I'll be honest: when I first heard about colour walking, I rolled my eyes. Another walking trend? Really? Even if it involves colour theory, I’m not sure I’m interested.
In the last few years, social media's brought us hot girl walks, silent walks, rucking, Nordic walking… And now comes colour walking. And the premise is almost insultingly simple. Before you head out for a walk, pick a colour, and spend your time noticing it in everything around you.
That's it. No special equipment, no subscription service, no complicated breathing patterns. Just you, your chosen colour, and whatever your neighbourhood has to offer.
The trend started on TikTok back in 2021, though it's been knocking about in various forms for decades. Writer William Burroughs poetically called it "walking on colours," which sounds far more sophisticated than admitting you're following a social media craze.
The idea is that by focusing your attention on seeking out one colour, you naturally become more present, more mindful, and less tangled up in the anxious nonsense that usually clutters your brain. So what happened when I actually tried to do it?
Starting cynical
First, let me share my general cynicism about this kind of stuff. I've tried meditation apps that promised enlightenment, but delivered only frustration. I've attempted breathing exercises that made me more stressed than before. I've even given silent walking a go, which mostly just made me hyper-aware of how loudly I breathe through my nose. So forgive me for assuming that colour walking wouldn't be for me.
But I was willing to give anything a try. I'd been ill for some time, and although my body had technically recovered, my mind was frazzled. I needed something, anything, to help me feel less like a tightly wound spring about to go boing across my home office.
I chose blue, mostly because it felt green would be too easy, and headed out. No phone notifications, no podcast, no agenda beyond finding blue things. And blow me down, I actually found myself enjoying myself.
Within minutes, I found myself genuinely absorbed in the task. There was the obvious blue sky, yes, but then I started noticing things I'd walked past a hundred times without seeing: the forget-me-nots nestled against a garden wall, the vivid blue of a recycling bin, someone's turquoise front door, the way a discarded plastic bag caught the light.
I wasn't counting steps or mentally rehearsing difficult conversations or wondering what I'd cook for dinner. I was just… thinking about blue.
As a result, I walked more slowly, noticed more things, and felt genuinely lighter in both body and mind by the time I got home. I've kept it up for a week now, choosing different colours each time, and I'm still enjoying it.
Why it works
Once I'd found that it works, I was keen to learn why. So apparently, colour walking is effectively because combines physical movement (which releases endorphins) with focused attention (which keeps your mind anchored in the present moment). So it's essentially a moving meditation for those of us who find sitting still frustratingly restrictive.
Yellow brought unexpected joy when I spotted it in everything from dandelions to crisp packets. Red made me realise how vibrant my supposedly boring neighbourhood actually is. Even taking a punt on grey revealed subtle variations I'd never appreciated before.
And the biggest revelation? You don't need expensive classes or complicated techniques to feel calm. Sometimes the simplest practices are the most effective…. even if they do come from TikTok.
