Walking Meditation

A walking meditation to help you feel calm, balanced and grounded. From the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Programme, Living Mindfully.

Transcript

Walking Meditation In this practice,

We will simply be bringing our awareness to the movements of walking,

Being present with our experience of walking.

Most of us find ourselves walking at various times during the day,

But often we're lost in thought,

Our mind drifting away from any awareness that we may have of our experience of walking.

Bringing mindful and careful attention to the simple act of walking can transform what is often an automatic and uninteresting process into a rich and nurturing experience.

When we do formal walking practice,

There's no goal to be achieved or any destination to be reached.

When we practice walking meditation,

We simply arrive in each moment.

Throughout your day,

You could also experiment with bringing careful attention to the physical sensations of walking,

Your breath and your surroundings.

So now,

Starting your practice by finding a quiet place where you'll be undisturbed and where you can walk back and forth for about 10 to 15 steps.

Coming to stand and having your feet about a hips width apart.

Allowing your arms just to hang loosely by your sides.

And we will begin with a short body scan to help us just settle into the practice.

Allowing the breath just to flow freely as you stand here.

And beginning by taking your awareness to the crown of the head.

And just becoming aware of any sensations that are arising here for you.

And then moving your awareness down through the face,

Beginning with the forehead.

And then the eyebrows.

And the eyes.

Taking your awareness down into the nose.

And your ears.

Cheeks.

And mouth.

And now just gently shifting your awareness to the jaw.

And then the chin.

Moving your attention to all of the face and opening to any sensations that are here for you right now.

Allowing your awareness to move to the back of the neck.

And then to the area of the throat.

Moving gently to your shoulders and noticing any sensations here.

And now shifting your awareness down both arms and into the hands so that you're holding the arms and the hands in awareness.

Gently returning your attention back to the shoulders and then down into the area of the chest.

The front and the back of the chest.

And not only noticing sensations on the surface but maybe also sensations inside the body.

Perhaps noticing your heart or lungs.

And gradually shifting into the abdomen and the lower back.

The pelvis and the hips.

And then just moving your attention down into the thighs.

Expanding into both knees.

The lower legs.

The calves and shins.

Bring in your awareness to the ankles.

And then to the feet.

Toes.

The soles of the feet.

Becoming aware of any sense of contact with the floor.

Really placing your awareness right into those sensations.

Feeling the support of the ground beneath you.

Perhaps a sense of being rooted or grounded.

And opening your awareness to the whole body standing.

And this time shifting all your weight down the left side and into the left leg.

And just being present with all the sensations that this movement creates.

Opening to the experience.

Moving your attention back into both legs so that they're evenly placed.

And then slowly shifting your weight over to the right leg.

And again opening to any sensations that are here.

And then coming back to center.

And now,

And now as you take an in-breath,

Slowly raising the right foot.

First the heel.

Then the sole.

And lifting the toes.

And moving your foot forward.

And as you breathe out,

Just placing your foot on the ground a short distance in front of you.

Breathing in.

Taking a step with your left foot.

Raising the heel.

The sole.

The toes.

And then just moving the foot forward.

And as you breathe out,

Placing the foot on the ground.

So allowing your breathing to set the pace of your walking.

Breathing in,

Lifting your foot and moving.

Breathing out,

Placing your foot in front of you.

Lifting.

Moving.

Placing each foot in rhythm with the breath.

And just continuing in this way.

Walking slowly with full awareness.

Walking in time with your breath.

Simply breathing in,

Lifting your foot and moving.

Breathing out,

Placing your foot in front of you.

Lifting.

Moving.

Placing.

Taking your awareness right into the sensations of lifting and moving.

And the connection as your foot touches the floor.

When you reach the end of your walk in place,

Just coming into stillness for a moment.

And then bringing your awareness to the sensations that you create by turning.

And then coming to stand.

Simply beginning again.

Lifting.

Moving.

Placing.

Tuning in to the sensations of touching the ground.

And if you become aware that your mind has wandered,

That it's got lost in thought.

Firmly but gently escorting your awareness back to the sensations you create as you walk.

Remembering there's no special state to be created here.

Just simply bringing awareness to whatever is present as we walk in each moment.

