Hello,
Good morning and Namaste,
David Ito here.
Welcome to this five minute morning walking meditation.
So if you've never done walking meditation before,
That's totally fine.
Here we want to use walking as a practice to stay in the present,
Be mindful of our movement so that it's not just walking but we actually extend that to all of our activities throughout the day.
You're going to need a little bit of space to walk around,
So find that space either in your room or outside that is not loud that allows you to connect inwards.
So once you've identified that space and you're there already,
Come into Tadasana.
Just close your eyes for a moment to tune inwards.
Let's work on alignment,
So ears over shoulders,
Shoulders over hips,
Hips over feet,
Micro bend in the knees,
Lengthen the spine,
Feel your body,
Feel the power of Tadasana,
Mountain pose.
We're going to start walking one step at a time.
We don't have to move with the breath,
But we do want to stay very much aware of the sensations in every step we take.
So start walking slowly and mindfully at whatever speed you think is right.
But basically we want to walk slow enough so that we can read and feel the sensations,
Subtle sensations.
And unless your room is very long,
You're going to have to turn around at some stage.
So when you reach to that point where you can no longer walk forward,
Just stop,
Mindfully take some steps to turn around and then start walking in any direction.
Continue to walk slowly and mindfully,
Noticing your breath,
Noticing your posture,
Noticing the sensation on the soles of the feet,
Noticing if you're placing more weight on the edge of the foot,
On the middle or the inside of the foot,
Noticing your spine alignment,
The shoulder to hip alignment.
We're not trying to correct the alignment.
We're just becoming aware of it.
Now it is if there's any tension in your hands and your jaw.
This is an awareness exercise.
When we move,
We often stop feeling and thinking of what we're doing.
And here we're doing exactly the opposite.
It's all about noticing the information that your body is sending you.
Continue like that.
Mindfully picking up the information from your body,
Not trying to analyze it,
Not judging it,
Just observing it.
Feel how every step is different.
Feel that maybe your right side and your left side move differently.
And just observe any differences.
Observe also how your mind is reacting.
And if it is reacting,
Just observe it and let go of that thought.
Keep coming back to the here and the now.
Keep coming back to noticing the sensations in your body.
Slowly come back to stillness.
Come back to Tadasana wherever you are.
Keep a soft gaze and notice how it feels like now that you stopped moving.
Can you also pick up information from your body without the movement?
Can you also notice the effect that this movement in meditation,
The effect that it has in your overall wellness,
Your general energy level,
Your focus,
Your calmness,
Your sense of equanimity.
So may this be a reminder that there is a lot to learn from every step,
Every second of our lives.
Thank you for practicing with me,
David Ito here.
Namaste.
Stay safe.
Have a joyful day.
