Welcome to Step-by-Step,
A simple walking meditation if you're experiencing feelings of overwhelm.
Begin by standing up,
No ceremony required.
You're not taking a journey,
You're just taking a step,
And then another.
Let your walk be natural,
Not fast,
Not purposeful,
Just the pace your body chooses.
As you walk,
Bring your attention to your feet.
Feel the moment your foot lifts,
Moves forward,
And meets the ground again.
One step,
Then the next.
You don't need to know where you're going,
Your body knows how to walk.
Let your arms swing if they want to,
Let your shoulders drop a little.
If your mind is loud,
That's okay,
You're not here to silence it,
You're here to give it somewhere to go.
With each step,
Quietly notice here,
Here,
Here.
Not the future,
Not the whole story,
Just this moment under your feet.
Notice what you pass as you walk.
Light,
Shadows,
Colors,
Movement.
Name things gently in your mind if it helps.
Tree,
Wall,
Sky,
Door.
Simple noticing brings you back into your body without asking anything of you.
If overwhelm feels like pressure in your chest or your head,
Imagine each step helping it drain downward into the ground.
That pressure is draining downward,
Pulling down through your feet,
Through the soles of your feet,
And into the ground.
The earth is so good at holding excess energy,
It doesn't get overwhelmed.
Let it take what you don't need to carry right now.
Breathe naturally,
No special technique.
Just notice that breath is happening as walking is happening.
Two ancient systems doing their thing.
You don't need to fix yourself as you walk.
You don't need to arrive anywhere different.
Walking is the process.
If thoughts pull you away,
Come back to your feet.
Step,
Step,
Here,
Here.
You are allowed to move through life at the speed of your nervous system.
Not the internets,
Not the worlds,
Just yours.
After a few minutes,
Or when it feels right,
Slow your steps.
Come to a gentle stop.
Feel your feet planted.
Feel your body upright and alive.
Take a breath in.
And exhale.
And notice,
You are still here.
And you moved through something.
And that's enough for today.
