shared. I’ve really noticed how the consistency of my steady walk, being present with my breath and movement gives me a marker of love and steadiness that I can come back to during the day.
Thanks for sharing your awesome reflections Monika. Very timely for me as I am about to start a fitness class and my past pattern has always been to strive to keep up with everyone rather than going at my own pace and rhythm.
It is great to bring consciousness to all we are doing and question where we are in it. It is so easy to get caught up in allowing something else run our body like comparison, competiveness or indulgence. The body holds the wisdom and always speaks the truth as long we are connected to our hearts.
I am visiting Byron at the moment and I am going to be doing the lighthouse walk and this is great to read before I walk this as a reminder that i do not need to rush or push myself and I can do this all in my own stride. It is about feeling the body first and in the past this was never the case for me either.
A great demonstration of how one step at a time in presence delivers the joy of moving our body – and living our everyday life in the process, whatever that might entail.
In a swimming lesson with Simone Benhayon recently I got to feel how I push myself to do more than is really true for me and how then the quality of what I am doing suffers, it becomes less and I don’t feel so good either. If I go on I am overriding my connection to my own body wisdom and I have to pull in another force to propel me forward. Ignoring my body and listening to my mind that tells me I have to do more to keep up with so and so or because someone I think knows better than me says so, or for whatever reason outside my own knowing and intuition, always lands me in trouble.
Our movements truly belong to us if we move in conscious presence.
What you are sharing Aimee has also been my experience. Bringing my focus to the activity I am doing, while staying focused on my breath is a key element for me to stay connected to my innermost.
When I allow the time and space to do my walking and exercise programs the feeling in my body and the added vitality are definitely well worthwhile.
That is the best way to do a walk: “My walk should be neither struggle, nor hardness or pushing, but a good feeling within my body; a feeling of inner strength, a foundation in my body.” Thank you so much Monika for sharing this wonderful insight with us.
I love this Monika. I have in the past championed the no pain no gain way of exercising but my body made it clear that this was not truly supporting my wellbeing. Your story demonstrates how powerful it can be to simply move in a way that honours our bodies.
Feeling and honouring what we feel. This is the simple recipe for life that brings love and joy to the front and centre of our life.
There is much truth in what you have written regarding using your body as a marker and not looking outwards for those impulses
“I take one step a time. I look at my feet and to the ground and feel my entire body.” A metaphor for life – staying present – taking one step at a time.
I have walked everyday for ages now and find it so beneficial on so many levels. I recently had 2 weeks where I was putting work first and didn’t make time for my regular walk. Boy did I notice the difference. So I am definitely back walking and walking back to me:)
I have noticed with walking how I can just over extend each step the slightest amount and it drains me. I come back to more presence in my body and the step changes, slightly smaller, but aligned with my body so I can again feel rhythm moving through it. Then, I seem to be able to walk forever!
‘Did I lose the joy of the connection to the earth with each step I take?’ Going for a walk to connect with nature and meet all those I encounter is to reconnect with me but if I walk to reach an end point, or a destination then that becomes the goal and I lose connection to me.
No matter what your age it is possible to have a self-care routine that includes fitness through walking. The improvements for the body seems like a miracle!
I love how you simply bring the focus back to yourself and coming from there taking your own body as the marker where you are at.
“It is absolutely great to feel my body and this aliveness and to re-build my core strength, which is feeding me back during my day.” I have come to realise how very supportive it is to strengthen my body in areas where I am not so active during the day and what a huge difference it makes to my whole well-being and vitality during the day. Just yesterday I noticed how much easier it is for me to go uphill just by having done one strengthening exercise for my legs over the last weeks.
‘And it feels sexy even being over 50 now!’ I like the way you finished the blog Monika. I feel that could be the subject of another great blog. I am certainly feeling more sexy, energetic and vibrant in my 50s.
I can get caught up with looking ahead and anticipating possible difficulties that take me away from what I m currently doing. This living in the future robs me of the present. Reading your blog this morning is a great reminder to stay present with myself in every moment.
