Hello,
And welcome to your walking meditation.
My name is Kate Mansour,
And I am a passionate practitioner of walking meditation.
I believe it is such a beautiful way to open yourself up to the beauty of being alive,
To slow down time,
And to cultivate feelings of childlike wonder,
Gratitude,
And joy.
As you step outside for your walking meditation,
I always recommend to start with some movement.
Shake your body,
Move your joints,
Stretch your neck,
Your back,
Swing those arms around,
And even squiggle your fingers and toes.
To get some anxious energy out through some movement will bring additional peace,
Calm,
And tranquility to your walking meditation.
Once you've shaken out your excess energy,
Worry,
And anxiety,
Settle in for a grounding meditation before we begin walking.
Plant your feet firmly on the ground.
Allow your eyes to flutter closed for a moment,
And point your palms facing outward at your sides.
Focus in on your breath,
In and out,
In and out.
Thich Nhat Hanh says that on our walking meditation,
We have nowhere to go,
Nothing to do.
We just cultivate peace in every step.
This time that you're taking for your walk is a gift to yourself to revel in the experience of your life,
To release worries about the past,
Anxieties about the future,
And to step quite literally into the wondrous here and now.
Take another deep breath in,
Bringing your awareness to the here and now,
Activating your senses.
Open your eyes and gently scan your environment from left to right.
The pace of today's walk is slow and mindful.
Like Thich Nhat Hanh said,
Nowhere to go,
Nothing to do,
Just peace in every step.
You activate your childlike wonder.
Children are known to dawdle,
Delay,
Follow their curiosity.
And so on today's meditation walk,
There's absolutely no rush.
You take your first mindful steps,
Pasting your heel,
The ball of your foot on the ground,
And then unpasting it slowly.
You feel the ground beneath your feet.
On our meditation walk,
We can imagine a flower blooming under each one of our steps.
You feel that connection to mother nature as you walk mindfully through her creation.
Step,
Step,
Gentle,
Beautiful,
Mindful steps.
The analytical mind shuts down.
The doors of perception within your being open up.
Perhaps as you walk,
You imagine yourself like a prince or a princess walking through your enchanted forest.
Or perhaps you imagine yourself as the child version of yourself.
We spend so much of our lives analyzing,
Thinking,
Coming up with the next thing to say.
Your meditation walk is a time for you to just be.
Once again,
Feel your feet on the ground.
Then feel the temperature of the air on your skin,
The sensation of any breeze.
Can you feel the sun today?
Take a nice,
Big breath in through your nose and smell the air.
The awareness moves down to your mouth.
Can you taste the air?
You pause your walk for a moment.
Stand still.
Activate your sense of hearing.
All of your awareness goes to listening.
How far can you hear?
How many different sounds can you pick out with these senses activated,
Bringing you more fully into the experience of your existence and the here and now.
You open your eyes and feast,
Noticing vibrant color.
You begin again,
Your slow,
Mindful walk with all senses activated.
If it comes up,
Let awe pervade your being at the kaleidoscopic wonder that's around you.
As you step and breathe and be,
You allow yourself to pause if curiosity strikes,
To pick up and examine a leaf,
To place your hand on the trunk of a tree and feel the energy,
Even to stop and sit for a moment.
We breathe slowly and walk slowly because when we slow the pace of our body,
Our mind follows.
A sense of some joy in living is one of the most serious things in all the world.
A quote by Henry Beston to remind us on this walk,
To let our joy soar,
Suppress no joy.
Walk light-footed and free,
Reveling in the here and now,
Reveling in your experience of being alive.
Ride the waves of mother nature and the waves of the universe within you.
Look and really see.
There's so much beauty in the world.
If you haven't already,
Allow a small smile to come to your face as you continue to absorb the peace of mother nature and the peace that lives within you.
You not only walk through mother nature,
You are nature.
You are connected to everything you see,
Nowhere to go,
Nothing to do,
Peace in every step.
Your walk today has created a path of newly bloomed flowers from each one of your peaceful,
Mindful steps.
You've tapped into your childlike wonder,
Your sense of awe,
And practice removing blocks to full expression of your inner joy.
Thank you for joining me on today's meditation walk guided experience.
You're welcome to continue your slow,
Mindful walk,
No time,
Just peace,
Or you can end the meditation now,
But allow the feelings of tranquility and awe to follow you through your day,
Your week,
And your month.
That peace that you bring with you after this meditation will positively impact every person you meet.
By taking time for this meditation,
Calm your soul to connect with the universe in and around you,
You make the world a better place.
Thank you for doing this.
Nowhere to go,
Nothing to do,
Peace in every breath.
All my love,
Kate.
