Hello,
This is Alex coming to you live from the woods.
Today we're going to do a walking meditation so I recommend doing this in the woods,
In nature,
Maybe on the bike path.
Walking meditation is great for people who don't like sitting still,
Which is me,
Or anybody that just kind of needs some fresh air.
I feel like it really emphasizes the whole experience.
So whenever you're out in nature or you can also visualize yourself walking in nature as well,
Just kind of take a couple deep breaths.
Your eyes will be open the whole time unless you're imagining it,
Then you can keep your eyes closed.
You might hear my dog Loki kind of making some noise and it's all part of the experience.
So taking a couple deep breaths now,
Really slowing down your pace as you're walking.
So feeling the leaves crunching underneath your feet or whatever surface you're walking on,
Noticing the noises when you walk.
I'm just focusing on that sense for a few moments.
If your mind starts to wander,
Just bring your attention back to the feeling of your feet walking on the ground.
You can kind of bend your knees a little more,
Might help to ground you down a little bit,
Energetically speaking.
And as always with meditation,
If your mind does wander,
Giving yourself a little bit of freedom.
So the goal is never to shut off your brain or to stop your thoughts from coming in,
But just noticing when they arrive and then redirecting and bringing your attention back to your feet walking.
Really seeing if you can feel all parts of your feet touching the ground.
So maybe starting with your heel,
Really feeling how you walk,
Feeling your heel,
Shifting your weight to the middle of your foot and onto your toes,
Noticing your toes pushing your body to the next step.
So really just exploring that,
Almost as if you're walking yourself for the first time,
Seeing if you notice anything new.
And again,
If your mind wanders,
Bringing your attention back to your feet walking.
Now finding a good place to stop,
Just looking around and seeing what you notice,
Taking a couple breaths and really taking it all in,
Turning on all of your senses.
So feeling the temperature on your skin,
Seeing what your skin temperature on your skin,
Seeing what your surroundings smell like and noticing what you're seeing.
Maybe even looking at a tree up close,
Noticing all the little nooks and crannies in the bark,
Maybe noticing any bugs crawling,
Maybe noticing something in the distance and really just taking it all in for a few moments.
And then when you're ready,
Continuing on your journey and continuing to feel your feet walking on the floor,
On the ground,
Noticing every step you take,
Not labeling anything as good or bad or slow or fast,
But just as it is,
Just noticing and being there for yourself in each step.
And for the next couple of minutes,
I'll be quiet.
And when you notice your mind wandering,
Bringing it back to the present moment,
And that can be anything.
It can be the smell of where you're walking,
Can be the sound of the leaves or the birds,
Anything in the present moment.
Just being here for all of it as much as you can.
And now bringing your awareness to your breath and really noticing it.
Maybe it's cold where you are,
Maybe you can see your breath,
Maybe you can feel the warmth of your breath on your upper lip and just noticing it and just noticing it,
Feeling your chest move,
Your torso move with each breath.
And breathing nice and deeply,
Imagining you're breathing in the nature around you,
All the fresh oxygen that the trees are making,
Really breathing it all in.
And now I'll close this meditation and I welcome you to continue on your walk and seeing if there's anything new that you notice as you're walking a little more present than normal perhaps.
So thank you for joining me and I hope you enjoy the rest of your walk.