Thank you. I have pushed myself a little of late and I can feel it now as a deep underlying tiredness which I realise I need to honor. I do not have to measure myself by how much I am getting done in a day. I do not need to prove that I can have a late night and that it doesn’t affect me, for in truth it does, and that’s OK. If I work at a steady pace and allow myself to rest when I need to my body appreciates this care and consideration.
True exercise done with a commitment to life is an astonishing medicine for the body. Each day at the moment I am ever more amazed at how it supports me and how the body, when it is nurtured and activated in purpose is an incredible machine that is designed to work and work and work…It’s an awesome piece of kit!!
I love this Otto, very true. The more I take care of my body to the littlest detail, tending to the areas that are a bit creaky and stiff or simply neglected, the smoother my body becomes and ‘runs’.
It is true that when walking with someone else the temptation is to keep up with each other. Good walking buddies either find a mutual rhythm that works for both or they meet afterwards! It is much better to honour how the body feels than to push beyond what the body can manage.
Even the most simple 10-20 minutes spent connecting to my body and doing basic exercises has a dramatically beneficial effect on my day.
Monika, you have inspired me to want to walk the light house walk too. You reminded me why I enjoyed the movement of the body through exercising. The beautiful feeling of my sexy, strong and vitally powerful body. Exercising is a personal relationship. Not a comparison or competition.
‘Did I lose the joy of the connection to the earth with each step I take?’ This is a great question . I find that sometimes I have thoughts come into my head while I am on a walk and bringing myself back with an awareness of my feet touching the ground always works. I am back in the present and with the opportunity to feel the whole of me as I move. Soon the Joy returns as if by magic.
Thanks Monika – you have reminded me that there is most definitely a way to go about exercising that is all about being in tune with the body and nothing at all to do with pushing on through for the sake of completing something to meet some previously held expectations.
Love it, my walk today will be inspired by this blog. Step by step and no need to look ahead. What is ahead will come to me anyway. Walking and surrendering to life…
You’ve nailed the truth about keeping our bodies vital. Forget the prevailing views about beats per minute, comparison with others, the pushing beyond our limits or feeling the burn, for all these merely dishonour what we’re feeling and what we’re putting the body through. We’ll get a more health-full longevity if we adopt a relationship with our bodies based on respect and discernment, where we engage in exercise or movement that truly supports our unique needs and heeds our limitations.
I walked again with you today Monika, what a beautiful start to the day, to feel the body in movement with the feet connected to the earth.
Absolutely Brendan – a very wise revelation, as our body is the marker of truth – that will mark our way of what we can and cannot do without ‘overdoing’ and ‘pushing’ our body.
I agree, walking is an incredible start of the day when it is not done with a goal or stress, but simply to be and walk with you are another person. How simply beautiful. I do it everyday!
I enjoy walking everyday now, in the past I would not walk often, I prefered stayin indoors. Since practising walking with myself; by staying with my mind focussed on my walk and breathing in line with what my body can handle , I started to truly enjoy walking with myself. This is what I have learned through the teachings of Universal Medicine, who were presented and lived by Serge Benhayon. This took my attention: I don’t look ahead to the stairs I have to climb – I take one step a time. I look at my feet and to the ground and feel my entire body. ” So well said, and it truly works – my mind feels much more light and my body too. I walk my lightness because I am in the moment and not busy with my head everywhere. Although it is described by lightness, it feels strong and steady.
Walking to honour you and your body, this is beautiful Monika; what a gorgeous way to start the day.
Thank you Monika, I loved walking with you today, as you as you felt your feet connecting with the earth, and the joy in your body.
Thanks Monika, I did the Lighthouse walk myself a few days ago with a friend who is fitter than me as well. I had to stay with myself and not exhaust myself trying to keep up, especially going up the stairs. I stayed in my own rhythm and found that the next day I was not sore at all, staying present with me is key no matter what I am doing or whom I am with.
Monika, it feels like our body is our best companion for walking as our body always communicates the truth.
I love the simplicity of this sharing Monika it so relates to our everyday way of living. That if we go into comparison with another it takes us away from our true connection and then we start ‘trying’ in life to keep up, to be more ‘or less’ etc. Letting the joy of the intention initially to slip by.
