Walking and Wellness
Spending time in nature and going for regular walks is so good for our health. This week we joined together with mental health and wellness professionals in “A Conversation on Walking Mindfully,” where we discussed the benefits of walk and talk therapy and the overall therapeutic effects of walking in nature. Here’s a recap of the conversation! Let us know how you’re walking mindfully using the hashtag #WalkWellArl.
Click on the image below to listen to our curated Walking Mindfully playlist below.
ABOUT THE CONVERSATION
What We Discussed
- The mental health benefits of walking and time in nature
- How walking can help us cope with our everyday struggles and challenges
- Mindful walking: What is it and how do we practice it?
What We Learned
- Strategies and techniques for walking mindfully
- How to walk mindfully through a virtually led, 10-minute mindful walk
Read more about the conversation here.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Colleen Avis (pronouns: she/her/hers) is an Ayurveda and yoga wellness coach and co-founder of WalkWith, who works with clients to find balance in their lives through nourishment, movement, mindfulness, and time in nature. She often meets her clients in nature for meditative walks and yoga. Chopra Center-certified in Ayurveda and meditation, and a Yoga Medicine certificate yoga teacher, Avis combines these skills to create offerings that meet her clients’ unique needs, meeting them where they are.
Gretchen Robbins (pronouns: she/her/hers) is a health and wellness coach and co-founder of WalkWith, who offers her clients walking and coaching sessions, culinary coaching, and healthy cooking classes. Robbins has a master’s degree in Health and Wellness Coaching from the Maryland University of Integrative Health. She uses accountability, goal setting, and coaching techniques to help her clients achieve the balance that works best for their unique situations.
Jennifer Udler , LCSW-C (pronouns: she/her/hers) is a licensed clinical social worker who leads the team at Positive Strides, a unique psychotherapy practice where therapists walk and talk outdoors to physically and emotionally move a client toward their therapeutic goals. Udler specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, mindfulness, and supportive counseling.
Nicole Armstead-Williams (pronouns: she/her/hers) is a clinical social worker/therapist (MSW, LICSW) who provides individual therapy and therapeutic forest bathing experiences to survivors of trauma/loss/grief, acute and chronic stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness. She holds awareness of unique issues of mental health and intersectionality, focusing primarily on racial identity/issues impacting black people, indigenous people, and people of color, women’s issues, and LGBTQIA+ issues. Armstead-Williams is the founder of Prolific Harvest, a mission-driven private practice that honors the power of narrative and nature as growth toward trauma repair. She infuses walk-and-talk therapy with sensorimotor approaches, mindfulness-based stress reduction practices, and creative writing journal prompts to support clients in their healing journey.
