Walking Meditation

This guided meditation involves walking very slowly and mindfully back and forth along a short path (5-20 feet long). It can be practiced before or after seated meditation, or used as a stand-alone meditation practice. Walking meditation is suitable for beginners and experienced practitioners alike, and can be especially helpful for those days when sitting still is challenging. It also benefits the physical body and can improve balance.

When I’ve introduced walking meditation to my students in class, it is often a new experience for them. I’d love to hear if you give it a try!

For an audio-only version, see Ahsa's Insight Timer profile.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Asa. Let's meditate. For this practice, All you need is a location with a short path. Also, I invite you to practice barefoot so you can really feel into the ground beneath you and the sensations in your feet. But if you're not able to, You're more than welcome to practice it with shoes on. We're going to start at one end of your path, Feet about hip-width distance apart. Lift your toes, Spread them wide, Plant them back down. Lift up through your arches. Draw your shoulders up and back. Relax your arms and lift up through the crown of your head, Finding a nice neutral spine. We'll begin here just simply feeling into the feet. And as you feel this ground beneath you, Slowly start to deepen your breath. Notice the texture beneath your feet. Is it firm or soft? The temperature, Does the ground feel cool or warm? Feel into your toes, The ball of the foot, The heel. And start to, Without picking your feet up, Shift your weight over into one foot and then shift it over into the other foot. Shift your weight a little forward, A little more into your toes, And shift it a little further back into your heels. In walking meditation, Our feet are our anchors. So anytime you might become distracted, Bring your attention back to your feet and the feeling beneath you. Now let's go ahead and start walking. So on an inhale, As if you're moving in slow motion, Lift your right heel off of the mat. Go slow as you can, Eventually lifting up more and more of your foot, Lifting up the ball of the foot and the toes. As you're starting to shift your weight into your left foot, Pick up your right foot and set it down just barely ahead of your left foot. Slowly rock your weight forward all the way into that foot, Shift your weight into the right foot, And slowly lift your left heel, The ball of the foot, Then the toes, Balancing briefly on your right foot until you set down your left heel, The ball of the foot and the toes. So just like this, Walking as slow as you possibly can, Balancing on the standing foot, Taking baby steps. Keep your full awareness on your feet, Feeling the sensations, Noticing how the muscles and the tendons and the bones are all working to help you move and to help you balance. Try to keep your head up and move as if you were walking through honey. Now, Whenever you get to the end of your path, Stop there. Feet hip-width and pause. Let's take a moment to reset, Feel both feet planted on the earth. And then when you're ready, Slowly and mindfully turn to face the other direction. Once you reset, Take your time and then slowly begin to walk again. I love walking meditation for those days when it feels like your mind is just too active to sit in silence. Because as you might have noticed, The slower you go, The more attention that's required to help you balance. Now, If the balancing aspect is a little tricky for you today, You're welcome to do this practice next to a wall or a handrail or have something else to support you. You can also move a little bit faster so that you're spending less time in those balancing moments. Now, If you'd like, You can synchronize your breath with your walking. On an inhale, You pick up the foot and wait for the exhale to touch the foot back down. Inhale to lift the other foot and exhale to set it down. So just continue here at your own pace for just a couple more minutes. You can always check in with your breath, Check in with your jaw. Sometimes it likes to hold tension there when we're really focusing. Thich Nhat Hanh, The great Zen master, Once said, Walk as if your feet are kissing the earth. So you might invite that imagery as you pace here. And we'll take one more step here. You're welcome to continue this practice if you'd like. We'll go ahead and come back to that neutral standing position with the feet about hip-width distance apart. Feel into your feet and close your eyes here if you'd like as a little bit of a balance challenge. Feel your toes and your feet on the earth, Connecting to the earth. Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out through your mouth. Thank you so much for practicing with me today. I wish you a wonderful rest of your day.

Reviews

Very good, clear, well paced instructions.

Wonderful practice!