The Journey is the Destination
There are a few things that I really love: my family, nature, Pilates, reading, and walking. I love walking; I always have. I love the quiet, the fresh air, the birds, and the trees. I love that whether I’m overwhelmed or feeling under the weather, a walk always helps. So when I came across A Philosophy of Walking by Frederic Gros, I could not wait to read it. As expected, this book is full of gems. Little lines of beauty that perfectly encompass how I feel about walking and how walking makes me feel.
“The landscape is a set of tastes, colors, scents which the body absorbs.”
While I don’t agree with everything, like the idea that walks need to be very long, multi-day journeys, or that one should only walk with a maximum of four people, I really enjoyed the perspective of returning to nature. The idea is that, through walking, we can shed layers of ego and the consumerist ideals that have become so ingrained in us, finding ourselves more in tune with the rhythmic nature of the earth. What I didn't anticipate was how often I found myself relating these ideas to Pilates. While the philosophies of this book and Pilates are not identical, I found them to run parallel in many ways. A Philosophy of Walking encourages walking as a way to “awaken us from the human nightmare” of current society. At the same time, Joseph Pilates believed his exercises would earn people “well-merited success chained to everlasting happiness for you and yours.” The former is to free oneself from the confines of society; the latter is to become the healthiest version of oneself to navigate through the “confines” of society with pleasure and vigor.
The parallels are in the journey. The rhythm of fluid movement, the quiet that lets us forget the outside noise, movement awakening our many internal systems, the seemingly repetitive nature of both walking and Pilates. Neither walking nor Pilates has an end, a finish line where you no longer feel the need to continue. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The more you walk or practice Pilates, the more you are drawn to them. For me, walking is mandatory, non-negotiable. I need to feel the sun, breathe the fresh air, and hear the birds; practicing gratitude for the beauty surrounding me is how I set the tone for the day. Where walking draws me outside of myself, Pilates returns me to myself. Generating heat through movement, finding my breath, and concentrating solely on the movement at hand all ignite immense gratitude for all that I’m capable of.
On the surface, it is easy to see how both walking and Pilates could be considered boring or monotonous. There is no external entertainment, no conversation, and no tangible gift at the end. It is only you, your body and mind, and the movement. What I find so interesting, though, is that while they seem so rudimentary on the surface, there is so much to be discovered along the way, on the journey. On a walk, you may discover a plant, animal, or insect that is new to you. You may come up with a novel idea, find yourself reflecting on life, or enjoy daydreaming. Doing Pilates, you may discover a new movement pattern, experience a deeper mind-body connection, or notice that an exercise feels easier and freer than it did just days before. Gros explains that repetition and rhythm prevent boredom. Boredom, he says, is the agitation of a stationary body, and walking will activate and ignite body and mind. Joe agrees, saying Pilates is not “dull, boring, abhorred exercises,” but that with deep concentration, dormant brain cells are reawakened, and new brain activity is stimulated. The difference is that in walking, the mind is meant to wander, getting lost in the flow of the movement and the surrounding beauty. Whereas in Pilates, the mind is meant to be fully concentrated on the movement at hand, not deviating for even a moment.
I love is that both bring you into the present moment. They feed our senses, stimulate our mind, and leave us with a feeling of satisfied pleasure. Neither requires purchase of extra equipment or clothing (remember, Pilates mat work requires nothing more than yourself), special skill, or an exceptional amount of time (remember, I disagree with Gros that walks must be long). With very little time, in fact, both will greatly improve your day, your mood, and your life. What they have most in common is that they strip away the noise. They bring us back to the simplicity of life and how amazing it feels to be in harmony with nature.
Gros says of walking, “It is very like continuous breathing in of energy… through the coincidence of circulations: walking is movement, the heart beats more strongly, with a more ample beat, the blood circulates faster and more powerfully… And the earth’s rhythms draw that along; they echo and respond to each other.” This is Pilates. This is why Joe loved long walks and doing his exercises outdoors. Both Gros and Pilates believed that by returning to our animalistic, natural tendencies, we become our happiest, healthiest, most present selves. Grateful, graceful, and gentler to ourselves and this beautiful planet we share.
