The Way of St. James is a very intense experience that captivates tens of thousands of people each year and although it is not often spoken about, it has physical and psychological consequences that affect the pilgrim in the short, medium, and long term.
Warning
Doing the camino can have effects on health and on the soul; some of these effects are serious and others are funny.
Of course each person is a world and these effects that I am going to tell you today are based on my personal experience; as well as on the experience of people that I met in multiple paths and it may be that your personal experience is different…
And regarding the effects, one last thing before the intensity of the side effects is directly related to the way of doing the Camino.
The effects become much more noticeable on long trails and with a backpack, while on short trails and without a backpack they may be less evident or not visible.
1. Improvement in self-esteem (especially after finishing your first path)
You have set yourself a very difficult thing and you have completed it.
I’ve walked with heat, cold, at night, during the day, with mist , under the rain, with fatigue and pain, with thirst and hunger.
You have carried your backpack for many hours a day and many kilometers.
You have left your comfort zone and you have reached and surpassed your limits several days, and above all, you have been the protagonist of a movie story (and not a passive spectator).
After completing such an experience it is absolutely normal that you feel that you are capable of doing more things than you thought possible and that your self-esteem is better than ever.
2. Improvement in physical condition
The routine of the Camino involves walking between 20km and 30km a day, which translates to between 5 to 8 hours of aerobic exercise each day, every day.
This is much more exercise than most people do in their daily routine and it can be quite painful at the beginning while the body adapts to the new routine.
Because of this reason it is recommended to train before doing the Camino, to reduce the pains and the days of suffering.
All of that exercise can be translated a improvement of physical condition that includes gain of muscle mass and in reduction of fatty tissue, toning the whole body and in many cases slimming down.
This improvement can be intensified by taking care of the diet (which on the way is not easy) and doing intermittent fasting.
3. Changed sleep schedules (and a better quality of sleep, in some cases)
The routine of the Camino forces the pilgrim to wake up early and go to sleep early, to make the most of the hours of light.
To synchronize the hours of sleep with the night helps many people to sleep better, despite the fact that the conditions of privacy and silence in the hostels are not the optimal ones.
Also a deeper dream can be attributed to the tiredness generated by walking so many hours.
To sleep better contributes to number 4 effect.
4. Better humor
On the Camino, it is possible to disconnect from the pressures of everyday life and relax, and it is quite normal to have catharsis talking about your life with complete strangers.
One also has more contact with nature and enjoys the fresh air…
All of this contributes to us being more relaxed and in a better mood…
5. Becoming minimalist (or to appreciate living with less things…)
The Way teaches us that we can live an intense and satisfying experience, with a few possessions that fit in a backpack, and that in the end, we don’t need so many things.
This learning is then transferred to everyday life and many pilgrims become minimalist after completing the journey.
6. Wish for a simpler life
In our daily life, we spend the day worried and planning an uncertain future or reflecting and regretting past mistakes.
Every day on the road is much simpler and forces you to live in the present, where the most immediate concerns.
* To what time to wake up…
* How far to walk…
* How much water to load…
* Where are you going to sleep…
* Where and what are you going to eat…
* If you are going to be able to wash the clothes…
* If other pilgrims are well…
at the same time that it proves to be a physically demanding experience, which is a life more like that which our nomadic ancestors led.
7. Get even more bored with the daily routine.
There exists the theory that our perception of the passage of time is directly related to the amount of new information that we receive.
In that regard, the Way is a most intense experience that can be, since we are constantly in contact with new sites, with new people and new information all the time.
It results a dilation of time: the sensation of that has passed much more time of what really passed physically…
Because of that, when one returns to one’s daily routine, the world seems very boring…
The routine life exposes you to very little new information, few new people, and few new experiences…
Because it is important to give oneself time at the end of the journey to decompress and readjust to everyday life…
8. To have a great desire to do another Camino
According to guru Tony Robbins, the human being has 6 emotional needs: Significance, Consistency, Uncertainty, Connection, Growth and Contribution…
Robbins says that any experience that satisfies at least 3 of the 6 can become addictive, and that the more it satisfies, the more addictive it becomes…
The Camino satisfies all those emotional needs like few experiences in life.
This helps to explain a lot the popularity of the path. Many of the tens of thousands of people who do it each year are repeating it.
And to finish, probably the last side effect will be more funny and more curious.
9. Emotional reaction to seeing a yellow arrow
…which is completely logical.
Anyone who has made a long journey has undergone a Pavlovian training, of associating the yellow arrow with the relief of being on the correct path.
Once outside the path, encountering a yellow arrow can result in a range of emotions, among which is…
* surprise (“is there a Camino?”, “the Camino passes by here?”, “how does it go through here and I didn’t know?”)
* nostalgia (“ohhhh, I miss the Camino!”, “I want to return to the Camino!”, “We have to go back to the island!!! I mean …Camino!”).
* the call to adventure (it is not strange to have wild desires to follow the arrows to see where they lead)
And it is also possible to feel briefly relief and bewilderment…