Aug. 15, 2025
10-Minute Walking Meditation for Midlife Women to Calm Your Mind and Lift Your Mood (Ep. 43)
Ever feel like your brain just won’t stop racing? Imagine getting your steps in and finding your calm—all in just ten minutes.
In this episode, I guide you through a simple but powerful walking meditation designed especially for midlife women. You’ll combine movement with mindfulness so you can release stress, clear your head, and boost your mood—without having to sit still or “do meditation perfectly.” Whether you’re walking in nature, around your neighborhood, or even pacing in your living room, this practice will help you feel grounded, present, and ready to take on your day.
TLDR: Start at 6:30 into the episode and jump right into the meditation.
BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL DISCOVER:
✔ How to link your breath with your steps to create instant calm
✔ A simple way to tune in to your senses and stay present
✔ Why walking meditation can reduce stress, boost mood, and even spark creativity
✔ How gratitude can transform your walk into a joyful, soul-filling ritual
🎯 OMG Moment: You don’t have to stop moving to find your calm—in fact, sometimes the easiest way to quiet your mind is to keep walking.
Take Action
Save this episode in your podcast app so you can come back to it anytime you need a quick mental reset. Next time you walk—whether it’s down the street or around the block—try this guided meditation and see how you feel afterward.
Make sure you've joined me in the Collective in Midlife Pivot on Patreon - more meditations and tapping exercises are coming your way this month.
Why This Episode Matters
Midlife can be full of stress, transitions, and constant to-do lists. A walking meditation is a simple, free, and accessible tool to bring more peace and presence into your day—no special equipment, gym membership, or fancy retreat required. Just you, your breath, and your steps.
🎧 Hit follow now and join me next week for more mindset tools to help you feel confident, centered, and energized in midlife.
Text me to ask a question - I'll answer on the podcast!
🌸 Liked this episode? Share it with fellow midlife women over 40 navigating hormone balance, an empty nest, and self-confidence!
🫶 Love this show? Leave a review to help more women over 50 find us.
💡Want support through menopause, mindset shifts, or midlife transitions?
Book a free Mindset Coaching / Intro Call: cherylpfischer.com/coaching, and join us in Midlife Pivot on Patreon.
Let’s talk self-care, self-talk, and owning your next chapter—without the “midlife crisis” narrative.
00:00 - Introduction to Walking Meditation
04:35 - Benefits of Combining Movement with Mindfulness
06:31 - Starting the 10-Minute Guided Meditation
16:45 - Closing Thoughts and Resources
WEBVTT
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Here in the US we are in August, which means summer, which means there's a light at the end of the tunnel about weather and heat, and maybe sometime soon it will actually be pleasant to go for a walk outside when it doesn't have to be first thing in the morning or late at night.
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I look forward to fall all the time, but let's focus on the walk.
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You have asked me questions over and over about walking, about meditation.
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You have loved and listened to my recent walking episode many times, so let's put that together and you get to use this right now.
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Welcome to Mind your Midlife, your go-to resource for confidence and success.
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One thought at a time.
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Unlike most advice out there, we believe that simply telling you to believe in yourself or change your habits isn't enough to wake up excited about life or feel truly confident in your body.
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Each week, you'll gain actionable strategies and oh my goodness powerful insights to stop feeling stuck and start loving your midlife.
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This is the Mind your Midlife Podcast.
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Today we are going to look at the power of meditation, but not the kind where you have to sit, still, close your eyes, hum, any of those things.
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Those are great, but today we're going to dive into walking meditation and you might be kind of thinking to yourself meditating while walking, how does that work?
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I can't close my eyes while I'm walking.
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Correct, don't close your eyes.
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We don't want you walking into the lamppost.
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But meditation is about bringing your attention fully into the present, present, and a really smart and simple way to do that is to notice what's going on inside and around you, and you can do that while you're moving.
