A Short Walking Meditation

"When walking, walk. When eating, eat." — Zen Proverb

Ensure you are comfortable and in a place where you can walk for a short distance in one direction. You can do this walking meditation indoors or outdoors, and you can carry on the practice long beyond this guided session. Walking meditation can be particularly powerful for those of us who want to be more in tune with the body.

Transcript

The ground's generosity takes in our compost and grows beauty. Try to be more like the ground. That's a quote by Rumi. My name is Jen and today we're going to do a walking meditation. So you can do this meditation walking down your street or in a park. You can do it in your backyard or even in your living room. You don't need a lot of space, Just enough space to move around a little bit. And you want to make sure that you're nice and comfortable. So a walking meditation is designed to help you cultivate mindfulness and presence through movement. It's an opportunity to reconnect with your body and the world around you through sensory awareness. And it is a really fantastic opportunity to remind you how available mindfulness practices are. So let's begin by just finding a nice standing position and we will not be closing our eyes today. But take a deep breath in and exhale slowly and set an intention for your practice today. This could be to be more grounded or release stress from your day or simply reconnect with your body. It could also just be to try something new and approach this practice with curiosity and compassion. So once you have your intention, Standing comfortably, Just notice the ground beneath you. Notice the sensations in your feet and the way that you hold your weight. Some of us hold our weight toward the center, The insides of the feet, And some of us hold more to the outsides of the feet. If you want, You can kind of rock right to left, Front to back a little bit, Just finding your center. Taking a few more deep, Slow breaths and allowing yourself to just arrive here in this moment. We will begin the walking practice with a slow and deliberate movement. So your arms can be just gently at your sides, Moving comfortably and naturally. And if it's easier for you, You can also gently clasp them just behind your back or in front of you as you move. Whatever is most comfortable, Begin walking, Bringing your attention to the act of walking itself. Anchoring your attention by focusing on the way that the feet touch the ground, The gentle heel-to-toe motion and the place where the weight is currently held, And the way that the weight shifts from right foot to left and left foot to right, From heel to the ball of the foot, Heel to the ball of the foot. Continuing to move nice and slow. Bring your attention now up to your legs and notice the way that the knee bends and your foot falls and connects with the earth, And the other knee bends to lift the foot and allow it to connect with the earth. And feel even further up the body to the way that the hips move, To any gentle sway in the upper body, The gentle bounce of movement right to left, Left to right. Allowing your breath to be natural, Begin to tune in to the breath and notice the way it moves as you walk. And allowing, If your mind wanders, Just allowing it, Knowing that's natural, Seeing that, Addressing that, And then bringing the attention back to the feet, The gentle footfall, The slow movement. As you continue to walk, Begin to notice the world around you. If you're indoors, It may be the walls and the colors of the walls or any decorations. If you're outside, You may notice trees or houses or a fence. Tune in to colors, To shapes and light. Notice the way objects move toward you as you walk and notice the gentle stillness that is there as you observe. Listen to the sounds and the way they arrive and release. They may be very subtle, The whirring of an air conditioner or the chirping of birds or the swell from a heater. You may even hear the rhythm of your own footfall. Feel the temperature of the air on your skin, The texture of the ground beneath your feet. And as you move here, Just begin to silently, With each step, Send your body gratitude for its ability to move in whatever way it moves. Thank it for carrying you. Notice the way the breath gently comes in and out and thank it for sustaining you. Feeling into the whole of your body moving slowly, Knowing that you can continue this practice for as long as you want, Moving, Noticing, Accepting. But for a moment, Whether you continue to practice or not, Begin to slow the pace even more. Focus the attention even more on the shift of weight, The subtle sensations, The miraculous nature of your body. And gradually slow your pace until you come to a gentle stop, Standing still for a moment and just noticing what you notice. And I invite you to bring this same awareness and compassion into your day or the rest of your walk. Thank you for walking with me today.