Start standing for this practice,
Bringing physical awareness to your body,
Noticing the sensations of air against your skin and the movement of breath in the body,
360 degrees.
Feel the sensations of your feet in contact with the ground beneath.
Feel lights in your heels.
Spread and widen your feet like giant leaves on the ground.
Feel the bones of the toes settle,
Clipping your weight evenly into the heels.
As you press down,
Also notice the buoyancy in your foundation.
Your weight is both even in the heel and resilient at the base of the foot.
Imagine a fragile flower under the instep of your foot that you don't want to crush.
Lift up through the arches as you pull energy and light up into the legs.
Your feet draw goodness up from the earth and pull it into your legs and pelvis.
Notice the big toe mound,
Little toe mound,
And the center of the heel,
Creating steadiness,
While there is rebounding energy through the soles,
Creating ease.
Take a slow,
Deep inhalation and audibly release it.
Keep your eyes open,
But with your awareness still on the soles of your feet.
Begin to walk,
Perhaps if it is comfortable,
A slightly slower pace than your natural gait.
If you are in a small space,
Take your paces in one direction and then slowly turn back in the other direction,
Walking back and forth.
With each step,
Feel the sensation of the soles of your feet as each foot touches the ground.
With or without shoes,
Noticing the sensation of the feet as each one meets the ground.
Notice the changes in texture and pressure from one foot to another.
As you do this practice,
You'll need to have some awareness of your surroundings,
But the main focus of attention is feeling the soles of your feet as you walk.
If the mind wanders away from feeling the sensation in the feet,
To thoughts,
Sounds,
Or other sensations,
This is normal.
Guide the awareness back to the feet as many times as you need to.
Now,
As you continue walking naturally,
Expand your attention to your vision,
Allowing the soles of your feet to fall into the background.
Pay attention now to what you can see,
Perhaps color,
The play of light and shadow,
Or movement.
Aim to put aside any mental commentary,
Labeling,
Judgment,
Or stories of the mind.
Instead,
See if you can use a beginner's mind.
What could you see for the first time if you had complete presence?
Again,
If the mind wanders,
Guide it back to be present with what you can see in this present moment.
If you have complete presence,
The mind wanders,
Guide it back to be present with what you For the next few moments allow the visual cues to fade away and replace the attention on the sounds of the moment.
Whether inside or outside,
What can you hear?
Take in the song of this moment.
Try to,
Without any commentary or judgment,
Only paying attention to the sound itself,
The quality of the sound and the texture of sound.
Now,
Bring your awareness back to the physical sensation of the soles of your feet.
Take a pause to stand once again,
Sealing the big toe,
Little toe,
And heel on the ground.
No matter where your mind may have wandered,
Send it back to the feet in contact with the ground.
Invite the breath in 360 degrees once more,
Releasing the awareness on the breath,
Returning to your natural breathing,
Your natural pace and gait,
Bringing the qualities of the present moment with you into the rest of your day.
Lal Shanti you
