So,
To begin this period of walking meditation,
First of all,
Let's simply stand.
Just stand on the spot,
Being aware of your weight,
Being transferred through the soles of your feet into the earth,
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,
But actually it took us a couple of years to learn how to do this.
So be aware of the constant adjustments you're making in order to maintain your balance.
And then you begin to walk at 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 your attention on 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 the 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 and let your feet be as relaxed as possible.
Become aware of your ankles.
Notice the qualities of the sensations in those joints as your foot is on the ground,
As your foot travels through the air and let your ankle joints be relaxed.
Make sure you're not holding on in any way.
You can become aware of your lower legs,
Your shins,
Your calves.
You can be aware of the contact with your clothing.
Be aware of the outside temperature on your skin.
You can be 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 you can connect with that and then let your walking go back to a normal,
Relaxed rhythm.
Encourage your calf muscles to be relaxed.
Then become aware of your knees,
Noticing the qualities of the sensations in your knee joints and expand your awareness into your thighs.
Being aware of the skin,
Again,
The contact with your clothing,
The temperature.
Being aware of the muscles and noticing what the muscles in the front and the backs of your legs are doing.
Once more,
You might want for a few paces just to exaggerate what those muscles are doing,
So you become aware of them.
Exaggerate those actions.
And then let your walk go back to a normal rhythm.
Become aware of your hips,
The muscles around your hip joints.
Try relaxing those muscles.
Really relax them.
Even when you think you're relaxed,
Relax them some more.
And just notice how that changes your walk.
Notice how the rhythm and the gait of the walk changes as your hips relax.
You can be aware of the whole of your pelvis and notice all the movements that are going on in your pelvis.
One hip moves forward,
Then the other.
One hip lifting,
The other is sinking.
And you can become aware of the complex three-dimensional shape that your pelvis is,
Carving out through the space as you walk forward.
The lowest part of your spine,
Your tailbone,
Is embedded right in your pelvis.
So as you feel your spine extending upwards into your lower back,
Up through your rib cage,
You can notice how it moves with your pelvis.
Your spine is in constant motion,
Swaying from side to side.
There is a twisting motion around that central axis and your spine is in constant sinuous,
Sensuous motion.
Notice your belly.
You might feel it through your clothing,
Come in contact with it.
Notice how your belly is really the center of your body.
Very often it feels like it's down there because there's so much in our heads.
So seek to what extent you can feel your belly is the center of your body,
Is 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 coursing over the skin on your hands and fingers as your 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 really close into your chest,
Your experience here will become darker and more emotional and that you're more inward turned,
Somber.
If you lift your chin and hold it in the air,
You might notice that your experience becomes 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 and caught up in your thoughts.
And then bringing your head back to a point of balance with your chin just 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 past you.
You can be aware of the feelings that you're having,
Not in terms of emotions yet but just the feeling tongue.
Are there things that feel pleasant?
Are there things that feel unpleasant?
Just notice them.
Don't either cling onto them or push them away but just 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 to drift by without following them or averting your gaze from them.
Just notice them.
You can notice your emotional states.
Are you bored?
Are you content?
Are you irritated?
Are you feeling very happy to be doing what you're doing?
You're just walking,
You're out for a walk.
Again,
Just noticing whatever emotions happen to be present and notice your mind also.
Is your mind clear,
A little dull?
Is it busy or is it calm?
Are you thinking about things unconnected with what you're doing right now because you're just out walking?
Or do whatever thoughts that you have center on what you're doing right now in this moment?
Just notice these things with no particular judgment,
Just noticing.
And you can notice the balance between your experience of the inner and the outer.
If you can become aware of both the inner world and the outer world in equal balance,
Your mind will settle at a point of stillness and calmness and clarity.
See if you can find that point of balance where you're equally aware of the inner and the outer.
Your mind is calm,
Content and quiet.
So in a few seconds,
I'm going to ask you to stop walking.
And I just want you to come to a natural halt so you're not freezing on the spot.
You just allow yourself to come to a stop.
So do that now.
Just stop walking and just experience yourself standing.
Just notice what it's like to be no longer in motion.
Notice once more the complex balancing act that's going on to keep you upright.
Feeling once again the weight traveling down to the soles of your feet into the earth,
Simply standing and experiencing yourself.
In a few moments,
I'm going to ask you to resume walking and go back to where you started.
However,
On the return,
I want you to focus on your breathing and your feet coming in contact with the earth.
So every time you inhale,
As you're inhaling,
You will say in,
In,
In,
With every step you take during your inhale.
And then when you begin to exhale,
You will say out,
Out,
Out in your head with every step you take during your exhale.
And that is all you will focus on as you return back to where you started.
Are the steps you take during your inhale and the steps you take as you exhale.
Focus on your breathing.
Please notice when you return,
Be at peace with your day and mindful of who you are.
