Sensory mindful walks through urban and wild spaces in East London

Rediscover the city, green spaces, walking, and mindfulness with bright, new eyes - as if for the very first time, awaken your senses, and cultivate a profound sense of presence amidst the ebb and flow of urban life. Immerse yourself in a deep mindful journey that will shift your perception of East London's urban and natural environments. 

Through guided mindfulness practices, you'll learn to engage with the wholeness of your body and all its senses and not just with your eyes. We will cultivate heightened awareness as a way to reveal the intricate tapestry of urban and natural elements that often go unnoticed in our daily lives. Observe the vibrant colours and shapes that surround you, from sleek skyscrapers to delicate leaves. Tune in to the layers of sound—rustling trees, birdsong, and the hum of city life blending into a unique rhythm. Feel the textures beneath your hands: rough bark, smooth stones, and cool metal. Inhale the delicious smell of freshly baked goods mixed with city air, and savour the moment with small, mindful tastes of wild plants that grow in the local environment. 

As your guide, I will help you cultivate a state of present-moment awareness that bridges the perceived gap between self, city, and nature. Together, we'll explore how urban and natural environments harmoniously and disharmoniously coexist, challenging preconceptions and opening new perspectives.

This unique experience offers:

• Slow, Silent Exploration: We'll move at a gentle pace and in silence, allowing each participant to easily slip into a state of mindfulness. Feel the rhythm of your steps and the subtle shifts in your body as we traverse different terrains.
• Heightened Sensory Awareness: Tune into the sights, sounds, smells, textures and even flavour of your environment: the cool touch of a stone wall, the earthy scent of damp soil, the juxtaposition of natural and man-made sounds, the taste of mugwort growing on the canal path.
• Body-Environment Connection: Discover how your body responds to different surroundings. Feel the change in your breath as we move from a busy street to a quiet park, or how your posture shifts as we go down a steep hill.
• Mindfulness in Motion: Learn how to maintain a state of mindfulness while in motion, engaging in a subtle dialogue with your immediate environment. Let this walk be a natural extension of seated meditation practices.
• Present Moment Awareness: Leave behind the noise of daily life and immerse yourself fully in the here and now. Experience London with fresh eyes and a calm mind.
• Nature in an urban context: Witness the fascinating interplay between London's bustling cityscape and its pockets of tranquil nature. Explore the ecology of nature in an urban context and how these seemingly disparate elements can coexist and influence each other.

This walk offers a space to pause, reflect, and reawaken your relationship with the natural world embedded within the city’s pulse. Whether you are a seasoned mindful and/or movement practitioner or new to such practices, this experience promises a deepened connection to the world around you, where every step becomes a meditation on the beauty of the everyday. Something you can take away and practise in any environment you find yourself in.

Absolutely no experience necessary. The requirements are a willingness to let go of your worries, to slow down and to be more mindful of your body and the environment around you.

Concessions

Two low-income tickets available at £12 per session. Email me directly if you need them. 

Time length of the walk

The walk will last between 1 hour 30 minutes and 2 hours, depending on the rhythm and needs of the group. Since we are working with mindfulness, the focus is on the process, allowing each participant to connect deeply with their surroundings without feeling rushed. We will honour the flow of the walk, adjusting our pace as needed, ensuring that the experience is spacious and unhurried, rather than bound by a strict timeframe.

What to wear and bring 

Make sure to wear warm clothing as we will walk slowly and spend time being still at times, especially when in the woods.

Bring waterproofs in case it rains (don't bring an umbrella as you want to have your hands free to touch things), a water bottle and snacks. Ideally wear shoes which don’t have thick soles so that you can feel the ground underneath. 

In the summer, if it's hot weather, bring  a hat and sun cream. 

Meeting point 

Benches next to the bicycle racks opposite Hackney Wick Station

Accessibility 

Any body is welcome! If you have low mobility or accessibility requirements, please get in touch with me so that we can work out together how to adapt the walk to your needs.

Possible benefits 

Stress Relief and Mindfulness: Experience the calming and stress-relieving effects of mindful movement and nature connection, even within an urban context.

Deeper Connection with Nature: Even in an urban setting, this walk helps foster a stronger bond with the natural world, promoting a sense of groundedness and environmental awareness.

Improved Body Awareness: The mindful attention to your body during the walk can lead to better understanding and awareness of your body, what it needs, and how the environment impacts how we move and feel in our bodies.  

Increased Creativity: The unique perspective gained from this walk often sparks creativity and fresh ideas, as you see your familiar environment through new eyes.

Challenging the Urban-Nature Divide: Question the romantic notion that separates city and nature as incompatible entities. Discover how urban and natural elements are deeply interconnected, coexisting in ways that challenge our preconceptions.

Your guide

Claire is a movement artist, intuitive herbalist and anthropologist with a deep-rooted passion for re-wilding the body and senses through movement. Her work challenges the urban-nature divide, exploring the delicate interplay between human beings, their environments, and the sensorial world. She is the author of “How to Be Feral: Movement Practices to Re-Wild Your Body”, a practice-based exploration into reconnecting with our wild selves through mindful, embodied action.

Her sensory mindful walks invite participants on a journey through East London’s urban and natural environments, where concrete and greenery coexist in both harmony and tension. These walks are a practice in awakening the senses to the often-overlooked nuances of the urban landscape, blending mindfulness, movement, and ecology. Drawing on her experience as a mentor at the School of Intuitive Herbalism and her seven years of ecological movement practice in Hackney Marshes, Claire leads these walks as an opportunity to re-engage with nature, reclaim wildness, and challenge conventional boundaries between city life and the natural world.

www.movingmeditation.co.uk

www.claireloussouarn.com

@howtobeferal