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So that's your breath, your body, your surroundings, and this is without judgment, without critique, simply just noticing, without critique, simply just noticing.
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And so a walking meditation means doing that while you walk.
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It's actually a fantastic way to combine movement and mindfulness.
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So you know from many discussions on this podcast that one of the key things to being healthy at this stage of life well, let's be honest, any stage of life but at this stage of life and also being in a good mood and feeling good is movement.
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I am not perfect at this.
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There are some days when I don't leave my house because I work from home.
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Maybe I don't need to go anywhere and I'm really trying to break that habit that I'm always at least going out for a walk and sometimes I just do maybe a Zumba, workout or yoga at home, which is also movement.
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Of course, it's also interestingly easier to calm your mind oftentimes when your body is moving.
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So, putting aside the health aspects of movement, you might have an easier time calming your mind.
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And we've also talked about all the stressful things that can be going on during this period of life, with parents, with kids, with retirement, with body changes, just everything.
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So a walking meditation is inviting you to slow down, as I always say at the end of the episode, connect with your body and bring your awareness to the small things that are happening right now the feel of your feet as they rhythmically hit the ground, the rhythm of your breath, the sounds around you, the smells, what you see, the colors.
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And research actually has shown that a walking meditation, like we're going to do today, can reduce stress, can reduce anxiety, can improve mood, can even boost creativity, which I think is kind of intriguing.
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You're probably going to get some ideas.
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Plus, you are taking care of your brain and your body, your physical and mental well-being all at once.
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So, wherever you are, you might be walking out in nature, hiking along a trail, you might be walking around your neighborhood, in in the city or more suburbs, you might be simply just pacing around your yard or your house Any of those things.
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As you're moving your body, you can try this meditation.
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What I want you to do right now is make sure that you are in a safe and comfortable space to walk.
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If you're listening to this while you're driving, for example, please feel free to keep listening.
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If you can do it safely and at the same time, everybody.
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Make sure in your podcast app that you click the plus or the bookmark and save this episode so that you can easily you have it in your episode, you can easily go back to it and you can use it anytime.
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As long as you're in a safe place, even if you're not walking, you can go ahead and listen.
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We're going to do a 10 minute guided walking meditation and, if you can again, if it's safe to do so, if you're in a comfortable place to do so, silence the notifications on your phone or whatever device you're listening on, so that you can be fully present with yourself during this time.
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I'm going to walk you through the 10 minutes.
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Ready, we're going to take this time to slow down, to breathe and to walk into calm together.
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Okay, we're going to start by bringing our attention inward.
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So you're walking.
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Walk naturally, slowly, a comfortable pace.
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Feel your feet lifting up and touching the ground.
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Lifting up, touching the ground.
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Take a deep breath in through your nose and gently exhale through your mouth.
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Notice the rhythm of your breath as you're walking.
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Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth.
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Allow your shoulders to soften and allow your gaze to be gentle, maybe relax your eyes.
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You might be looking slightly downward or straight ahead, whatever feels most comfortable for you.
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Now you want to be aware of your body moving.
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Continue feeling the soles of your feet connecting with the earth.
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Probably your heel is touching down first, then the ball of your foot and finally your toes.
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Notice how your weight shifts as you move from one foot to the other.
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Your left foot touches down, your right foot touches down.
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Your weight shifts a little bit back and forth.
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Feel your legs and your hips.
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They're supporting you with every step you take.
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Take your attention to your legs.
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Feel the muscles contracting and expanding or contracting and relaxing.
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Observe how your arms move.
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Are they swinging naturally at your sides?
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Are they staying more still?
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Either way, allow them to feel loose.
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Relax any muscles that might be tightened If you notice still some tension in your shoulders or maybe your neck.
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See if you can soften it every time you exhale.
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We're still inhaling and exhaling.
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How about tension in your jaw?
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See if you can loosen it, soften it with each exhale.
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Now you're going to begin to link your breath with your steps, so you might try it this way Inhale over three steps.
