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I Walked 500 Miles Across Spain…This is What It Taught Me About Yoga

I Walked 500 Miles Across Spain…This is What It Taught Me About Yoga

At first glance, walking and yoga may seem worlds apart. Yet, as I embarked on an adventure across northern Spain, I discovered that my journey mirrored the lessons of my yoga practice in profound and unexpected ways.

I walked the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage dating back to the 9th century, where pilgrims (as those who walk are called) journey to Santiago de Compostela, believed to house the tomb of St. James. Once attracting hundreds of thousands annually during the Middle Ages, the Camino has seen a modern resurgence, with over half a million walkers completing the trek in 2023 alone – a record-breaking year.

So, what does this religious pilgrimage have to do with yoga? In both, I found a common thread: the human craving for connection.

We Crave Connection: Yoga and the Camino Offer It

If there’s one trend worth getting behind right now, it’s the act of disconnecting to reconnect. Whether it’s the rise of running clubs, the shift toward small group travel or a growth in the popularity of yoga teacher training, people are prioritizing real-life connection over scrolling on their phones.

In the case of yoga and the Camino, both offer a chance to reconnect—with yourself, your body, something larger than yourself, and a community. They each provide layers of connection that people deeply need.

In today’s world, where health and well-being are priorities, it’s no surprise that yoga and the Camino are so popular. Modern yoga often starts with movement, helping us quiet our busy minds and go inward. Add in the breathwork (Pranayama) and the practice of sense withdrawal (Pratyahara), and we’re able to connect in ways that are often ignored in daily life. Walking the Camino does the same thing—it brings you back to yourself, step by step.

The Three Stages of the Camino

There are many routes to Santiago, each offering a unique yet unified experience. For my first Camino, I chose the most popular route: Camino Frances, or the French Way. Named so because this route starts in the small town of St-Jean-Pied-du-Port just across the French-Spanish border, nestled on the opposite side of the Pyrenees Mountains.

It’s common knowledge to pilgrims that on this route there are three distinct stages – physical, mental, and spiritual. As I walked the Camino I couldn’t help but notice that these three stages mirror a yoga practice and are the exact stages I went through over the years with my yoga journey.

Stage 1: The Physical

In yoga it’s most commonly taught to transcend the body – to move beyond the physical discomfort to find a place of stillness and absorption. I like to call this the “yoga high” that is found in Savasana and when you’re walking off your mat more peaceful than how you arrived.

In order to move past the physical you must deal with the fact that you have a body. This is why we do stretches, and breathing techniques, and twist ourselves into awkward poses. Asana (physical postures), is what helps prep you for stillness. The whole purpose of moving your body in yoga is to help you find a comfortable seat for meditation so you can contemplate life, deal with your mind, and connect to more than just your physical grievances.

Just like yoga, the first part of the Camino is physical. You have to build strength and stamina to make it through. Your body is your vehicle that you must take care of and hone to get you to the finish line.

As with yoga, the physical is where many get stuck. Many people think yoga is only about asana—just as many think the Camino is only about walking 500 miles. It’s easy to let the pain of blisters forming on your heels or the burning heat that comes from holding a pose or taking another step consume you.

The first third of the journey I was so focused on what was happening to my feet and used every opportunity I had to discuss and complain about the pain I was in. I cursed whenever I had to trek up a hill and felt my muscles protesting when they pushed against the earth to prevent me from stumbling down steep inclines.

I wanted nothing but a flat surface, for the path to be easy and so I could take a break. In other words, I was rushing the necessary part of the journey that I needed to get to the bliss and accomplishment.

But if you get caught up in only focusing on the physical and never move past the discomfort that arises from putting in effort, then you are missing the point of both the walk and yoga. You must be willing to accept that the miles you are putting in and the gymnastic-like yoga poses you bend yourself into are not the point but simply a stage of the practice that helps you achieve joy, bliss, and connection.

Walking the Camino put it plainly in front of me that focusing on the physical and the discomfort did nothing to serve me. It kept me simmering in my pain, stuck in my own self pity, and unable to connect with the more subtle highlights and joys. But it was a step that I couldn’t skip. Movement is always needed because without it, stage two feels next to impossible.

