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!

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Episode Transcript

Cheryl Fischer (00:00):
Here in the US we are in August, which means
summer, which means there's alight at the end of the tunnel
about weather and heat, andmaybe sometime soon it will
actually be pleasant to go for awalk outside when it doesn't
have to be first thing in themorning or late at night.

(00:21):
I look forward to fall all thetime, but let's focus on the
walk.
You have asked me questionsover and over about walking,
about meditation.
You have loved and listened tomy recent walking episode many
times, so let's put thattogether and you get to use this
right now.
Welcome to Mind your Midlife,your go-to resource for

(00:46):
confidence and success.
One thought at a time.
Unlike most advice out there,we believe that simply telling
you to believe in yourself orchange your habits isn't enough
to wake up excited about life orfeel truly confident in your
body.
Each week, you'll gainactionable strategies and oh my

(01:06):
goodness powerful insights tostop feeling stuck and start
loving your midlife.
This is the Mind your MidlifePodcast.
Today we are going to look atthe power of meditation, but not
the kind where you have to sit,still, close your eyes, hum,

(01:30):
any of those things.
Those are great, but todaywe're going to dive into walking
meditation and you might bekind of thinking to yourself
meditating while walking, howdoes that work?
I can't close my eyes while I'mwalking.
Correct, don't close your eyes.
We don't want you walking intothe lamppost.

(01:52):
But meditation is aboutbringing your attention fully
into the present, present, and areally smart and simple way to
do that is to notice what'sgoing on inside and around you,

(02:13):
and you can do that while you'removing.
So that's your breath, yourbody, your surroundings, and
this is without judgment,without critique, simply just
noticing, without critique,simply just noticing.
And so a walking meditationmeans doing that while you walk.
It's actually a fantastic wayto combine movement and

(02:34):
mindfulness.
So you know from manydiscussions on this podcast that
one of the key things to beinghealthy at this stage of life
well, let's be honest, any stageof life but at this stage of
life and also being in a goodmood and feeling good is

(02:54):
movement.
I am not perfect at this.
There are some days when Idon't leave my house because I
work from home.
Maybe I don't need to goanywhere and I'm really trying
to break that habit that I'malways at least going out for a
walk and sometimes I just domaybe a Zumba, workout or yoga

(03:15):
at home, which is also movement.
Of course, it's alsointerestingly easier to calm
your mind oftentimes when yourbody is moving.
So, putting aside the healthaspects of movement, you might
have an easier time calming yourmind.
And we've also talked about allthe stressful things that can

(03:37):
be going on during this periodof life, with parents, with kids
, with retirement, with bodychanges, just everything.
So a walking meditation isinviting you to slow down, as I
always say at the end of theepisode, connect with your body

(03:58):
and bring your awareness to thesmall things that are happening
right now the feel of your feetas they rhythmically hit the
ground, the rhythm of yourbreath, the sounds around you,
the smells, what you see, thecolors.

(04:20):
And research actually has shownthat a walking meditation, like
we're going to do today, canreduce stress, can reduce
anxiety, can improve mood, caneven boost creativity, which I
think is kind of intriguing.
You're probably going to getsome ideas.

(04:41):
Plus, you are taking care ofyour brain and your body, your
physical and mental well-beingall at once.
So, wherever you are, you mightbe walking out in nature,
hiking along a trail, you mightbe walking around your
neighborhood, in in the city ormore suburbs, you might be

(05:06):
simply just pacing around youryard or your house Any of those
things.
As you're moving your body, youcan try this meditation.
What I want you to do right nowis make sure that you are in a
safe and comfortable space towalk.
If you're listening to thiswhile you're driving, for
example, please feel free tokeep listening.

(05:28):
If you can do it safely and atthe same time, everybody.
Make sure in your podcast appthat you click the plus or the
bookmark and save this episodeso that you can easily you have
it in your episode, you caneasily go back to it and you can

(05:49):
use it anytime.
As long as you're in a safeplace, even if you're not
walking, you can go ahead andlisten.
We're going to do a 10 minuteguided walking meditation and,
if you can again, if it's safeto do so, if you're in a
comfortable place to do so,silence the notifications on

(06:10):
your phone or whatever deviceyou're listening on, so that you
can be fully present withyourself during this time.
I'm going to walk you throughthe 10 minutes.
Ready, we're going to take thistime to slow down, to breathe
and to walk into calm together.
Okay, we're going to start bybringing our attention inward.

(06:39):
So you're walking.
Walk naturally, slowly, acomfortable pace.
Feel your feet lifting up andtouching the ground.
Lifting up, touching the ground.
Take a deep breath in throughyour nose and gently exhale

(07:05):
through your mouth.
Notice the rhythm of yourbreath as you're walking.
Inhale through the nose, exhalethrough the mouth.
Allow your shoulders to softenand allow your gaze to be gentle

(07:28):
, maybe relax your eyes.
You might be looking slightlydownward or straight ahead,
whatever feels most comfortablefor you.
Now you want to be aware of yourbody moving.
Continue feeling the soles ofyour feet connecting with the

(07:51):
earth.
Probably your heel is touchingdown first, then the ball of
your foot and finally your toes.
Notice how your weight shiftsas you move from one foot to the
other.
Your left foot touches down,your right foot touches down.