Having had a similar situation on the underground in London. One of the lifts was out of action and to be sure it was several flights of stairs to get to daylight at the top. With the throng of so many people all keen to get to the top the temptation to join in was huge. Like yourself Monika I kept a gentle focus on my body, aware of how my feet gently walked each step, gently breathing and if others were faster than me they could pass. Amazing when listening to our bodies the distance you can go with no pushing or trying.
There is an empty, hollow feeling after the exhilaration dies off, through pushing in exercise. On the other hand through honouring our bodies it feels great well after the session completes. Plus, what a great scenic route to enjoy when taking our time on the lighthouse walk. Through the gentle connection to the body, the natural beauty can be breathed in and enjoyed even more!
Stairs are pretty awesome places when it comes to re-connecting with our bodies as I have very recently learnt and this blog further confirms that fact. When I focus on my feet on each step that rushing or crazy thoughts of other situations or the next thing to tick off my list is simply not there. A moment in the day where I can just be with my body and as I write this I realise how simple adding in these moments of connection can be in my day just from focusing on one part of life such as this! Thank you Monika.
Monika, it’s great that you stopped comparing yourself with your friend but were able to stay with your own rhythm and enjoy each step. Perhaps if you had not been so aware of your body you might have just pushed on regardless which is what we tend to do when we don’t listen to our bodies. We then become driven by something outside ourselves – like a desire to get fit, not wanting to appear less fit or not wanting someone to think we can’t do something.
I have come to the same conclusion that walking is a way to really honour my body and offer it in the pace and distance and step of my walk, exactly what supports it from day to day. I have understood self nurturing through this fine tuning of my walk.
This is exquisite. Thank you, Monika. When we let getting from A to B outweigh honouring of ourselves, life becomes overwhelming and there’s no joy in it; and when we put honouring of ourselves as priority, each step we take is a confirmation of our choice to be love that can keep deepening as we go along.
Gorgeous blog Monika. Step by step feeling the truth of your body. I’m with you every step of the way.
It is so easy to allow yourself to get caught up in the competition and comparison. To Appreciate in every moment feeds the quality of everything we are choosing and by saying yes to what the the body is communicating to you Monika, is a celebration
A gorgeous sharing Monika. Walking is a beautiful opportunity, as you have shared so well, to connect to our bodies and move in a way that confirms the joy of who we are and what we know is true. I used to push myself on my walks to make sure I would get a good workout thinking that by keeping fit this would make my day. But all the while I was missing the opportunity to build/confirm a loving foundation in my body that would support me through my entire day. Now walking is something I absolutely enjoy and I agree a beautiful way to start the day. I can honestly say that through honoring and taking care of my body I am feeling more vital, healthier and fitter for life today than I did 10 years ago.
A beautiful reminder Monica – when we walk with presence we are more in our body and can take it one step at a time.
I wish I lived around the corner Monika to do this beautiful walk with you together.
Thank you Monika, beautiful to read your blog , and taking one step at a time.
Monika, this is a great reflection of how loving it is when I stay with myself and allow myself to feel my body and its signals deeply, not only superficially, in every moment and from this make my further choices.
Thank-you Monika this has given me an opportunity to reflect on how I walk. Before Universal Medicine I wasn’t even aware of how I walked. Now I notice the ways I walk can be very different. When I walk with me, feeling my feet, my legs and my hips gently swinging from side to side there is a lovely flow and evenness to my walk and it is effortless, I also feel more confident, more accepting of myself and that I am confirming that this is me. But when I walk just because I ‘should’ I can feel there is an unevenness in my walk, there is a jarring going through my body and it takes a lot more effort.
What a beautiful awareness to have! To resist the temptation to go into override has been a huge learning for me as it was my normal. The times I choose to stay with me I feel lovely and connected as I get to feel me beyond the emotional state I may be in.
I love this connection you bring Monika to deepening the connection to our body as we live our daily lives – no comparison, no commitment issue, simply being in the moment.
It’s interesting how we can so easily lose connection with ourselves when we are in the company of others. This has been and still is a big learning for me… to live my life in My rhythm and not to compromise in any way.
