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A runner on a seafront path under palm trees at sunrise

Move · 10 min

A ten-minute walkwith one rule

Ten minutes out of the door and back, and the only rule is that you do not hurry.

10 minutesFrom the library, free to readFour steps
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Most of the walking in a busy life is rushing: to the car, to the pharmacy, back before someone needs you. This walk is the opposite. It is short on purpose, and it has one rule. You are not allowed to hurry.

The steps

Four small steps,in your own time.

  1. Set a timer for five minutes and walk out of the door in any direction.

  2. Walk a little slower than feels normal. If you notice yourself speeding up, slow down again. That is the whole rule.

  3. When the timer goes, turn around and walk back at the same easy pace.

  4. Before you go back inside, stand still for three breaths and notice how your feet feel on the ground.

The reason

Why it helps

Hurrying keeps the body in the same tight gear as the rest of the day: shoulders up, breath short, eyes on the next thing. Walking slowly on purpose lets the breath settle into the pace and gives your attention room to wander, which is often when a stuck thought comes loose. Ten minutes is short enough to say yes to on a bad day, and a short walk done most days is worth more than a long one that never happens.

A gentle variation

If you cannot leave the house, walk slowly from one end of the hall or the garden to the other for ten minutes. If ten minutes is too much today, do five. Slow still counts.

Friends resting after a game, the sea behind them

WE · TRIBE

Try itwith someone.

Ask someone to walk with you under the same rule: neither of you may hurry. Side by side at a slow pace is an easy way to talk, or to be quiet together.

Make it a plan in HIVELIVE, with WE

Try it today

Today, walk out of the door for five minutes and back, a little slower than usual. If you catch yourself hurrying, slow down.

Add it to your day

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