Walking meditation.
Our bodies spend a lot of time moving as we go about the daily busyness of our lives.
But how often during the day do we really notice the sensations in our body?
Here is a real opportunity to bring mindful attention right into your life,
Noticing how your body feels in motion.
Walking meditation is a simple and universal practice for developing calm,
Inner balance and awareness.
It can be practiced regularly,
Before or after sitting meditation,
Or any time on its own,
Such as in the morning or after a busy day at work.
The art of walking meditation is to learn to be aware as you walk,
To use the natural movement of walking to cultivate mindfulness and present moment awareness.
To practice select a quiet place where you can walk comfortably back and forth,
Indoors or out,
About 10 to 30 paces in length.
Now let's start.
Begin by standing at one end of this walking path,
With your feet firmly planted on the ground.
Let your hands rest easily wherever they are comfortable.
Open your senses to see and feel the whole surroundings.
After a moment bring your attention back to focus on the body.
Center yourself and feel how your body is standing.
Feel the pressure of your feet on the floor or ground and the other natural sensations of standing.
Let yourself be present and alert.
First shift your weight to your left foot and leg and slowly lift your right foot off the ground,
Feeling your right leg move forward and the foot rolling off from heel to toes.
Then continue like this.
With each step feel the sensations in your body.
Feel each step mindfully as you walk.
Begin to walk quite slowly,
More slowly than usual.
Relax and let your walking be easy and natural with a sense of ease and dignity.
Just pay attention to your body.
Just staying with the walking as best as you can.
When your mind wanders,
Just simply guide it back gently and kindly.
When you reach the end of your path,
Pause for a moment.
Center yourself,
Carefully turn around and pause again so that you can be aware of the first step as you walk back.
And experiment with the speed walking at whatever pace keeps you most present.
Continue to walk back and forth for 10 minutes or longer.
As with the breath and sitting meditation,
Your attention will wander away many times.
But as soon as you notice this,
Acknowledge where it went.
Wandering,
Thinking,
Hearing,
Planning and then return to feel the next step.
It's like training a puppy to stay on the path.
You will need to come back a thousand times.
It's okay that your mind wanders and that's normal.
Just simply acknowledge where you have been and then come back to being in the here and now with the next step you take.
Just staying with the walking as best as you can.
When your mind wanders,
Just simply guide it back gently and kindly.
Use the walking meditation to calm and collect yourself and to live more wakefully in your body.
Practice at home first and you can then extend your mindful walking in an informal way on your way to work when you go shopping or anywhere else.
You can learn to enjoy walking for its own sake instead of the usual planning and thinking.
And in this simple way,
Begin to be truly present in your life.
Just continue to walk like this now as long as you wish and finish in your own time.