“Did I lose the joy of the connection to the earth with each step I take?” What a great question. If there is no joy in us as we go about our daily living what are we doing?
This is a wonderful description of how we can every step in life. Being aware of our bodies and being in the present.
It is beautiful, each time I take the walk I notice people pushing themselves up the hills, running up the steps, puffing and panting, the head leading the body, the hardness needed to allow the drive. I used to do that too but now it just looks unnecessary, I can really feel that the level of health, well-being and vitality that can be achieved can be done so just by walking, not to mention the rest of living, eating, exercising and being.
The lighthouse walk is so beautiful. I can feel you reconnecting to your body whilst walking up one step at a time.
Such a simple yet powerful message, thank you Monika.
Living from our body and living from our mind are two completely different things, I much prefer the body these days.
I can feel your vitality Monika. One step at a time, without looking to the finish line, in touch with your body. Beautiful walk.
I love what you are sharing here Monika – to let the reconnection with our bodies be our guide.
I agree Karen and Monika.. and what if we did that in all situations.. let our body be our guide, that would be very interesting and I think a fun experiment!
Beautiful to walk with you and really get a sense of what our own bodies are asking for.
Byron Bay Lighthouse walk is such a beautiful thing to do. I wish I could do it everyday!
Sometimes I find it an interesting experience when walking with others to find a rhythm that works for both of us. I have walked with people who are in racy energy and felt that push and I have also walked with people who are so slow it is incredibly annoying. I am getting much better at staying in connection to my body and observing – often when I am able to do that the pace naturally harmonises.
I enjoyed reading your blog Monika, thank you for sharing your insight and wisdom.
I can picture you walking the lighthouse steps appreciating and just being with you.
Such a joyful experience.
I’m beginning to apply this across my day. It’s not about what we do but how we do it – by looking and matching ourselves to the world around us OR by looking within caring and honouring our own bodies in each and every moment.
I agree Adam it’s so easy to tick things of our to do list and it’s a great reminder that every step is about connection it doesn’t matter what. Conscious presence is the key, thank you Monika for this great reminder!
Beautiful blog to walk through! I really like the image of you going up the stairs one step at a time. Awesome.
Taking one step at the time and no need for looking ahead and wanting to know what comes next. What comes next is for later, now we just have to focus on this step. What a simplicity!
This is a great start of the day. I did my walk yesterday evening. This morning I will go for a walk as well, but now including the focus on each step and how I am with me. I recognize the feeling of all the thoughts kicking in during the walk, whether it is comparison, drive or to-dos. So after my shower I am off for a lovely walk with myself.
Monika, this is a great reflection for every moment in life, to take one step at a time without comparing or measuring, just this one step and my breath.
I love how you were able to feel that you were moving your body in a way that did not feel true to you, and were able to come back to your natural stride and enjoy the time with your body.
A great sharing Monica, I too walk the Lighthouse with a friend who can manage it easily, I take my time and stop often as I don’t like the feeling of becoming breathless or putting my body under pressure. In the past I would run around the same path and push my body to the max to complete it in record time. I am so pleased I no longer exhaust myself in this way, I now simply enjoy the walk and connecting with me and the beauty of nature all around me.
It’s awesome how our body responds to the simple act of being with it more and more. How awesome are the results that you have !
I really get the ‘trying to keep up’ and where I should be with fitness. it is still alluring sometimes but my body tells me loud and clear this is not the way. I really resonate with what is said about making the exercise about an enjoyable building of inner strength and so, choosing a quality before quantity.
Thank you Monika for sharing your blog , I too walk the path up to the light house usually once a week with a friend I look forward to it and the company . There was a time when I ran that very path at least a couple of times a week very different to what I do today. In the past it was always about how fast and how hard I could push my body and the pain that I could laugh off . The crazy part was I thought I was doing the right thing by my body, by keeping it fit . I now look at it as to hurt my body through stress and drive, negating my body’s feedback of pain, exhaustion, fatigue, tendon and muscle injuries, back pain, cramps, blisters and so on, not to mention the eating habits associated with such exercise, is justifying a way that is in no way caring for a body but using a method of torture to numb , exhaust and fill one self from a way of life we are not at ease with.
