ArchDaily: Clearing The Mind: Björk Explains Walking’s Benefits For Mental Health And The Creative Process. http://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIwy__o3jU
Walking is much more than covering a certain distance by foot. It is also one of the most basic tools to achieve what is commonly referred to as “clearing the mind.” Walking is a free resource, easily accessible and almost always available, and facilitates the return to a calmer world where the mind can make connections free of interferences with the body, and the body, in turn, can connect with the ground that it walks on and the environment it is surrounded by.
In a world obsessed with the increasing travel speed of places and things and the instantaneous exchange of a plethora of information, the four kilometres per hour walking speed permits the necessary slowing down required to gain consciousness of the body and reformat one´s head. On reaching a comfortable rhythm and unintentional movements, the mind is freed from routine obligations, permitting rest and a more open environment to roll out ideas or free the thoughts and feelings that build up inside us.
This is the root of “foot” therapy. “Who moves forward lying on a couch?” Cockrell asks on her website. She sees the walking sessions as a means of killing two birds with one stone: the light exercise gained from walking not only allows her to have quality contact with her patients, but it also helps to keep them fit, improve their mood and makes the sessions entertaining, particularly compared with those which usually take place behind closed doors.