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You're counting one, counting one, two, three in your head as you inhale.
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One big inhale.
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Exhale over four steps left, right, left, right.
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Keep this steady and comfortable for you.
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So you're inhaling left, right, left.
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You're exhaling right, left, right, left, if it feels natural.
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Continue breathing this way, letting your breath and your steps create a rhythm together.
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Continue counting 1, 2, 3 as you inhale.
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1, 2, three, four as you exhale.
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Feel your feet touching the ground with each step, probably starting with heel, then ball of your foot, then toes, and feel your breath as you inhale and exhale.
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Now let's bring our attention to everything around us.
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Notice the sounds around you.
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Are there birds singing, locusts making noises?
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Is there wind that's causing sounds of leaves rustling in the trees?
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Are there people?
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Are there other footsteps that you can hear?
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Are there voices in the background?
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Can you hear your footsteps on the ground.
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Notice the sounds.
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Feel with your skin what's going on around you.
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Do you feel the air blowing on you?
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What's going on around you?
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Do you feel the air blowing on you?
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Maybe it's cool, maybe it's warm, maybe it's just soft as you walk in a gentle manner.
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Maybe there's a wind and you're really feeling it blow against your skin.
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Notice any scents or smells that come to you depending on where you're walking.
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That could be something from nature, it could be something that you smell that would taste good.
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Notice these things without giving them a label good or bad, happy or sad.
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Just notice the sounds, the feel, the smells, just as they are.
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If your mind starts drifting off, return your focus to your breath, your steps and your senses.
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What do you hear?
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What do you feel?
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What do you smell as you continue walking?
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Bring your attention to the present moment even more, right here, right now.
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If it helps you keep up the counting that, rhythmically, is connecting your breath and your steps.
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If other thoughts come in, not related to this meditation, let them float by like clouds and bring yourself back to your walking and your breathing.
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Bring yourself back to maybe counting, or even left right, left right.
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Those thoughts are okay.
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It's the bringing ourselves back, that is the power of what we're doing.
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You can even repeat a simple affirmation with each step, or with each breath, if you'd like I am here, I am steady, peace.
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With every step, choose a word that feels right for you or simply repeat I am, I am Now.
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With each step, think of something you're grateful for.
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It might be a person, it might be a moment, might be your health or how something feels, or it might be something as simple as the breath you're taking right now.
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Let gratitude fill your heart as you walk.
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You might be thinking of one thing.
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You might be thinking of five or 10 things.
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You might be thinking of one thing, you might be thinking of five or 10 things.
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Feel the gratitude as you walk, that happiness, that joy, that feeling of how did I luck out to have this person, this moment, the breath I'm taking right now, this beautiful day, the time to take this walk.
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Let that gratitude really sink in.
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Feel so happy and grateful and grateful.
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Now, as we reach towards the end of 10 minutes, begin to slow your pace gently and take a deep breath in and then fully exhale, maybe another one.
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Feel your stomach, your diaphragm expand out when you take that deep breath in and then pull back in when you exhale through your mouth.
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Feel the calm, feel the steadiness that you've created by taking this walk and keeping yourself in the present, and carry this peaceful, grateful energy with you as you move through the rest of your day.
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Thank you for walking with me today.
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I hope you enjoyed that.
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Make sure that you've saved this episode in your podcast app so that you can come back and do this again.
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Do this as often as you would like.
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You will get benefits every time.
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If you're listening in Apple, tap the three dots and click save your episode.
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If you're listening in Spotify, tap the plus sign and it will add this to your episodes in the app.
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If you are curious about more meditations and more tapping practices that you can do, fitting into your busy day, that will help you feel good, feel grateful, bring yourself back to the present.
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Make sure you have joined us in the collective in Patreon.
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Go to patreoncom.
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Slash mind your midlife.
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Choose the right option for you.
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Join us and I can't wait to see you there and provide more resources that will make your day amazing.
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