What Is Walking Yoga? Learn How to Try It Yourself

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Simple yoga poses you can do while walking
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Walking yoga blends low-impact walking with mindfulness, awareness of your breath and posture, and gentle stretching, including yoga poses—it’s a combination of physical exercise, stress reduction, and meditation all in one. Keep reading for clear instructions on how to do walking yoga , from your first step to your last stretch, plus info on the benefits and how to create a workout plan. We also spoke to yoga and wellness experts so you can get the most out of your practice.

Walking Yoga: Quick Tips

Yoga teacher Sandy Walters recommends doing stretches before walking yoga to prepare, including knees-to-chest pose, child’s pose, and mountain pose. Then, to start yoga walking:

  1. Take a deep breath before making your first step.
  2. Be present in the moment and feel the earth under your feet with each step.
  3. Rotate your shoulders and spine as you walk.
  4. Pause occasionally and do a brief standing yoga pose.
  5. Aim to walk for 30 minutes, starting at a fast pace and ending slowly.
Section 1 of 2:

How to Do Yoga While Walking

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  1. 1
    Align your inhales and exhales with each step you take. Be mindful of your breath while walking, like you would be during a regular yoga session. [1]
    • Wear comfortable clothing and footwear to go yoga walking.

    Meet the wikiHow Experts

    Sandy Walters is a yoga teacher, educator, and health and wellness guide with over 22 years of practicing yoga and over 5,000 hours of teaching experience.

    Alexandra Janelli is an anxiety & stress management coach who specializes in helping clients push through their roadblocks to achieve their goals.

    Jessica Elliott, ACC, CEC , is a wellness coach who provides consulting for professionals, teams, and organizations.

  2. 2
    Do some yoga poses at various intervals along your walk. Part of yoga walking often involves pausing at times to perform a yoga pose (or a few). Start by adding 1 or 2 poses to your walk. As you get more experience, work your way up to a higher number, like 5-7. Incorporating yoga poses into your walk can help with your flexibility and relax your mind.
    • Shoulder and spine rotations: Rotate your shoulders and your spine. Do this to remove any tension in your shoulders and your neck. Gently turn your spine to the right and then to the left several times. Turn your head along with your body.
    • Side body stretch: Extend your arms above your head and touch your palms together. As you walk, reach over to one side, then the other.
    • Standing spinal twist: Standing with your feet hip-width apart, extend your arms parallel to the floor while twisting your torso to one side at waist level. Repeat on the other side.
    • High crescent lunge: While standing with both feet firmly on the ground, lunge one leg forward and extend the other back. While in the low lunge, lift your torso upright, bring your arms overhead, and focus on engaging your core and back leg. Repeat on the other side.
    • Eagle pose using arms: Lift your elbows to shoulder height while touching your palms together. Shift your elbows so one wraps around the other (the corresponding palm is higher as well). Hold for a few seconds and switch your arms to the other side.
    • Standing forward bend: While standing still, hinge forward at the hips to fold your torso. Allow your arms to hang down (or touch the ground if you’re flexible enough).
    • Wide-legged forward fold: Standing with your legs wider than hip-width apart, place your hands on your hips, and fold forward while extending your spine. Your hands can rest on your shins or the ground.
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  3. Do this by consciously feeling the earth beneath your feet. Think the word "earth" while focusing your attention on the soles of your feet. [2]
    • Walters notes that walking yoga “is a very slow, intentional, mindful, meditative walk. Stay aware of how your feet land, along with the vibration of your foot, how it carries throughout the body, to connect to the earth and the breath. You're just letting the body move naturally.” [3]
  4. 4
    Practice mindfulness and visualization as you walk. Allow yourself to feel negative emotions like anger or sadness, and then do your best to let them go. Focus on a healing color, meditate on a set of numbers, or send out positive vibes to those you care about. Allow these visualizations and yoga meditative practices to help you clear your mind completely. Here are some more specific examples:
    • Release anger by stomping on the ground while you walk.
    • Feel any sadness you’re experiencing and cope with it by walking it off with each step.
    • Perform a mantra while concentrating on a healing color or light; allow it to move down through your body.
    • To relieve tension, imagine the numbers 1 to 20 in your head, chest, abdomen, legs, and feet; energetically send them into the ground (beneath the feet).
    • Send someone positive thoughts that feel as if they’re bathed in light.
    • For 5 minutes during your walk, consciously move all the stress out of you, until your mind becomes calm.
  5. Go whichever way you want to. Enjoy your time out in nature, with the knowledge that you’re doing something good for your body, mind, and spirit. Keep your thoughts focused on the positive.
    • According to anxiety and stress management coach Alexandra Janelli, walking in a natural, peaceful environment “gets you into a different headspace.” [4] You’re better able to focus within, instead of being overly alert to outside stressors in your daily life.
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Section 2 of 2:

Benefits of Walking Yoga

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  1. 1
    Improved physical fitness The combination of walking and yoga provides good low-impact exercise you can perform outdoors. Walking helps with cardiovascular health and strengthens your lower body, while additional yoga poses can improve flexibility and balance. Plus, movement, stretching, and deep breathing assist in lubricating your joints and reducing inflammation, which can lead to better joint health. [5]
    • Weight loss: Yoga walking can contribute to weight loss through cardio exercise that increases your heart rate and burns calories, along with building muscle through yoga poses. The mindfulness you gain through walking yoga can also help you eat more mindfully. [6]
  2. 2
    Improved mental health Walking and doing yoga poses together can help you clear your mind, focus better, and possibly improve cognitive function. This can also affect your memory and mood throughout the day. Because you perform yoga walking outdoors, you’ll experience even more benefits from this combination of exercises. [7]
    • When your mind is clear and your memory and mood improve, it’s very possible to feel a boost in your creativity, too.
  3. 3
    Stress reduction Taking a walk in nature and practicing yoga daily can both help reduce stress and tension. Combining the two is a powerful way to get the benefits of both in your regular workout routine. Mindful walking can make it easier to focus on your breathing, your surroundings, and how you’re feeling, only to leave you feeling more centered in yourself. [8]
    • Wellness coach Jessica Elliott, ACC, CEC, says that “Meditation, exercise, and getting outside in nature mean breathing in fresh air, which calms the nervous system. Combat stress by adding walking into your daily outside visits; it can enhance your problem-solving skills and create a calmer mind." [9]
  4. 4
    Better sleep The pairing of physical activity (walking) with yoga and mindfulness techniques can aid in regulating your nervous system, which can lead to a better night’s sleep. It also helps reduce cortisol levels, while increasing the levels of melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland that promotes sleep. [10]
    • Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands that can disrupt the sleep cycle.
    • Try walking yoga in the evening, a few hours before bedtime, to calm your mind and relax your body.
  5. 5
    Connecting with nature (and community) It’s no secret that spending time in nature can reduce anxiety and promote a positive mood. What better way to get in a workout than to do so outdoors? Yoga walking alone can allow you to focus within yourself, while doing it as a group also has benefits, including opportunities for social connection. [11]
    • Decide which approach better suits your needs before starting, but don’t be afraid to mix things up and/or try something new. For instance, if you always do yoga walking alone, try doing it in a group once a week to see how it feels.
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      Expert Interview

      Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about mental health and wellness, check out our in-depth interview with Allison Broennimann, PhD .

      • [12]
      • [13]

      References

      1. ↑ https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/workouts/walking-yoga-benefits/976139
      2. ↑ https://www.missionhealth.org/healthy-living/blog/what-is-grounding-and-is-it-really-good-for-you
      3. ↑ Sandy Walters. Yoga Teacher. Expert Interview
      4. ↑ Alexandra Janelli. Anxiety and Stress Management Coach. Expert Interview
      5. ↑ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3193654/
      6. ↑ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4051462/
      7. ↑ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3193654/
      8. ↑ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3193654/
      9. ↑ Jessica Elliott, ACC, CEC. Wellness Coach. Expert Interview
      1. ↑ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3193654/
      2. ↑ https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/3-ways-getting-outside-into-nature-helps-improve-your-health/2023/05
      3. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga
      4. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking

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