Hello and welcome to your meditation practice.
So today we're going to do something a little different.
We're going to work through a walking meditation.
So whether you put some headphones in and walk around your local park,
Maybe your backyard,
Or maybe you simply put it on some speakers and walk around your home.
Wherever you are choose somewhere that you can be completely present.
To start let's simply stand.
Just stand on the spot wherever you are and start to become aware of your weight being transferred through the soles of your feet into the eye.
Being aware of all the subtle movements that go on in order to keep us balanced and upright.
Very often we take this for granted.
Our ability to be able to stand upright.
If you actually think about it,
It took us a few years to learn how to do this.
Be grateful and be aware of the constant adjustments that you are making it in order to maintain your balance and simply stand.
Then you can begin to walk in a fairly slow but normal walking pace and in a normal manner.
We're not going to be changing the way that we walk,
We're simply going to be aware of it.
So first of all keep in attention to the soles of your feet.
Being aware of the alternating patterns of contact and release.
Being aware of your foot as the heel first makes contact.
As your foot rolls forward onto the ball and then lifts and travels through the air.
Be aware of all the different sensations in your feet.
Not just a contact in the soles of your feet but the contact between the toes.
The feeling of the inside of your shoes,
The fabric of your socks or your feet on the earth.
Then let your feet be as relaxed as you can.
Become aware of your ankles.
Notice the qualities of the sensations in all those joints.
As your foot is on the ground,
As your foot travels through the air.
Let your ankle joints be relaxed.
Make sure that you're not holding on or in in any way.
You can become aware of your lower legs,
Your shins,
Your calves.
Become aware of the contact with your clothing or the temperature of the air on your skin.
Become aware of the muscles and notice what the calf muscles are doing as you're walking.
You might even want to exaggerate for a few steps what the calf muscles are doing just so that you can connect with them.
Then let your walk and go back to normal,
Relaxed and rhythmic.
Encourage your calf muscles to be relaxed and then become aware of your knees.
Noticing the qualities of the sensations in your knees.
Then expand your awareness into your thighs.
Being aware of the skin and gain the contact with your clothing and the temperature.
Being aware of the muscles and noticing what the muscles on the fronts of the thighs and the muscles on the back of the thighs are doing.
Once more you might want to,
For a few paces,
Just exaggerate what those muscles are doing.
Exaggerate the action of those muscles.
Then let your walk go back to a normal rhythm.
Become aware of your hips,
The muscles around your hip joints and relax those muscles.
Really relax.
Even when you think you're relaxed,
Relax them some more.
Just notice how that changes your walk.
Notice how the rhythm and the gait of your walk changes your hips.
Now become aware of the whole of your pelvis and notice all of the movements that are going on in your pelvis.
One hip moves forward and then the other.
One hip lifting,
The other sinking.
You can be aware of the complex three-dimensional shape that your pelvis is carving out through the space as you walk forwards.
The lowest parts of your spine,
Your sacrum is embedded in the pelvis.
So as you feel your spine extending upwards,
The lumbar spine,
The thoracic spine,
You can notice how it all moves along with the pelvis.
Your spine is in constant motion.
It's swaying from side to side.
There is a twisting motion around the central axis.
Your spine is in constant sinuous,
Sinuous motion.
Notice your belly.
You might feel your clothing in contact with your belly.
And notice how your belly is the center of your body.
Very often it feels like it's down there because we are so much in our heads.
So seek to what extent you can feel your belly is the center of your body,
As the center of your being.
Notice your chest and just let your breathing happen.
Notice the contact that your chest makes with your clothing.
Notice your shoulders.
Notice how they're moving with the rhythm of your walking.
Let your shoulders be relaxed.
Let your shoulders passively transmit the rhythm of your walk down into your arms,
Having your arms simply hanging by your sides and swinging naturally.
Notice all the motions in your arms,
Your upper arms,
Your elbows,
Your forearms,
Your wrists,
Your hands.
Feel the air cursing and forcing over the skin on your hands and fingers as the arms swing through the air.
Become aware of your neck and the muscles supporting your skull.
Notice the angle of your head and notice that as you relax the muscles on the back of your neck,
Your chin slightly tucks in and your skull comes to a point of balance.
You might want to play around with the angle of your head and see how it changes your experience.
You might notice that when you tuck your chin close to your chest,
Your experience becomes darker and more emotional,
That you're more inward turned,
Somber.
And if you lift your chin and hold it in the air,
You might notice that your experience becomes much lighter,
That you become much more aware of the outside world and perhaps caught up in the outside world or much more aware of your thoughts than caught up in your thoughts.
And then bringing your head back to a point of balance,
Your chin slightly tucked in.
Relax your jaw,
Relax your eyes and just let your eyes be softly focused,
Gently looking ahead,
Not staring at anything,
Not allowing yourself to be caught up in anything that's going on around you.
You can now be aware of the feelings that you're having,
Not in terms of emotions you are,
But just the feeling tone.
Are there any things that feel pleasant?
Are there any things that feel unpleasant in your body or outside of you?
Just notice in your body what's pleasant or unpleasant.
Don't either cling to them or push them away,
Just simply notice them.
If you notice things in the outside world that are either pleasant or unpleasant,
Just allow them to drift by,
Just noticing them,
Letting them drift by without following them or adverting your gaze from you.
Now start to notice your emotional state.
Are you bored or are you content?
Are you irritated or are you feeling very happy to be doing what you're doing?
Again,
Just noticing whatever emotions happen to be present and notice your mind also.
Is your mind clear or dull?
Is your mind busy or is it calm?
Are you thinking about things unconnected with this practice or do whatever thoughts that you have center on what you're doing right now?
Just notice these things with no particular judgment,
Just awareness and observation.
In a few seconds,
I'm going to ask you to stop.
Just like that,
You'll come to a natural hope.
So you're not freezing up on the spot,
You're just allowing yourself to come to a stop.
You'll do that now.
Come to a gentle stop and just experience yourself standing once again.
Just notice what it's like to no longer be in motion.
Notice once more the complex balancing act that is going on to keep you upright.
Feeling once again,
The weight traveling down through the soles of your feet and into the eye.
Simply standing and experiencing yourself.
When you are ready,
You can bring this meditation session to a close.
Continue with your day,
Observing,
Noticing and feeling.
Namaste.
