Mindfully walking alone.
Hello,
My name is Chris Walsh and this track is to support you with mindful walking.
Starting by preparing a space in which you can walk.
You may choose to walk in a circle or back and forth in a line.
Now just standing still and feeling the contact of the soles of your feet with the ground.
Noticing any shifting of weight through the soles of the feet.
Just allowing your arms to hang.
And noticing how your posture feels.
Feeling the breath move in your body.
As you contemplate taking your first step noticing which side you tend to lean to.
Noticing which leg you free up to move forward.
As you get ready to take your first step noticing whether you want to make the first movement on the in-breath or the out-breath or with the breath held.
So now slowly moving one foot forward and allowing the weight to transfer into that foot.
First feeling the heel touching the ground.
Then feeling the weight roll over the sole of a foot towards the ball of a foot.
As that is happening,
Noticing what is happening to the other foot.
It may well be that the other heel is starting to come off the ground and that foot is then getting ready to move forward.
Noticing how the movements of the two legs coordinate together.
And then allowing yourself to move forward walking.
And feeling the weight moving from heel to toe on each foot.
Really feeling the whole sensation of the sole of a foot rolling over the ground.
Feeling the body swaying from side to side as the weight transfers.
Moving quite slowly.
If there is any awkwardness or wobbliness,
Noticing your mental and emotional reactions to that.
You may be irritated or amused.
Whatever you feel is just fine.
We are just interested in noticing.
Continuing to walk,
Feeling your weight again transferring from heel to toe,
Heel to toe.
And when you turn either at the end of a line or going around the edge of a circle,
Noticing how that changes the way you walk.
As you settle into the walking,
You may find that it becomes easier.
If that happens,
You may choose to focus on your breath.
As well as the sensation of a transfer of a weight from one foot to the other.
And the sensation of the sole of a foot going from heel to toe.
I'll be quiet for a while now and every now and again just say something to remind you to bring attention to the soles of your feet rolling across the ground.
And when you find that your mind has wandered,
Just gently bringing it back to the sensation over and over again.
Heel to toe.
Heel to toe.
Heel to toe.
Heel to toe.
As you continue to walk mindfully,
At some point you can decide that after two more circuits you will sit down.
Once you have made that decision,
You will have set up an end point which will tend to become a destination in your mind.
Seeing if it is possible for you to leave that idea of an end point in the back of your mind and continue to stay in the here and now with just walking.
Heel to toe.
Heel to toe.
This is an opportunity to notice how your mind integrates doing mode,
That is the destination,
With being mode,
Which is simply the walking.
Now continuing with the walking meditation for as long as you want.
You could even set a timer if you want.
And when you find your mind wandering,
Just coming back over and over again to the sensation of the soles of your feet rolling across the ground.
Heel to toe.
Heel to toe.
