Introducing Wise Walk: Growing Wiser while Moving More in 2024

Wise Walk is a new way to grow wiser and move more in 2024.

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Introducing “Wise Walk”: Growing Wiser while Moving More in 2024

The Spark

I recently updated this post about MEDS (Meditation, Exercise, Diet, Sleep), and it got me thinking…

Diet & Sleep:

I feel pretty good about my diet and sleep at the moment (quitting alcohol and caffeine, completely revamping my sleep to go to bed 3 hours earlier and wake up earlier, etc).

Meditation & Exercise: 

I feel less good about meditation and exercise. I know I need to be getting more steps each day. Many people have heard about aiming for 10,000 steps/day, but the book The Joy of Movement by Kelly McGonigal says:

“Other experiments in the U.S. and the UK have forced moderately active adults to become sedentary for a period of time, only to watch their well-being wither. Regular exercisers who replace physical activity with a sedentary activity for two weeks become more anxious, tired, and hostile. When adults are randomly assigned to reduce their daily step count, 88 percent become more depressed. Within one week of becoming more sedentary, they report a 31 percent decline in life satisfaction. The average daily step count required to induce feelings of anxiety and depression and decrease satisfaction with life is 5,649. The typical American takes 4,774 steps per day. Across the globe, the average is 4,961.”

Most days, I don’t think I hit 5,649 steps (sometimes it’s not even close). So, I want to consistently increase my daily step count next year. But, I also want to look forward to it—especially on those cold / dark / rainy / snowy days where I definitely don’t want to do it. So, I’m going to combine meditation + exercise in what I’m calling a daily “wise walk” (yes, I know this isn’t technically “meditation”—for true meditation, you could always add on some extra walking, or sitting when you get back home).

What is Wise Walk?

For 30 minutes/day for 366 days (2024 is a leap year), I’m going to listen to audio/video of a spiritual teacher while I’m walking.

How it works:

In a nutshell: I’ll curate 52 spiritual teachers (1 new teacher every week for 30 mins/day = 3.5 hours of teachings per teacher). It will be a sort of “spiritual sampler” to get a taste of a vast variety of teachings, and maybe you’ll even discover a new favorite teacher or two. I’ll build the suggested curriculum and source all the teachings from publicly available sources like YouTube, Spotify, etc. And, I’ll take timestamped screenshots of key teachings while walking and then transcribe/share takeaways when I get home. By joining, you get access to everything and participate in your own daily wise walks with me!

Sampling of spiritual teachers (final list TBD): Anthony de Mello, Bernadette Roberts, Michael Singer, Sharon Salzberg, Alan Watts, Joan Halifax, Thich Nhat Hanh, Joan Tollifson, Eckhart Tolle, Tara Brach, Adyashanti, Byron Katie, Ram Dass, Gangaji, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Pema Chodron, Swami Sarvapriyananda, Caroline Myss, Rupert Spira, Diane Musho Hamilton, Francis Lucille, Anandamayi Ma, Jean Klein, Cheri Huber, Ramana Maharshi, Mirra Alfassa, Sri Aurobindo, Amoda Maa, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Teresa of Avila, Douglas Harding, Lisa Cairns, Richard Lang, Loch Kelly, Rob Burbea, Daniel Ingram, Robert Adams, Tony Parsons, Jim Newman, David Loy, Richard Rohr, Marshall Davis, AH Almaas, Richard Rose, HWL Poonja (Papaji), Lao Tzu, Annamalai Swami, Thomas Merton, Paramahansa Yogananda, Shunryu Suzuki, DT Suzuki, Shinzen Young, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and more.

Everything will be shared in a private space within the Sloww Society community:

Sample week:

FAQs:

1. What’s the cost? 

• $99 for non-members, or $75 for Sloww Premium members (a coupon code is already posted in the Sloww Society community for you). This would get you access to a private space in the Sloww Society community that will be used for real-time accountability and encouragement throughout the year, where I would share the upcoming teachings for the week and daily notes, a synthesis of the best-of-the-best teachings at the end of the year, etc. If you aren’t a Sloww Premium member, you’ll get access to the other spaces in the Sloww Society community as well (just not the Premium content spaces).

2. When does it start/end?

• Wise Walk 2024 will run from Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 (366 days since it’s a leap year). Non-Premium members who are participating will have access to the Sloww Society community (excluding Premium content areas) until Jan 15, 2025.

3. What time of day should I walk?

• Whenever it works best for you. Personally, I’ll probably try to build a habit of going right after lunch or around 3pm (at least in the colder months to take advantage of the sun’s warmth and when I have a natural dip in afternoon energy).

4. Do I have to walk, or can I do a different activity (especially if it’s rainy/snowy outside)?

• Walking is what I’d say is the minimum viable activity, but it’s totally fine if you’d rather run, bike, or do something else. Remember, the ultimate aim is: growing wiser and moving more in 2024.

5. What if I miss a day?

• I’m sure some people will miss days throughout the year here and there based on personal schedules. No worries, you can either skip that day and pick up the next or go for a 60-minute walk the next day if you want to listen to the missed day’s teaching and catch up.

6. When will teachings be published?

• My plan is to post the coming week’s teachings on Saturdays or Sundays. We’ll run each week beginning on Mondays (so a week is Mon-Sun).

7. What if I don’t like the teacher/teaching that day/week?

• If a teacher/teaching doesn’t resonate, feel free to listen to something else of your own choosing that day/week. The curriculum I come up with can be considered “suggested teachings.”

8. Why not fewer teachers (e.g. 26 instead of 52)?

• I considered 26 teachers (biweekly), but I feel like one per week gives people something new to look forward to each week. If it was biweekly and someone doesn’t resonate with a teacher, that could be a long two-week grind until the next one.

9. Will we be listening to the same content/recordings you are?

• Yes, I will curate all teachers/teachings from publicly available sources like YouTube, Spotify, etc. That being said, streaming 30 mins/day of audio/video while walking could impact your phone’s data plan, so please be aware of this. If you have limited data each month, you may want to walk and then listen/watch at home on wifi before or after walking.

10. What if I’m having trouble staying consistent and motivated 3/6/9 months in?

• Share your struggles and leverage the community for accountability and encouragement!

11. This all sounds great, but what if I have buyer’s remorse and want a refund?

• No hard feelings. Send me an email at kyle(at)sloww(dot)co within 30 days of the initial purchase with your name, email address you used to sign up, and reason for the requested refund.

Have another question?

• Email me directly at kyle(at)sloww(dot)co.

Ready to start wise walking?👇