This meditation will help you transform the simple practice of walking into an exploration of mindfulness and connection.
It's a powerful way to make your everyday life part of a mindfulness practice.
I recommend putting in headphones and listening to this meditation while taking a walk.
This practice starts as a guided practice but will end in open awareness,
Allowing you to continue on a mindful walk of your own length and pace.
To begin,
Take a moment before you walk to sense your feet on the ground.
Feel how they contact the earth.
Perhaps try rocking back and forth on your feet to feel this contact a little stronger.
If you like,
You could send a message of gratitude down your feet and legs,
Thanking them for the work that they do to carry you from place to place.
Perhaps you feel the anticipation of movement growing in your legs and body.
As you start to take your first few steps,
See if you can really slow the step down,
Feeling the push from your standing leg as your foot rolls off the ground,
The heel landing in front of you.
Notice how the back foot pushes off as it takes a step forward.
Continue this slow motion walking,
Enjoying this massage-like movement of the feet rolling to and from the earth.
Perhaps you start to notice other sensations in your feet and legs,
Muscles engaging and relaxing,
Feelings of heaviness or lightness,
Stiffness,
Freedom,
Energy,
Even discomfort.
Just noticing the physical sensations.
Perhaps now you start to walk a little faster but still slightly slower than your natural pace.
Notice the movements and sensations that rise up your body as you allow more freedom to the movement.
Arms swinging,
Pelvis rotating,
A slight twist happening in the torso.
Noticing the full body sensations of walking.
And if you get distracted or overwhelmed,
You could try coming back to just that sensation of your feet rolling to and from the earth with every step.
And now if you like,
You could open your senses to the world around you.
The sights,
Smells,
And the sounds around you.
The sensation of the air as it moves in and out of your body.
Perhaps feeling how the rhythm of your breath syncs up with the rhythm of your feet.
This is the first and the last time you'll ever experience the world around you at this moment.
What can you notice right here,
Right now?
Know that as with any mindfulness practice,
It's perfectly normal and okay for your mind to wander.
When it does,
You've got lots of options on how to gently guide it back to the present moment.
You could bring it back to the sensation of your feet touching the earth.
Back to the physical sensations in your legs.
Back to the feeling of your breath.
Or even back to the sights,
Sounds,
And smells around you.
Perhaps you allow your pace to vary throughout your walk,
Responding organically moment to moment with how your body feels as it walks through your environment.
You might feel the impulse to slow or even stop,
Pausing to explore something in your environment.
You might even feel the urge to speed up or even run,
Allowing the energy inside of you to find an outward expression in your gait.
This could be a great moment to pause the meditation if you'd like to continue for a longer walk,
Continuing to practice intentional moment to moment awareness,
Letting go of judgment and just being open to the curiosity of all your walk has to offer.
When you're ready to complete the walk,
Feel free to turn the meditation back on for a closing practice.
And as you reach your destination,
You could take a moment again to pause and sense your feet contacting the earth,
Your breath moving in and out through your body.
Perhaps you offer up a moment of gratitude for how your feet and legs have carried your body through this journey.
A moment of gratitude for our beautiful planet,
For providing us with the surface to walk upon.
A moment of gratitude for whatever is welcoming you at your destination.
The renowned Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh teaches,
The miracle is not to walk on water.
It is to walk on this earth with awareness.
