Your Guide To The Ultimate "Music Medicine Walk"

Walking got a rebrand when TikTok influencer Mia Lind launched the “Hot Girl Walk” into the ether in 2021. More intentional than a typical stroll, the Hot Girl Walk is a time to move your body while focusing on three things: gratitude, your hopes and dreams, and yes, your inherent hotness.

The trend pairs movement with thought patterns that support mental health—so maybe it’s no surprise that it caught on faster than an Olympic racewalker. Over the last few years, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to social media to share how Hot Girl Walking has increased their confidence, brightened their outlook, and helped them improve their physical health. 

Summer is the season when Hot Girl Walks strut into full force—and we have a suggestion on how to take yours to the next level. Here’s how to infuse your walks with music medicine for even more mental health benefits. 

These tracks were made for walking 

Music medicine is the practice of listening to music for a therapeutic purpose. It leverages sound to release feel-good neurotransmitters and hormones like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin.

Research shows that when administered deliberately, music can reduce anxiety and depression symptoms, enhance creativity and imagination, and restore mental alertness. Combine this with walking’s ability to release endorphins and boost energy, and you have a powerful practice on your hands (or rather, in your ears). 

Unlike traditional music therapy (which requires a trained practitioner), music medicine can be self-administered—and Spritune serves it up with the click of a button. 

When you open the Spiritune app, you will be prompted to choose your current emotional state and then how you want to feel. From there, Spiritune delivers personalized tracks that will guide you from one emotion to the next in just a few minutes. You can use the app to move from stressed to energized after a draining morning meeting or pop on a track to take you from tense to relaxed at the end of a long day.

So, how does it work? Not to get too deep in the musical weeds, but the app uses methodologies like the Iso Principle and neural entrainment to match tempo, pace, and frequency with your current feelings before gradually guiding you into another state. 

While blasting “Espresso” on your Hot Girl Walk may put a smile on your face in the moment, playing a Spiritune track will utilize music therapy and neuroscience to spur meaningful changes in your brain.

Our expansive library can keep you company for five minutes or five miles, and since the tracks don’t have lyrics, they won’t distract you from all the positive self-talk you engage in on your walk. Ready to uplevel the Hot Girl Walk into a Medicinal Medicine Walk this summer? Here are a few other ideas for your journey.

How to maximize your music medicine walk

Once you have your Spiritune track cued, make your walks even more mentally clarifying with these tips:

• Get out into nature: Weather permitting, take your walk outdoors into a green space—even if it’s just a small city park. Research shows that walking through a natural environment compared to an urban one can decrease mental rumination (the tendency to get hung up on negative thought patterns), making it easier to focus on the things you’re grateful for, your goals, and the beat of the music.

• Slow it down: Walking quickly gets the heart pumping, but slowing down helps you notice the details of your surroundings. Observing the way the light moves through a tree canopy or the unexpected color combinations of a bird’s nape can help you feel awe and wonder for your environment, enhancing gratitude and further separating you from any stressors waiting inside.

• Get into a routine: While there is no bad time to go on a walk, heading out for sunrise or sunset may help you attune your circadian rhythm to the light cycles around you, supporting a healthy sleep cycle in turn. Walking during a consistent time of day also might make the habit easier to stick with, and music just sounds that much better with the backdrop of a dramatic sky in transition.

• Journal when you get home: Once you return from your medicinal walk, jot down any new insights that come through for you on the journey so you don’t lose track of them. Eventually, your entries can serve as a source of encouragement when you’re feeling uninspired. 

• Dress the part: You know the drill: Walks in the summer are made better by breathable clothes, comfortable shoes, sunscreen, plenty of water, and, of course, a great pair of headphones. 

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