(08:22):
Your weight shifts a little bitback and forth.
Feel your legs and your hips.
They're supporting you withevery step you take.
Take your attention to your legs.
Feel the muscles contractingand expanding or contracting and

(08:44):
relaxing.
Observe how your arms move.
Are they swinging naturally atyour sides?
Are they staying more still?
Either way, allow them to feelloose.
Relax any muscles that might betightened If you notice still

(09:10):
some tension in your shouldersor maybe your neck.
See if you can soften it everytime you exhale.
We're still inhaling andexhaling.
How about tension in your jaw?

(09:36):
See if you can loosen it,soften it with each exhale.
Now you're going to begin tolink your breath with your steps
, so you might try it this wayInhale over three steps.
You're counting one, countingone, two, three in your head as
you inhale.
One big inhale.
Exhale over four steps left,right, left, right.

(10:04):
Keep this steady andcomfortable for you.
So you're inhaling left, right,left.
You're exhaling right, left,right, left, if it feels natural

(10:25):
.
Continue breathing this way,letting your breath and your
steps create a rhythm together.
Continue counting 1, 2, 3 asyou inhale.
1, 2, three, four as you exhale.

(10:51):
Feel your feet touching theground with each step, probably
starting with heel, then ball ofyour foot, then toes, and feel
your breath as you inhale andexhale.

(11:15):
Now let's bring our attention toeverything around us.
Notice the sounds around you.
Are there birds singing,locusts making noises?
Is there wind that's causingsounds of leaves rustling in the

(11:39):
trees?
Are there people?
Are there other footsteps thatyou can hear?
Are there voices in thebackground?
Can you hear your footsteps onthe ground.
Notice the sounds.
Feel with your skin what'sgoing on around you.

(12:03):
Do you feel the air blowing onyou?
What's going on around you?
Do you feel the air blowing onyou?
Maybe it's cool, maybe it'swarm, maybe it's just soft as
you walk in a gentle manner.
Maybe there's a wind and you'rereally feeling it blow against
your skin.
Notice any scents or smells thatcome to you depending on where

(12:28):
you're walking.
That could be something fromnature, it could be something
that you smell that would tastegood.
Notice these things withoutgiving them a label good or bad,
happy or sad.
Just notice the sounds, thefeel, the smells, just as they

(12:54):
are.
If your mind starts driftingoff, return your focus to your
breath, your steps and yoursenses.
What do you hear?
What do you feel?
What do you smell as youcontinue walking?

(13:19):
Bring your attention to thepresent moment even more, right
here, right now.
If it helps you keep up thecounting that, rhythmically, is
connecting your breath and yoursteps.
If other thoughts come in, notrelated to this meditation, let

(13:42):
them float by like clouds andbring yourself back to your
walking and your breathing.
Bring yourself back to maybecounting, or even left right,
left right.
Those thoughts are okay.

(14:04):
It's the bringing ourselvesback, that is the power of what
we're doing.
You can even repeat a simpleaffirmation with each step, or
with each breath, if you'd likeI am here, I am steady, peace.
With every step, choose a wordthat feels right for you or

(14:28):
simply repeat I am, I am Now.
With each step, think ofsomething you're grateful for.
It might be a person, it mightbe a moment, might be your
health or how something feels,or it might be something as

(14:51):
simple as the breath you'retaking right now.
Let gratitude fill your heartas you walk.
You might be thinking of onething.
You might be thinking of fiveor 10 things.
You might be thinking of onething, you might be thinking of

(15:34):
five or 10 things.
Feel the gratitude as you walk,that happiness, that joy, that
feeling of how did I luck out tohave this person, this moment,
the breath I'm taking right now,this beautiful day, the time to
take this walk.
Let that gratitude really sinkin.
Feel so happy and grateful andgrateful.
Now, as we reach towards theend of 10 minutes, begin to slow

(15:55):
your pace gently and take adeep breath in and then fully
exhale, maybe another one.
Feel your stomach, yourdiaphragm expand out when you
take that deep breath in andthen pull back in when you

(16:15):
exhale through your mouth.
Feel the calm, feel thesteadiness that you've created
by taking this walk and keepingyourself in the present, and
carry this peaceful, gratefulenergy with you as you move

(16:39):
through the rest of your day.
Thank you for walking with metoday.
I hope you enjoyed that.
Make sure that you've saved thisepisode in your podcast app so
that you can come back and dothis again.
Do this as often as you wouldlike.

(17:00):
You will get benefits everytime.
If you're listening in Apple,tap the three dots and click
save your episode.
If you're listening in Spotify,tap the plus sign and it will
add this to your episodes in theapp.
If you are curious about moremeditations and more tapping

(17:21):
practices that you can do,fitting into your busy day, that
will help you feel good, feelgrateful, bring yourself back to
the present.
Make sure you have joined us inthe collective in Patreon.
Go to patreoncom.

(17:42):
Slash mind your midlife.
Choose the right option for you.
Join us and I can't wait to seeyou there and provide more
resources that will make yourday amazing.