‘I Tried Social Media’s Viral Color Walk Trend and Felt Like a Little Kid Again’
The “coloration stroll” is without doubt one of the newest strolling and mindfulness tendencies. Whereas it began gaining traction on TikTok in 2021, it is nonetheless round in full pressure and has even lately unfold to Instagram.
Seeing all the movies on-line these days impressed me to offer it a attempt—and I’ll take any excuse to get shifting and get outdoors, particularly within the winter once I want that further motivation.
Wish to give a coloration stroll a attempt your self? Preserve scrolling to be taught extra about what it’s, its advantages, and the right way to do it. You will be glad you probably did.
What’s a coloration stroll?
The colour stroll is a type of strolling meditation, the place you decide a coloration proper firstly of your stroll and spot that coloration in your setting throughout your stroll. For instance, in case your coloration is yellow, you may discover a yellow yield signal on the highway, some daffodils in your neighbor’s yard, or a stranger’s sweater. The duty lets you take note of your environment and push you to be current within the second.
“This is without doubt one of the first TikTok tendencies I can get behind—it makes good sense,” says Supatra Tovar, PsyD, a scientific psychologist and proprietor of Dr. Supatra Tovar & Associates. “What it really does, which is gorgeous, is preserve your thoughts fully on the current second.”
The advantages of doing a coloration stroll
However what’s the advantage of doing this model of a strolling meditation, as an alternative of sitting within the consolation of your individual residence doing a web based meditation? Dr. Tovar says the profit is within the motion. “After we transfer our our bodies, particularly after we’re doing it in a stress-free sort of means, we’re releasing endorphins,” she says. “It’s also possible to get that from sitting or mendacity down and doing meditation, however there’s the additional profit to utilizing your muscle groups as properly.”
And we definitely need these endorphins—aka feel-good chemical substances that make us really feel relaxed—so why not get a while outdoors whereas doing it? Particularly in these darker, and colder months, it’s vital to go outdoors and get some vitamin D—getting your physique shifting is an added perk.
“What it really does, which is gorgeous, is preserve your thoughts fully on the current second.” —Supatra Tovar, PsyD
Bridget Campbell, a way of life and wellness content material creator, helped popularize the pattern by documenting her coloration walks on TikTok. Campbell has been sharing her journey doing coloration walks on her social media pages to encourage others to take the time to attempt the train and encourage others to observe mindfulness.
“Whereas it’s an aesthetically pleasing and enjoyable train, I additionally actually felt my physique bodily calming down and with the ability to absolutely be within the current second,” Campbell says. “I felt so grounded, so I needed to share it with my followers and have had such an exquisite response from individuals making an attempt it themselves.”
How one can do a coloration stroll—and my very own expertise giving it a attempt
As somebody who has tried many types of mindfulness and meditation, I at all times discovered myself having problem with how stagnant it could really feel sitting on my sofa with my eyes closed. On my first day of doing a coloration stroll, I selected the colour pink and thought it could be a little bit of a problem—simply what number of occasions in nature may I really discover the colour pink? Seems, it’s much more prevalent than one would assume. I discovered myself actually taking the time to look within the bushes, the main points in my neighborhood, and the vehicles passing by.
Whereas my observe wasn’t fully seamless, I felt current within the second and observed I used to be feeling extra relaxed in my physique—my shoulders weren’t tense, my jaw wasn’t locked, and I used to be shifting at a slower tempo. I even bought to spend half-hour of my day being lively and shifting my physique. Plus, the world is a lot extra colourful than we’d assume, even for those who reside in a metropolis.
“Whereas it’s an aesthetically pleasing and enjoyable train, I additionally actually felt my physique bodily calming down.” —Bridget Campbell, content material creator
The subsequent few occasions I did a coloration stroll, I selected new colours and located myself excited to attempt totally different ones. Even whereas I used to be strolling to my native espresso store, I picked out the colour blue on my means, with out having the preliminary intention of doing a coloration stroll. It jogged my memory of once I was a child and would play “I Spy” with my siblings. I spy one thing yellow… is the unique mindfulness exercise the place I’d take the time to note every part within the setting and really concentrate on that job.
There are different variations on this mindfulness exercise—you may spend your stroll noticing small acts of kindness for those who reside in a busy metropolis, as an example. Dr. Tovar even says she practices an analogous train on her day by day commute, talking the issues she notices out loud on her drive. As somebody who has struggled up to now with meditation and staying absolutely current, this was a enjoyable technique to implement mindfulness in a brand new means.
For those who’re combating a coloration stroll, Dr. Tovar suggests beginning small. “Set your look ahead to one minute, only one minute, and as you’re strolling, all you’re doing for that one minute is selecting out that coloration,” she says. “That will get you into the observe. Let that be sufficient.” And it’s vital that you just praise your self for doing it as a result of that constructive reinforcement is significant to adopting new behaviors.
So, for those who want a break from the vacation antics or need to add mindfulness to your New 12 months’s resolutions, attempt a coloration stroll. I extremely advocate this to mindfulness novices—you may even consider it as a sport of “I Spy.”
