Silent into Nature: Factors Enabling Improvement in a Mindful Walking Retreat in Nature of People with Psychological Symptoms

Factors that make a mindful walking retreat effective include encountering nature, negotiating obstacles, the walk's duration, and walking in silence. The retreat followed a largely unpaved route along a lowland river and estuary in the Netherlands, where participants made their own choices to find their way. Most participants had a history of depression. Interviews, along with diary and questionnaire data, were analyzed through iterative coding to identify these conducive factors. The findings can help design effective walking retreats and support offering mindful walking retreats as a regular part of mindfulness programs.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Complementary to a quantitative effect study, this paper reports on the factors enabling the effect of a mindful walking retreat following a largely unpaved route along a lowland river and estuary in the Netherlands, on which people make their own choices to find their way. Most participants had a depression background. Interviews, triangulated with diary and questionnaire data, were subjected to iterative coding. Several factors were identified as conducive to positive effect, such as encountering nature, negotiating obstacles, duration of the walk, and walking in silence. The results are helpful for the design of effective walking retreats and also underpin the option to develop mindful walking retreats as a regular element in the mindfulness portfolio. Key Words: Walking—Mindfulness—Depression—Nature—Wilderness experience.