Walking as Medicine: How Executives Are Finding Themselves

What if the most transformative coaching session of your life happened on a 7-day walk through Spain?In this episode of the Midlife Remix, Steven Miyao sits down with Joao Viana, founder of Walking Mentorship, who left a 20+ year corporate career to build something most people would call crazy — a walking-based mentorship where he accompanies executives on multi-day journeys through places like the Camino de Santiago and Via Virginia to Rome.Joao shares how a pilgrimage in 1993 planted a seed that took decades to act on, what it felt like to let go of his corporate identity, and why walking side by side is one of the most powerful conditions for self-discovery. He opens up about loneliness as the hidden epidemic among high achievers, what happens when someone finally feels truly seen, and why silence on the road has a way of being brutally honest.A conversation about courage, faith, purpose, and showing up as your fullest self.If you're a successful professional feeling like something is quietly missing — this episode is for you.CHAPTERS & TIMESTAMPS0:00 – The slow transformation1:25 – Introducing Joao Viana1:52 – From corporate to the open road5:15 – Letting go of your identity7:30 – Why he tried to kill his own idea8:21 – Faith and the "good crazy"11:25 – Believing in yourself enough to leap13:52 – Faith vs. belief14:50 – What walking reveals about you16:40 – The gift of brutal honesty20:50 – Walking as a path to silence21:39 – What happens when you feel seen25:03 – Patience, purpose, and faith26:50 – Loneliness: the invisible epidemic32:37 – A message to his former self34:41 – Walk and write: two daily practices36:45 – Life is a book you can't turn back #WalkingMentorship #ConsciousLeadership #MidlifeTransformation #ExecutiveWellbeing #FindYourPurpose #CaminoDeSantiago #MidlifeRemix #StevenMiyao