Hi,
My name is Adriana DeFazio and this is a guided walking meditation.
The Buddha said that meditation can be done sitting,
Standing,
Walking,
Or lying down.
Walking meditation is a wonderful opportunity to practice a continuity of mindfulness outside of our standard seated meditation practice.
Here,
Though,
Instead of our object of concentration being our breath,
We rest our awareness on the sensation of our body as it moves.
For most of us,
This will mean the soles of our feet,
The gait of our legs rising up and down,
And our hips moving in conjunction with our body.
In formal walking meditation,
We often walk in either a line,
A circle,
Or some type of formation in which you don't have to think about where you're going.
I invite you to find a space at least 5-10 feet in length,
And then position yourself on one end.
Standing tall,
Uplifted,
And dignified,
Place both your feet firmly on the ground beneath you.
Begin to feel the soles of your feet connecting with the surface,
Texture,
And temperature of the floor or the material of your shoes,
Grounding down into the earth beneath you.
Now,
You have the option here to either rest your arms at your sides,
Or to bring your hands together in a mudra in which you tuck your left thumb into your palm and allow your left fingers to close around hugging that thumb.
From there,
You could place your right hand over your left hand,
Placing your right thumb on top of your left thumb,
Wrapping your right fingers over your left.
From there,
Placing that mudra at the base of your belly,
And then extending your awareness upwards to your chest and shoulders,
Relaxing your jaw and neck,
And then resting your gaze downcast about 3-5 feet in front of you,
Relaxing your forehead,
Eyebrows,
And temples.
From here,
Begin to take your first few steps,
Lifting one foot,
Placing it down in front of you,
Feeling the sensations that arise in your leg,
Shins,
And again,
Walking at a pace that allows you to feel into the sensations,
But isn't too slow.
Here in walking meditation,
We still want to maintain a normal gait or speed,
But perhaps this is a little bit slower than your habitual walking pace.
If it's helpful,
You can bring to mind a tiger walking through a forest.
Bring that same quality of precision and awareness to each step that you're taking,
As if you're walking on purpose,
Just walking,
Feeling the rise and fall of your legs and feet,
Alternating,
Enjoying the simplicity of giving yourself full permission to simply walk.
When you notice that you're thinking no longer with your body,
Simply bring yourself back home,
Feeling the sensations of your legs and body moving through space.
Taking one step after the other,
With the same purpose and dignity as a tiger,
Begin to bring yourself to the point in your location in which you started your walking meditation.
Allow yourself to stand there,
Stationary,
Feeling your entire body.
And then when you're ready,
Releasing your hands if they were in the mudra at the base of your belly,
Taking any stretches or movements that are supportive to you,
Officially closing your walking meditation.
