Walking La Petite Ceinture

I was distracted and disengaged heading into the new year. The news was disturbing, the future felt uncertain, and my muse was MIA. Old pleasures just felt… old. Luckily, my dear friend Tracy had invited me to stay with her for a couple weeks in Paris. There’s nothing like getting away to get some perspective and pique the imagination. And, there’s no place like Paris to bring back the magic.

Just being in Paris is an invitation to savor the moment. The smell of a freshly baked baguette; the first sip of freshly brewed café au lait; the laughter of school children on the street; and the beauty of Haussmann’s city planning are all part of ongoing sensory delight. Strolling through the woods of the Bois Vincennes or along the pathways of the more formal Jardin du Luxembourg helped me quiet down and listen to my body-mind. And, discovering the walkway along the Petite Ceinture helped me rekindle my joie de vivre. 

La Petite Ceinture carried people around Paris on a steam train from 1852 to 1934. Lying dormant for many years, sections have been converted to green space with old stations becoming bars, restaurants, and cultural venues. Walking here is a great way to experience a bit of history, feel the character of different neighborhoods, and explore a hidden side of Paris. It’s also a great place to get out and exercise a bit with the locals. Because I was staying in the 12^th arrondissement, I entered La Petite Ceinture from the bottom of Villa du Bel-Air near Porte Vincennes. On this section of the walkway, you can walk all the way to the Bastille.

Walking La Petite Ceinture – passing through community gardens, over and under boulevards, along the backsides of apartment buildings – I began to feel part of everyday life in Paris. Just being on the pathway, cruising along in my familiar stride and greeting others with a friendly “bonjour” gave me a sense of belonging. In my imagination, I was in the painting, part of the tableau. And, as I moved along, my mental fog began to lift and my creative spark rekindled. I know, this was Paris. But my experience wasn’t entirely due to being on vacation in the City of Light. 

Walking anywhere gets things moving, both physically and mentally. If you want to recharge your energy, sharpen awareness, solve a problem, or reboot creativity, you can trust your naturally mobile body to deliver. It makes sense. As fluids start flowing, so do your creative juices. You’re moving through space, focusing on present time rather than the past or future. You’ve shifted the variables. In this place, you can access a perspective and clarity to see things afresh. Here’s how this works:

Set up: You’ll want sensible shoes/clothes and an even path to cruise along for a good twenty minutes. Before beginning, stand tall and align with an intention. This could be as simple as being present to enjoy the interlude. Or, as focused as freeing up space for healing and inspiration. 

Get in the flow: Once you drop into a familiar stride, make sure your muscles and bones are moving freely. Let the easy cross-crawl swing of your arms and legs disengage any residual tension. As stress factors diminish, feel how pleasure factors increase. This isn’t your imagination. It’s what happens when you move your body and get in the flow. 

Open the mind: As you go along, notice how the rhythmic cadence of walking soothes and quiets your mind. When your mind wanders off, bring it back to the sensory experience of being in your body – moving through space, seeing, smelling, and hearing. As chatty word-thoughts give way to simply being in the moment, space can open up for new awareness and expanded vision. Don’t be surprised if your simple walk ends up gifting you an insight or two. 

Whether you’re walking one of Montecito Foundation’s neighborhood trails or along La Petite Ceinture in Paris, moving with awareness invites you to pay attention in different ways. For instance, paying attention is often approached as a mental, verbal, left-brain function – naming and describing everything you see, feel, hear, and think. When your sensory body is leading the way, you’re recording events with your nonverbal right brain. The ultimate challenge is to experience through your senses without needing to describe, categorize, evaluate or compare. Not easy, I know. This is when simply taking a walk becomes a meditation on being present – mind, body, and spirit. 

Walking La Petite Ceinture helped me jettison the worries I’d been carrying and break through the ennui. Not only did I come home refreshed, I came home inspired. What a welcome reminder that whenever I feel overwrought, under the weather, stuck or shut down, all I have to do is take a twenty-minute walk to shake it loose and open up!