Hello and welcome my name is Amita and thank you for joining me today for walking meditation.
So let's begin.
As you begin walk at a natural pace.
Place your hands wherever they are comfortable on your belly,
On your sides,
Behind your back.
Look at your natural pace.
As you get into this natural rhythm of walking,
If you find it useful,
You can count steps up to 10 and then start back at one again.
If you are walking in a small space,
You can reach 10,
Then pause and with intention choose a moment to turn around and repeat.
With each step pay attention to the lifting and falling of your foot.
Notice movement in your legs and the rest of your body.
Notice any shifting of your body from side to side.
You can count your steps to 10 and then start back at one again.
Whatever else captures your attention,
Come back to the sensation of walking.
Your mind will wander.
So without frustration,
Guide it back again as many times as you need.
Breathe in deep and exhale slowly.
If you desire,
You can change the pace of your walk,
But keep counting to 10 and then back from one again.
If you are outdoors,
Maintain a large sense of environment around you,
Taking it all in,
But stay safe and stay aware.
Now for a few minutes,
Expand your attention to the sounds around you.
Whether you are indoors,
In the woods,
In a city,
Pay attention to all the sounds without labeling or naming them.
Do not get caught up in if you find them pleasant or unpleasant.
Just notice.
Notice these sounds as nothing more or nothing less,
But just the sound.
Maintain your natural pace of walk.
Explore the rhythm in the walk and in your breath.
Stop expanding your attention and noticing the sounds around you.
Paying attention to every little sound that you can notice.
Now,
Let's shift your awareness to the sense of smell.
Again,
We will simply notice.
Don't push or force yourself to feel anything or label or name any smell,
Any fragrance.
Just bring your attention to the sense of smell and whatever you discover.
Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
Now,
Let's move our attention to the vision.
Look around you and notice the colors and objects and whatever else you can see.
Don't attach any labels,
Names,
Emotions.
Just notice.
Patiently coming back each time,
Something that grabs your attention or even something that needs addressing like an obstacle in front of you.
Just stay natural,
Go with the flow.
Not overly rigid,
Not daydreaming or drifting,
But with awareness,
With complete awareness.
Let's take a few moments to look around and observe all the colors and objects.
Let's take a few moments to look around and observe all the colors and objects.
Now,
Open this awareness to everything around you,
Wherever you are.
Nothing to do,
Nothing to fix,
Nothing to change,
Fully aware and keep walking.
You may have noticed maybe seasons changing,
Maybe it's hot outside,
Maybe you heard sound of the ocean or the waves,
You watched a pleasant sunrise or sunset,
Felt the breeze,
Smell of rain or starry night,
Beautiful stars in the sky.
Just open your awareness to everything that's around you.
Become fully aware of where you are as you keep walking.
Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
If you can touch a flower,
Touch a tree,
Touch a leaf,
Touch a pet,
Notice the sensation of touch,
The smell,
The vision,
What you feel.
Be in this moment.
Come back to the awareness of physical sensation of walking,
Wherever else your mind found itself throughout this practice.
Notice your feet touching the ground.
Notice again the movements in your body with each step as you open your awareness to all the other sensations that we were talking about,
The smell,
The vision,
The touch,
The sounds.
When you're ready to end your walking meditation,
Just pause for a moment here.
Look around yourself as you take a deep breath in.
Capture everything in this moment that you can.
Smell,
Vision,
Awareness of everything around you,
Sound,
Without labeling or naming it,
Just notice.
Close your eyes and capture all that you just noticed and consider how you might bring this awareness into rest of your day.
Back in the moment.
Take a deep breath in.
Open your eyes and a big exhale.
Thank you for meditating with me today and have a wonderful rest of the day.
Namaste.
Thank you.