Great to feel and read this Monika as I find I too have been pushing myself in the walk of life. It’s lovely to feel that there is no need for the measuring or comparison to others, but in fact it is more loving to take my time, walk with me, take a moment and really feel the rhythm that beats in my heart and to walk to its rhythm. To know that this will allow the flow to return and that all that pushing was just not necessary, for all we ever have to be is ourselves.
Thank you Monika, for sharing your exercising experience with me, which your lighthouse walk actually is. I too have not done regular body exercises over the years and now I am confronted with the weakness of my body which is not able to support me in all I want to do. So I started with introducing gentle exercise which is so different to how would have approach this in the past. I would have started to push myself to a certain level of fitness beyond the capacity of my body, for example I would have followed your friend in climbing the lighthouse stairs. Now I am more compassionate with how my body feels and respond to that. So, similar to you, I take a rest if my body needs that and always remain focussed on the connection with my body. I enjoy the joy within my body that I feel as a response to the care I am taking with a high level of love and dedication.
If we check in, there is no comparison and others doesn’t matter in the case of competition. Thanks for sharing your lovely walk experiences.
Yes Moni, those lighthouse walks were always an inspiration and a healing.
I enjoyed this, you doing exercise in your way without outer influences being allowed to alter your pace and rhythm, I felt like I was taking the walk with you.
It is great when we can just keep to our own pace and honour what the body is telling us. The moment any kind of competition or comparison kicks in, we lose that connection.
Fab blog loved reading it, I too recently was with my family and we did a lot of climbing and walking and for the first time ever I was not in competition with them to keep up, to prove anything, I stopped when I needed to and rested, I was completely at ease with where my body was at and what it could do.
The awesome feeling of walking in conscious presence with oneself is one of pure connection with the divine . So much different from the forced marches of the past .
Monica I so get what your sharing here. I walk everyday and notice how I feel in my body is how I have been carrying myself in the day. The saying “taking one step at a time” says it all.
This blog is a great reflection for me, as I have just recently come to realise for myself that how by not wanting to show my weakness I will sometimes override how I am feeling to keep up and therefore I am going into comparison and competition, which is in total disregard of my body. It is so much more enjoyable when I simply just walk.
I get it Monica. Walking with presence in every step. I feel that 7 km walk is like a microcosm of your life. How you walk those steps is how you walk through life. Bringing quality of movement and presence to each step, to the lighthouse, throughout your day, and through life.
A great reminder Monika of how beneficial maintaining a connection to ourselves can be. Maintaining this connection, one step at a time, can be applied to all aspects of daily life, and ,as difficult as it may be, doing so without comparison to others.
Such a simple blog, about finding our own rhythms, and honouring our own rhythms, thank you Monika. It really is key to stay connected to us and keep feeling where we are at in each moment.
Such a beautiful reminder to really feel where i am at when exercising. I love how you explained, feeling into what was right for you, not pushing to keep up with your friend. This is something that is very easy to do, look outside of ourselves for validation, comparison, which only ever causes us to not feel where we are truly at. Thanks Monika, great blog.
‘My walk should be neither struggle, nor hardness or pushing, but a good feeling within my body; a feeling of inner strength, a foundation in my body.’
This sentence resonates with a significant point Natalie Benhayon was making yesterday at a presentation she gave for women. The gist was nurturing is not what we ‘do’ to nurture, but the quality we hold within as we go about what we do. So we can ‘do’ self-care but if it is missing the quality and depth of us in that then it is not evolving. It is lovely Monika to read your example of qualities you felt in your body on your light house walk.
One step at a time in your own rhythm feeling your feet connecting to the Earth and being aware of how your body feels; this is a great recipe for life.
I found the awarenesses you shared with us from your climb to the Lighthouse really helpful. Being with each step is important in all aspects of our life.
Thank you for sharing this Monika. So great to have the awareness to pull back from being drawn into another pace or rhythm of doing things. To stay connected to you and feel that this is true for your body. A Beautiful reminder thank you.
