Alexandra Forrestall is a Calgary, Alberta-based professional whose background spans talent recruitment, early childhood education, customer engagement, and animal care. Since joining ITPlacements in 2022, Alexandra Forrestall has worked as a talent sourcer and junior recruiter, collaborating closely with hiring managers to identify and support qualified candidates. Outside of her professional work, she maintains a consistent interest in walking, hiking, and physical wellness, experiences that inform her understanding of intentional movement and awareness. Her academic training in early childhood education emphasizes observation, reflection, and patience, principles that naturally align with the practice of mindful hiking. Through volunteering and outdoor activity, she demonstrates an ongoing commitment to personal well-being and community engagement.
The Practice and Fundamentals of Mindful Hiking
Mindful hiking is a practice that brings together hiking and the mental discipline of mindfulness. Rather than leveraging a hike as a means to reach a destination or achieve a fitness goal, mindful hiking emphasizes the experience of the journey itself. Each step becomes an opportunity to observe, reflect, and engage more fully with both the surrounding environment and one’s internal state. Through this approach, a familiar outdoor activity is transformed into a more reflective practice that engages the mind, body, and spirit.
At its foundation, mindful hiking is about present-moment awareness while moving through natural landscapes. Traditional hiking often focuses on progress, pace, or endpoints, such as summits or trail markers. In contrast, mindful hiking involves paying attention to what is happening now. Goals related to time or distance are put aside in favor of slowing down and noticing sensations, thoughts, and emotions as they arise. This includes awareness of breathing, bodily movement, and sensory input such as the texture of the ground, the sound of leaves, or changes in light and temperature. By shifting attention from outcomes to immediate experience, the hike becomes a platform for connecting with nature and oneself.
The other distinction between mindful hiking and regular hiking lies in disciplined concentration. While a conventional hike allows the mind to wander freely between thoughts, plans, and observations, mindful hiking involves active and sustained engagement with the present moment. The slower pace is meant to create space for awareness of one’s internal state and the external environment and allow for maintained connection with a particular sense or feeling.
Engaging in mindful hiking begins before stepping onto the trail. Setting an intention can help frame the experience, whether that intention is to walk with greater awareness, obtain clarity regarding a personal issue, or to reconnect with nature. Once walking, attention can be gently directed toward sensory experiences. The natural pattern of one’s breathing serves as an anchor to the present. When distractions arise, as they inevitably do, the practice involves acknowledging them and redirecting attention to one’s breathing to ground oneself.
Pausing during the hike plays an important role in deepening awareness. Brief stops allow for conscious engagement with one’s surroundings, giving space to observe sights, sounds, and physical sensations without rushing onward. During these pauses, attention can be narrowed to a single focal point, such as a visual detail or a physical sensation like wind on the skin. The aim is not to analyze or describe the experience, but simply to notice it and allow awareness to rest there for a short period.
Mindful hiking also encourages a reduction in digital distractions. While safety considerations remain important, minimizing interaction with phones or other devices supports sustained attention and creates space for reflection. This intentional disengagement from constant connectivity allows the natural environment to become the primary source of stimulation.
Over time, mindful hiking can foster self-discovery and a deeper sense of connection with nature. By repeatedly slowing down and paying attention, hikers may develop a greater appreciation for the landscapes they move through, regardless of scale or location. The self-discipline necessary to linger on individual sensations and acknowledge them without judgement facilitates better well-being through improved self-reflection and mental clarity
Even short walks on familiar trails can become meaningful when approached with intention and awareness. Ultimately, mindful hiking is not defined by distance, difficulty, or setting, but by the quality of attention brought to the act of walking and being present in the natural world.
About Alexandra Forrestall
Alexandra Forrestall is a Calgary, Alberta-based talent sourcer and junior recruiter with ITPlacements, where she supports hiring teams through candidate sourcing and coordination. She holds a diploma in early childhood education from Seneca College and is a member of the College of Early Childhood Educators. Her professional experience also includes customer service and animal care roles. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, fitness activities, volunteering, and outdoor pursuits.
