Stories from the Camino and beyond.
Modern life is cluttered with possessions, obligations, notifications, and choices. The Camino strips it all away. For weeks, your entire life fits in a backpack weighing under 10 kilograms. Your decisions reduce to: walk, eat, sleep, repeat. Your possessions are a few sets of clothes, a water bottle, and a guidebook. And something remarkable happens — instead of feeling deprived, most pilgrims feel liberated. The things you thought you needed turn out to be things you were carrying unnecessarily, both literally and metaphorically. Conversations become deeper when phones are put away. Food tastes better when you've earned it with your feet. Sleep comes easily when your body is genuinely tired. The Camino doesn't teach you to reject modern life — it teaches you to distinguish between what you need and what you've been told you need.
There's a reason humans have been going on pilgrimages for thousands of years. Walking is profoundly therapeutic — not metaphorically, but neurologically. Bilateral stimulation (the alternating left-right movement of walking) is the same mechanism used in EMDR therapy to process trauma. The rhythmic motion activates the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing cortisol and anxiety. Being outdoors increases serotonin and vitamin D production. And the meditative quality of sustained walking — one foot, then the other, hour after hour — creates a mental state similar to mindfulness meditation, allowing suppressed thoughts and emotions to surface naturally for processing. You don't need to walk 500 miles across Spain for these benefits (though it doesn't hurt). Even a daily 30-minute walk can serve as a powerful mental health practice.