A great metaphor of how to live life, one step at a time and being honest about how our bodies feel. Thank you.
The best metaphors are grounded in truth, and the connection Monika describes to how her body feels, and stopping the head from thinking about being somewhere else are priceless. In my very mentally focussed job, I find regular exercise and staying with my body (rather than ignoring it) are key to my concentration, and also enjoying the job.
Repeating the same walk everyday can be such a valuable guide to how we are living our lives. It can also never be boring! I love walking along the lane near me every day, and as well as observing myself I am also aware of the nature around me that I am walking with and through, it all comes together. When I am freer in my body I notice more, and feel the joy of moving.
I agree with what you are describing here Monika, that our rhythm in life is so important to our wellbeing. And this rhythm comes from a connection and awareness with our body so we know when we are pushing or driving too hard and therefore losing the joy and the wonder and the magic.
A simple but very effective check in with our body, reveals much. What you have shared here works across the board and is beneficial to all, always.
Monika , when you say , “As I walked it felt like I was pushing to keep up with my friend, so I felt to allow my body to be my guide.” , it reminds me that even during the simple act of walking, one can be tempted to treat it as a competitive sport. How much better to simply connect to oneself and surroundings, and just enjoy the walk.
Thank you Monika for sharing how you have been developing a connecton with your body. It’s good to see that exercise can come in other forms; such as walking and that it is not just about getting the body physically fit or at a rate faster than our bodies can handle.
Yes Shevonsimon you have shared a valid point here. The body supports us more when it is strengthened but not when we loose connection with it.
Thanks for sharing, Monika – A great reminder that when we focus on ourselves, the outside world can’t interfere or influence and we naturally know what we can or can’t do.
Lovely blog Monika and thank you for reminding me that every step I take offers me connection to myself.
Monika, it’s great to read your blog and inspiring to read how you walk, ‘I don’t look ahead to the stairs I have to climb – I take one step a time. I look at my feet and to the ground and feel my entire body.’ Beautiful!
Monika I think that’s a great point you made about resisting the urge to catch up with your friend, so that you can stay in tune with your own rhythm. Where we live, everything is either up or down, (we’re quite close to the Alps), so people tend to fall into their rhythms straight away. Anyway, the lighthouse walk sounds lovely!
Thank you Monika for such a great article
Thank you Monika, I too find that a morning walk is a great way to start the day, a moment to be with myself, connect with my body as well as keeping my fitness levels up.
Thank you Monika for sharing your walking experience. The way you describe your walk feels as though you are honouring what your body wants to do and how, not trying to do someones else’s exercise. It is so easy whilst exercising with others to forget to listen to what our bodies are telling us and push through, only to find that we ache the next day or feel fatigued.
Thank you for sharing Monika – a foundation in the body is a perfect way to describe walking, which is why it is such a great thing to do to build a relationship with yourself and regularly going for walks. In my experience this is extremely supportive to do every day.
Monika, thank you, I will be taking myself off for a walk today!
“I noticed when I started with my friend, who is very fit and extremely strong in her body, that I was trying to catch up with her. She was always ahead of me and I felt I had to show no weakness: I took her as my measure for where I should be at in my body too.”
Awesome Monika to call this one. How easy it is to instantly put ourselves where another is and ignore where we are at in our own bodies and assume we are able to do what another is doing.
As you say, “one step at a time” and it is our step and not another’s so it is how that step feels in our body. I love how you come back to you and don’t look ahead, back to your body and your feet. Awesome.
Thank you for sharing.
Great comment, Beverley, that the next step is our step to make in connection to our body – and that’s all there is to it!
I agree Janet, great point to pick up on Beverley. It is so easy to compare and compete with others, trying to be something or somewhere we are not rather than simply being ourselves and perfectly content with who and where we are.
Thanks Monika, I will remember this next time I walk up to the lighthouse… no need to compare myself with anyone else, just take one step at a time.
It is great to hear someone talking about walking like this – that every step feels in connection with the body, and not done in that pushing and trying energy which carries a kind of punishing energy that numbs out all true feeling.
Thanks Monika for this lovely piece of writing.