Walking with Grace: A Camino Reflection on Loss, Love, and Nurse Wellbeing

Camino Ingels, Spain 2025

This past spring, I walked the Camino Inglés—a centuries-old pilgrimage route in northern Spain—with my daughter, Niaya. It was more than a travel experience. It was a sacred journey with layers of meaning that mirrored the path so many nurses walk every day.

I walked to honor a season of change as Niaya graduated from college. I walked to mark my 50th birthday. And I walked with the grief of losing my older daughter, Genesis, in 2022. Her memory traveled with every step.

We came to call this experience a journey of loving grace. It wasn’t always easy. There were steep climbs, sleepless nights, wrong turns, hard meals—and some very large blisters. But in the midst of those challenges, something sacred unfolded. A rhythm emerged. Our breath synced with our steps. We found presence—in our bodies, with each other, and in the land beneath our feet.

And it reminded me: walking itself is a healing practice.

The Science of Mindful Walking

As nurses, we’re trained to move quickly. To think fast. To stay three steps ahead. But the nervous system isn’t meant to live in that state forever.

Mindful walking—when we walk with awareness of our breath, body, and surroundings—can lower cortisol, regulate our nervous system, and help restore a sense of inner balance. It reconnects us with our bodies in a way that’s grounding and restorative. Just 10–15 minutes can reduce anxiety, improve sleep, and support emotional clarity.

In other words, it’s not just movement. It’s medicine.

Grief, Renewal, and What the Camino Taught Me

One of the most powerful images from the Camino was seeing ruins built into new homes. All along the trail, we passed crumbling stone buildings—fragments of the past. And beside them: new, modern homes. The builders hadn’t erased the ruins—they honored them. They wove the old walls into their new designs.

That image stayed with me.

Because as nurses, and as humans, we carry loss. We carry trauma. We carry the weight of what has been broken. But we also carry the power to begin again.

To build a meaningful life beside what’s been hollowed out.

To make space for both grief and joy.

To walk with shadow and light, at the same time.

A Challenge for You, Nurse to Nurse

You don’t have to walk across Spain to find healing. But you can step outside today and walk with intention.

So here’s my gentle challenge to you:

Take a walk. Not for steps or speed or cardio—but for your soul. Leave the earbuds behind. Let your breath guide you. Let your body settle into its own pace. Let what you’re holding—grief, fatigue, hope, all of it—come with you, without pressure to fix or change it.

You give so much of yourself. Every day.

Let this walk be for you.

At CODE YOU, we believe in wholistic wellbeing—care for your body, mind, spirit, relationships, work, and even your grief. Because you’re not just a nurse. You’re a whole person. And you matter.

Keep walking with grace. Keep building beauty beside the ruins. And may each step you take bring you closer to your own breath, your own strength, and your own deep, inner knowing.