The therapeutic mobilities of Pilgrimage Walking: A study of the health impacts of walking the Norwegian St. Olav Way
Abstract
Background: There is an increasing trend to seek long-distance pilgrimage walking (PW) for self-discovery/development/therapy purposes. PW along the less known Norwegian St. Olav Way might offer a therapeutic dimension related to a person’s self and mental, physical, spiritual, social and sensorial health – as is the case with the well-known Spanish Camino de Santiago. PW as therapy is largely an unexplored area within health science/care/interventions despite the fact that pilgrimages have, throughout time, been sought for personal betterment and wellbeing. This thesis gives a review of PW literature, practices and health impacts with an emphasis on the Camino on which most walking pilgrimage (WP) research is done (Paper I). It explores and describes the motives prior to the journey (Paper II), processes (as experienced mentally, physically, spiritually, socially and sensorially/in nature while walking), the aftereffects (on daily life, behaviour and future actions after the journey) and the therapeutic mechanisms that, according to the participants, bring forth these processes and effects (Paper III) associated with walking the St. Olav Way. The work also compares these aspects with those of the Camino addressed in the author’s MPhil thesis concerning the benefits of Camino PW, and asks whether one can speak of PW universals and therapeutic mobilities, at least with regard to these two WPs.
Methods: For Paper I, a review of both literature and practice of PW as therapy as well as the related walk and talk therapy (WTT), was done by performing a broad engine search, given the novelty of this field. Considering the lack of knowledge about the motivations, processes, effects and therapeutic mechanisms of the St. Olav Way, a qualitative exploratory design with a grounded-theory approach was chosen to analyse the data for Papers II and III, for which a broad review of related literature and terms was also made. For Paper II and III, a set of prior, during and post-qualitative open-ended questionnaires were developed and made available at all pilgrim accommodations along the St. Olav route in 2017. In total, 53 pilgrims with an average age of 52 years, from 13 countries, holding different belief systems responded. Motivational, process, after-effect and therapeutic categories were generated through an inductive thematic text analysis of their answers. Explanations were then sought, drawing on existing literature and relevant theories, such as the relational and mobility turn.
Results: The literature review (Paper I) shows that PW provides a whole array of mental, physical, spiritual, social and sensorial health benefits such as: self-reflection, empowerment, healing, bettermood, spiritual strength, improved shape/fitness and sleep, greater persistence and coping skills, a sense of coherence and belonging, a re-evaluation of values, and stimulation of the senses. Most significantly, PW improves self-regulation, problem-solving, personal health assets and provides meaning, relatedness and healing. Alongside, or instead of, treatment PW can reduce hospitalization, medicine use, health queues, long-term sickleave and depression through an individual’s own health assets. A few existing institutions, previously and currently using PW as part of their treatment options, demonstrate that PW can help the resocialization/rehabilitation of people with social adaptation/mental difficulties. As such, PW has also been suggested as therapy. The empirical results indicate that religious motives were not predominant in the pilgrims’ quest when undertaking the St. Olav Way. Instead, the most significant motives that stood out were contemplation, health, social/solitary, PW/repeating, and nature. These were followed by less mentioned motives such as historical/cultural/travel interests, spiritual/religious reasons, a more present/simple/slow life and life celebrations/crossroads/transitions (Paper II). Pilgrims reported their mental, physical, spiritual, social and sensorial processes. Although these were all closely interconnected, mental health processes were the most reported and consisted of self-immersion (self-reflection, processing of problems), selfrelease (catharsis, mind liberation) and self-restoration(wholeness, empowerment, mental peace, healing, presence, simplicity). Physical processes included improved shape and sleep, greater persistence and coping skills. Spiritual processes comprised religious reflection and spiritual enrichment. The social processes encompassed a community feeling, the sharing of experiences, and an educational and social practice, including a re-evaluation of values. Sensorial/natural processes involved the stimulation of the senses and a sense of coherence and belonging (Paper III). Post-effects included improved mental, physical, spiritual and social health, strengthened personal health assets, and a more positive life outlook. Whereas the stated therapeutics came down to 3 key mechanisms: walking, nature and community (Paper III). These St. Olav results confirm the candidate’s Camino findings (Paper I). Based upon these dynamics at work in PW, the candidate proposes a framework for a PW theory, process model and future PW therapy, drawing on relational ontology and the recent mobility turn. As such, PW dynamics have, so far, not been discussed from a therapeutic mobilities approach.
Conclusion: This study challenges popular assumptions about why people undertake the St. Olav Way. The work adds to PW’s field of knowledge, that PW is also used for selftherapeutic purposes and that meaning, relatedness and self-healing can be obtained as a result of walking the St. Olav Way. It confirms the author’s earlier line of thought that PW has a beneficial health impact through walking in nature and a social context, that can be understood by drawing on relational ontology and the mobility turn’s therapeutic mobilities theory. Given the health-promoting and self-therapeutic qualities of PW, the need for this study is timely, especially in societies characterized by long patient waiting lists, over-medication, and a sedentary lifestyle. Given the universals and therapeutic mechanisms of PW and the empirical evidence presented here, the Norwegian health authorities are urged to consider PW as a rehabilitation method in their health-promotion and therapeutic programmes. In this way, and based on the proposed PW change process model, perhaps it will be possible to develop a PW theory and acknowledge and prescribe PW as an outdoor therapy in the future.