Letting go of any ideas about needing to get anywhere.

Just being with each step.

Lifting.

Moving.

Placing.

And every time you reach the end of your walk in place,

With full awareness,

Once again turning.

And then just beginning again.

Lifting.

Moving.

Placing.

Having a sense of ease as you walk.

Noticing any tightness or tension as you move.

And if this is the case for you,

Perhaps taking your awareness into those places.

Breathing in to those places on the in-breath and softening and opening to them as you breathe out.

And knowing that there are endless opportunities to just begin again.

As soon as you notice that your awareness has drifted,

You can simply come back again and again.

Coming back to being with the breath and with the body and with the sensations of movement in your feet.

Perhaps at times choosing to shift your awareness to the tiny sensations that arise in your feet as you walk.

Being with each step in each moment.

Arriving in each moment.

Breathing in.

Lifting your foot and moving.

Breathing out.

Placing your foot in front of you.

Just walking in rhythm with your breathing.

Tuning in to the sensations of touching the ground.

And simply remembering every time the mind wanders,

Bringing about firmly but gently the sensations created as you walk.

If you are comfortable with this,

You might like to try increasing the speed of your walking ever so slightly.

Allowing your breath just to flow naturally.

So letting go of walking with the rhythm of your breath and bringing awareness to simple sensations of movement in your body as you walk at a more normal pace.

Being present with your experience of the body moving as you walk.

Perhaps noticing the sensations of your arms swinging.

Sensations in your hands.

Or the sensation of air in parts of the body as you move.

Being present with walking and the sensations this creates.

Bringing the mind back to the present moment if it drifts into thought.

Bringing back to just the sensations of walking in this moment.

Thank you for watching!

You And now gradually slowing the pace.

But remembering to bring awareness to the sensations arising as you do this.

And when you're ready,

Allowing the rhythm of the breath to once more match the pace of your walking.

Breathing in.

Lifting the foot and moving.

Breathing out.

Placing your foot in front of you.

Lifting,

Moving and placing each foot in time with the breath.

Tuning in to all the sensations in your feet as you walk.

And now as you next place your foot,

Bringing your feet together and coming to stand.

Drawing your walking practice to a close.

And remembering that the practice of walking meditation is available to us throughout the day.

Simply by paying attention to the physical sensations of your breath and your surroundings as you walk.

Thank you for watching!

Reviews

Very nice walking meditation to promote calm awareness of my movements 🙏🏼

Such a beautiful meditative walk. I needed something to support me on this brisk winter day and your inviting and warm voice and meditation was perfect. So glad I found you!

Thank you. A practice I find it suitable to do in my room.

A formal slow practice guided by breathing rate. Not ideal for dog walking but excellent instruction

Exactly what I was looking for this morning. Thank you !

Loved this! Especially starting out with the body scan! I actually did this on an outdoor walk with my dogs & just modified it as I went along & it worked perfectly 😊Thank you 🙏🏼

Wonderful guided walking meditation!

It’s such a wonderful well-paced meditation. I recommend it for anytime but especially in those days when you feel agitated and sitting down seems daunting. We need to adapt meditation to the current state of our body and mind, and sometimes sitting down is not the wise thing to do but rather to move in a gentle way. Thank you for these minutes walking! 🌟

Lovely and calm. A wonderful way to stay in the present.

Really enjoyed this mindfulness practice 🙏🏾🧘🏾‍♀️🕉

Simple and relaxing!

...lovely!!...very Peaceful!... 💕🙏💕
Thank you! ✨💖✨

Beautiful sensations to be felt, by just simply walking. Thank you for a great meditation session.

I didn't know what to expect, but I actually loved this!

Wonderful peaceful and soothing voice ! Thank you 🙏

Exactly what I needed. A short path back and forth, moving with breath, then letting breath go, then coming back. Thank you.

Wonderful step by step walking meditation instruction. Excellent tool to quiet and focus a busy mind.

Thank you for your mindful walking meditation 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

Loved it. Being adhd it is a challenge at 1st to slow down. But this is the reason it is needed because it has so many more benefits. Namaste

Also helpful on my “real” walk along a beach path.