Stage 2: The Mental

After conquering the Pyrenees, I entered the Meseta, the longest, flattest stretch of the Camino. I wanted to cry tears of joy at knowing that the hardest part was behind me. But I had also been warned. The Meseta that lay ahead of me was often more difficult than stage one, despite the elevation changes being minimal.

After the body has been tamed via stretching and breath control (Pranayama), it’s ready to be still. The mind becomes the focus, which is what the Meseta helps do on the Camino.

The hilltop vistas are gone, a distraction that is quickly missed when there is nothing to look at but the flat expanse of fields that stretch beyond where the eyes can see. There is nothing to do here but keep going and face what the mind brings to the surface – questions, doubts, and fears.

The second stage is like a walking meditation as the body is used to the repetitive movement of your steps and focus on the physical is no longer required. The blisters are healing or easy to deal with and have become a mild pain compared to when you first started.

People space further apart, some lagging behind from the boredom, while others trug ahead to relieve themselves of it as soon as possible. Others outright skip this entire section of the Camino because they believe there is nothing to be found here nor benefit in the struggle to still the mind.

In the quiet of the repetitiveness you have nothing to do but be with yourself. To contemplate what comes to mind, to observe your breath and thoughts. Here you can choose to fight yourself and what comes up, or choose to accept where you are on your path.

Without time in stillness and freedom from distractions, you won’t gain the ability to connect with something bigger than you. This is the place on the journey where people most often want to escape from because being with oneself can be scary. It’s where you learn that the mind can be a more difficult terrain to navigate than the physical.

The discomfort of the path laid out plainly in front of you is intimidating and you question all that is.

I felt that skipping the Meseta was cheating and I silently judged those who opted to jump forward to the final section on the path. But just like when I rush Savasana or skip it entirely, it feels like my practice isn’t complete. I like to call it a sacred pause. It gives both the body and mind a beat to adjust to the new information and realizations before continuing forward more at peace than how you began.

Stage 3: The Spiritual

I started the Camino seeking spiritual growth, expecting peace and answers to come easily in the final stretch. Instead, I was thrown into chaos. I was deeply humbled when my spiritual journey and third phase was interrupted in a way I did not plan for.

While I had spent the last twenty-some days battling my internal demons and finally feeling like I was more at peace with myself, I was catapulted into a space which had the worst kind of distraction: other people.

The last 100 km of the Camino is the most crowded with pilgrims who’ve just started walking, buzzing with excitement. Meanwhile, I was exhausted after weeks on the trail and found myself irritated by their noise and enthusiasm.

I was not naive in that I expected the final part of the route to be reserved for myself. But I did not expect to feel so jolted by what was happening around me. These poor people did nothing to me yet I threw side glances like it was my job and grumbled and stomped as I passed those who were walking too slow and being too loud.

I was as far from feeling spiritually connected as I could be.

How could I focus on my inner exploration when I was surrounded by others, and distractions? My peace was disturbed and I was angry at both myself for letting others get to me and at others for not being more aware of my experience.

What I thought was going to be a peaceful ending to my trip was far from it. I desperately wanted to end the adventure on my terms and by myself so I extended my journey to Finisterre, walking to the edge of the land where Spain meets the sea.

Yet, I was still tested. The dark corners on the outskirts of the city scared me as I walked solo with my measly iPhone light helping guide me. When I lifted my head hoping to find another soul to talk to I was disappointed to see no one or someone too far ahead for me to catch up to. I wanted the in between: for people to be there when I wanted the distraction, but for others to not be in my way. I was selfish and had to sit with that as I continued.

I was further humbled when food poisoning forced me off my feet and onto a bus to my final destination which was only a day and half away on foot. It helped me to realize that spirituality isn’t perfection, but learning to adapt, connect, and find peace amid life’s unpredictability is.

Walking the Camino Is a Practice of Yoga

The Camino stretched my yoga practice far beyond the mat. I didn’t expect to have what feels like such a profound realization from walking, but then I never expected yoga to have such a massive impact on myself either.

The most difficult thing I learned is this: spirituality doesn’t live in isolation. It lives in the integration—bringing the calm, the connection, and the lessons back into daily life. Whether through yoga or walking, these practices remind us that connection is something we create.

When your distractions are stripped away and you are forced to confront your patterns, who are you? That is what both yoga and the Camino have to show us. And when you are surrounded by distractions who do you become? That is what yoga and the Camino helps us decide.

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