Walking Mindful Awareness For Calm

In this practice, you will practice mindful awareness of the present moment as you go for a walk. You will be supported in noticing the feeling of walking, the sounds around you, and the visuals in your environment.

Transcript

Go ahead and begin walking.

You can walk at a fast pace,

A casual pace.

There's no right or wrong way to walk here.

And as you begin walking,

And before we start the meditation,

I just want you to hear that distractions are completely normal.

If your brain begins to wonder and think about something other than the practice today,

That's okay.

That's what our brains are meant to do.

Just gently notice it and bring your attention back to this meditation.

So as you begin this walk,

I invite you to begin with noticing the feeling of your feet hitting the ground beneath you.

Just notice what that feels like to put one foot on the ground and then the other.

Notice the weight of your body with each step you take.

Notice those sensations you can feel on the soles of your feet.

Notice the sensations of the shoes around your feet.

Maybe notice places where the shoes feel tighter,

A little bit looser.

Maybe you notice that back and forth movement of left,

Right,

Left,

Right.

Now invite you to begin to shift your focus to sensations that you can feel on the rest of your body.

Notice any places you can feel coolness.

Maybe it's the sensation of a cool breeze on your cheek,

On your hand.

Maybe you notice coolness on your fingers,

On the tip of your nose.

Or maybe it's the opposite.

Maybe it's warmth.

Maybe it's the sensation of sunshine on your face.

Maybe it's the warmth being generated and created in your body as you walk,

As you move your body.

Maybe it's the feeling or the sensation of your hair tickling your cheek or your neck.

Maybe it's the sensation you notice of your clothes as they rub against you with each step.

Just pausing to really notice what your body feels like in this moment,

What it feels like to walk.

Now I invite you to shift your focus to the sounds you can hear around you.

Maybe simply begin with noticing the sound of your feet hitting the floor,

Hitting the earth beneath you.

Maybe the sound of your feet hitting the earth beneath you is a soft sound,

A silent sound.

Just barely audible.

Or maybe it's loud.

Maybe each step feels,

Sounds thunderous.

Just notice what that sounds like without judging it as good or bad.

Just noticing what it sounds like to hear your shoes hit the ground beneath you.

Maybe shift your focus to the sounds you can hear around you.

Noticing the sounds of the environment that you are in.

Maybe if you're in a natural environment,

Maybe you can hear some birds in the background singing.

Just take a moment to observe those sounds.

Just notice the melody,

The sound that the birds make.

Notice the sound of some wind or some breeze through the trees.

Just noticing the whistle that that makes.

Or maybe there's dogs around you.

Maybe you can hear some dogs barking.

Or maybe you can hear some cars driving by.

Whatever sounds you're noticing in the environment you are in right now,

Just see if you can put all of your attention on it without judging any of the sounds as good or bad.

Just noticing them exactly as they are.

Maybe even bringing a sense of curiosity to those sounds that you can hear.

Maybe you can imagine that you're hearing these sounds from very far away.

Maybe this is the very first time in your life,

That beginner's mind,

You've never heard this sound before.

Now I invite you to begin to shift your focus to any of the sights you can see around you.

See if you can notice the things you can see around you without labeling them as good or bad,

Without wishing you were somewhere else right now.

Just allowing yourself to be present in this moment exactly where you are in time.

You are exactly where you are meant to be.

And see if you can just look around you as you walk.

And notice the things that you can see.

Maybe letting your eyes gaze on some things that bring a pleasant sensation.

Maybe you notice the edges of the sidewalk,

The clouds in the sky.

Maybe you notice a little detail of the landscape before you.

Are there flowers or trees or nature that you can observe?

And see if you can observe these things in your environment that you are looking at without any judgment,

Without any labeling of,

Oh,

This is a good thing to look at or that's a bad thing.

Just letting it be.

Just giving it your observation.

Just noticing it.

You might see other people around you also on a walk.

We're all living its life,

Doing its own thing right now in this moment.

See if you can just practice being present.

Being present with the things you can see around you.

Now I invite you to shift your focus to any smells you can smell in the air around you.

And if you don't notice any smells,

That's okay.

Just continue to practice your awareness of the sensations you can feel in your body,

The sounds you can hear around you and the sights.

But maybe for a moment,

Maybe there are some scents in the air you can bring to your awareness.

You might notice just that natural scent of fresh air,

Of being outside.

If you are going on a walk outside.

Maybe it's the smell of some leaves.

Maybe if it's autumn,

Maybe it's the smell of the leaves as they fall from the tree,

As they decompose around you.

Maybe it's the smell of flowers in springtime.

The smell of blossoms.

Maybe it's the smell of a pine tree.

Just noticing whatever smells you can smell around you.

Whether they're pleasant or unpleasant,

Just notice them as they are.

And now I invite you just to shift your focus to your entire awareness.

All of your sensations that you're noticing right now.

Just allowing your full being to be present in this moment.

Taking in all of the sensations,

The feeling of your feet,

Walking,

Your body moving,

The feeling of your heart rate.

Noticing the feeling of the air around you,

The sounds you can hear around you,

The sights you can see around you,

Any smells you can notice in the air.

Just giving your full presence to this moment,

Knowing that you don't have to be anywhere else right now.

You are exactly where you should be.

Exactly where you're meant to be.

And just allowing yourself a moment,

Permission to not be thinking about the future.

Permission to not be thinking about the past.

Permission to just be alive right here in this moment on this walk.

Just notice what that feels like to be fully present.

And if this is difficult to do,

That's okay.

Be gentle with yourself,

Knowing that this takes practice.

Just bringing your awareness to the full present moment right now.

Maybe even taking a breath,

Noticing that feeling of breathing in this moment,

Exactly as you are.

Maybe even sending a signal to yourself that I am okay right now.

I am exactly where I need to be.

In this moment,

Everything is all right.

And you can begin to let go of any focus now.

Really dropping any effort in remaining mindful on this walk.

And maybe you're done with the walk and can go about your day,

Or maybe you finish out your walk.

Just letting your mind do whatever it wants to do.

Giving it full permission to wander,

Full permission to think about anything it wants to think about.

And just taking a moment just to notice how you feel.

How does that feel in your body?

Practice presence.

And enjoy the rest of your walk.