Walking the Camino de Santiago: finding space, strength and a new sense of self
Earlier this year I walked from Porto in Portugal to Vigo in Spain, following a well-trodden route of one of the most famous pilgrimages in the world: the Camino de Santiago. I chose to travel independently, walking solo, staying in hostels and carrying everything I needed on my back.
What was my motivation?
A couple of years ago, during a hypnotherapy session, I experienced a very vivid visualisation. I saw myself walking in a foreign country, with a backpack, looking fit, independent and completely self-contained.
At the time, I was having therapy as I was approaching 50 and feeling like I really needed a genuine change in my life. Like many of us, my life had become very full of caring for others. I needed space. I needed to redefine myself a little and reconnect with who I am.
I gave up drinking 12 years ago, and while I love my friends dearly, much of social life still revolves around alcohol. I realised I was craving a different kind of connection, something more meaningful, more grounded and more aligned with who I am now.
Alongside all of that, I wanted a challenge.
A physical goal.
I had gained weight and lost fitness over a few years, and I wanted something meaningful to work towards, a reason to feel stronger, healthier and more physically capable again.
That vision of me walking stayed with me.
Looking back now, it feels like a blueprint, my mind quietly showing me something I needed before I consciously understood it. I started googling what it was I had seen and quickly came across the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. I just knew, that was it.
This is something I often talk about in my hypnotherapy work, how powerful the subconscious mind can be in guiding us. Sometimes the answers are already there, we just need the space to notice them.
Preparing for the unknown
Deciding to walk the Camino was one thing. Believing I could actually do it was another.
I had to get my fitness to a place where I could walk 10+ miles a day on multiple days while carrying a backpack. Initially, I gave myself six months, but due to injury, I had to postpone. In the end, it took about 18 months from that first idea to actually setting off on my Camino journey.
During that time, though, I knew I wasn’t going to give up.
I also noticed my health anxiety creeping in as I prepared. Small aches and pains felt bigger. I found myself checking things more, seeking reassurance, something many of my hypnotherapy clients will recognise.
Years ago, I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Looking back now, I understand it differently, more as a response to overwhelm and prolonged stress, but it left me with a lingering doubt about my resilience and physical capability.
Walking through the doubt
And then, finally, 18 months after the seed was sown, I did it.
Day by day, step by step, I walked between 10 and 20 miles a day for nine days along the Camino.
Not only did my body cope, it thrived.
I felt strong, energised and capable.
It was one of those powerful, corrective experiences we often talk about in therapy, where reality gently challenges the old narrative, and your nervous system learns something new:
“I can do this. I am well. I am stronger than I thought.”
Unexpected confidence
Another surprise was how comfortable I felt socially while travelling solo.
I stayed in bunk beds in hostels and dormitories with up to 24 people, mixed ages, different nationalities and completely unfamiliar environments. This was something I had been quite apprehensive about, but I actually loved it. I found it easy and lots of fun.
I chatted, I connected and I made friends along the way.
It made me reflect on something I often see in my hypnotherapy practice, we can carry outdated beliefs about ourselves for years.
“I’m not confident.”
“I find social situations difficult.”
And yet, when we gently test those beliefs in the right environment, we often discover something very different.
Of course, I do still find certain social situations difficult, particularly when I’m the only sober person in a busy, alcohol-focused setting. But on the Camino, where we were all simply walkers, equals sharing a common purpose, I realised that my natural warmth, friendliness and openness were more than enough.
More than just a walk
Walking the Camino de Santiago gave me everything I was looking for, and more.
I had the best time. I chose to walk mostly alone, but also really valued the wonderful, inspiring people I met along the way.
It gave me:
Space to think and breathe
A renewed sense of independence
Pride in completing both a physical and emotional challenge
Connection with others in a simple, authentic way
A shift in identity and confidence
And now, as I write this, I’m waiting for a new backpack to arrive in the post, ready for more walking adventures here in the UK, and already thinking about future Camino routes, because there are many.
A gentle reflection
Walking the Camino reminded me of something I see time and time again in my hypnotherapy practice, we often already hold the answers within us. Whether it’s a quiet sense that something needs to change, a desire for more confidence, an image of a different version of ourselves, or simply the feeling that life could be calmer, lighter or more fulfilling, those signals matter.
Through Solution Focused Hypnotherapy, I help people create the space to notice those thoughts, to reduce anxiety, build confidence and take small, meaningful steps forward. My first steps were researching and buying a pair of comfortable walking shoes. I did it bit by bit, using small steps and small motivations along the way, and it’s a reminder that personal change doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It can begin with something as simple as listening to yourself and taking that first step.
If you would like to talk with me about making positive changes in your own life, you are very welcome to get in touch or book an initial consultation.
