Walking Meditation

We encourage you to take this practice out in nature. You may start by following the guidance here, but eventually, choose to take your headphones off and bring awareness to the sounds around you as well. If you aren't able to walk in nature, take this practice observing the beauty where ever you are.

Transcript

Welcome to your walking meditation.

As we get settled in,

Just gather anything you might need,

Whether it's just a good pair of headphones,

A good pair of sneakers.

And as we begin,

Just settle into your stride.

Just let yourself settle into a rhythm of footsteps on the earth.

And as we arrive in this practice today,

Just take note of how you feel.

Taking a brief inventory of your body.

Notice how your muscles,

Your bones,

Your joints,

Your tendons,

Notice how they feel in this moment,

In this space.

And then bring your awareness to how you're breathing.

And start to deepen each breath if you can.

And inhale,

Taking in fresh new oxygen.

And you could even exhale out through the mouth.

Let go of any stale air.

Taking a few deep breaths in this way.

Inhaling through the nose.

Exhaling through the mouth.

Inhale through the nose.

Exhale through the mouth.

Finding length on either side of your breath.

Your inhales might become a little more full.

And your exhales even more complete.

Inhale,

Notice the scent of the air around you.

The fresh air of the season.

Notice its qualities,

Its flavor.

Take a few more breaths this way,

Just letting the body replenish with some fresh air.

No need to rush any breath.

And then begin to bring your awareness to the soles of your feet on the earth.

And as you walk,

Really start to pay attention to how each foot connects to the ground.

The entire motion of lifting a leg,

Observing the knee bend and setting the foot down,

Grounding through the heel,

The sole,

The ball of your foot,

And then pushing off through the toes to take your next step.

And notice if that awareness slows your stride down,

Or does it stay the same?

And as you take each step,

Give each motion your full awareness.

Feeling the effort of lifting a leg,

The motion of bending your knee and then lengthening to take your next step and roll through the full connection of your foot on the earth.

And let this be at your own pace,

At your own rhythm,

But with all of your awareness.

And with each step you take,

Maybe you start to say to yourself,

Step right,

Step left,

Step right,

Step left,

At the rhythm of your own pace.

Prepare of each foot as it lands on the earth.

And even allow this awareness of your stride to sink into a rhythm,

Sink into what's comfortable.

Now,

Just as we practice in some of our breathing meditations,

Where we count the breath,

Counting the length of your inhale and the length of your exhale,

Use each step as a placeholder to count your breath.

So when you take your next step,

Begin to count up and see how many steps it takes you to inhale completely.

Counting one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

However long it takes.

And then once you get to the top,

Do the same as you exhale,

Count the number of steps it takes you to empty the breath.

And practice that for a few cycles,

Counting,

Counting as you exhale.

Just observe and try that a couple more times.

Continuing your stride,

Continuing your rhythm,

But just counting with each step.

And counting as you exhale.

No more rounds,

Just finding your rhythm.

Know that you could also take this practice at a run or a jog.

Counting as you inhale,

And counting as you exhale.

For me,

My practice sounds like this.

Inhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight.

Exhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight.

Your stride or your steps might be slower or faster than mine are.

You might count to a different number.

But once you've found that rhythm,

Just notice which number you reach most often.

What number is most comfortable for you to breathe at?

And then actively choose to inhale and exhale,

Counting to that number with each cycle of breath,

So that your inhales and exhales become the same length.

Inhaling count up.

Exhale,

Count again.

Inhale count up.

Feel each foot step against the earth.

Exhale count again.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Exhale.

Each step you count,

Awareness of how your body walks,

Awareness of how your foot connects to the ground,

Awareness of how your knees bend and operate to keep your body moving.

Continue to step.

Continue to count.

Inhaling.

Exhaling.

Inhaling.

Exhaling.

Notice if your arms have started to find a natural rhythm as well.

And they just move and sway effortlessly without having to think about how they move.

Our body knows how to stay balanced,

How to move in rhythm if we just kind of step out of the way.

Hold on to your breath.

Hold on to this stride for a few more rounds.

Counting as you inhale.

And counting as you exhale.

Again counting as you inhale.

And counting as you exhale.

Now you can hold on to this breath.

And even in the moments where you notice your mind wandering,

Let this be your anchor.

So anytime you notice the mind kind of dancing away towards something else,

Towards a thought or a feeling that's outside of this moment,

Then bring your awareness back to the rhythm of your breath and the rhythm of your step.

But begin to tune in to even more of your senses.

With your eyes open,

Take a look down at the ground right in front of your feet.

And notice the qualities of the earth that you're walking on.

More of just the simple beauty of what we're able to walk on.

The texture.

The colors.

If there's any pattern to the ground that we're on.

If where we're walking is soft or dense,

Hard.

You might notice the weight at which you're walking.

Are your footsteps heavy?

Are they light?

And is it possible to take each step with a little bit more reverence?

Or take each step honoring the earth a little bit more?

Maybe we walk a little lighter,

A little softer.

And then just lift your gaze a little bit.

Looking at the ground,

Maybe out in front of you.

The ground a little further up ahead in the distance.

What are the qualities of what we're walking towards?

Does the ground change in any way?

Are the colors or is the texture the same or does anything change?

Keeping your awareness on the earth,

On the ground.

And you might lift your gaze even more.

Observe what's right beside you at eye level.

What are the colors?

What are the textures that are surrounding you right in this moment?

As you look around,

What can you observe that you haven't noticed before?

As you look around,

Can you notice everything that's alive around you?

If there are plants,

Trees,

Really notice them and observe them as living beings.

And almost imagine that each living being,

Each living thing that we walk by is observing us just as we observe them.

Does that change how we would walk on the earth?

What else can you notice that's alive around you?

If you're in a place that's filled with nature,

Are there birds you haven't noticed?

Are there any critters or creepy crawlers?

Are there other human beings?

Notice the things that are closest to you,

That are immediately around you.

And as you continue walking,

They might change,

But continue to bring your awareness to what's presenting itself right now in the moment you're in.

If the mind wanders,

Come back to each step,

Breathing in and counting each step.

Breathing out and counting again.

Breathing in,

Breathing out.

Focus your gaze,

Focus your attention,

Maybe a little further from you.

Bring your awareness to maybe what's up ahead at eye level.

Observe what's in front of you,

The colors.

Although simple,

Take a moment to scan with your own awareness each color you can observe in this moment.

The colors that might seem more vibrant,

And the colors that might seem maybe more muted.

Notice if there's one color or one thing in particular that pulls your attention most.

We don't even have to think about or consider why.

Just let it have your attention.

What's out in front of you that feels alive?

What's out in front of you that's growing and evolving with each passing day?

Feel your feet on the earth.

If the mind wanders from this moment,

If it wanders from observing what's happening right here right now,

Come back to your stride.

Using each step as you inhale,

And as you exhale.

Now if it's safe for you to do so,

Lift your gaze.

Maybe you can see towards the horizon,

Maybe you can look up towards the sky.

And what can you observe that's maybe up above you?

Is it an endless blue sky?

Is it an endless gray sky?

Are there patterns of clouds painted on blue?

Is there a combination of colors making up the sky?

Is there a spotting of stars?

Or can you see the sun or the moon?

Each and every color has its own beauty,

So just observe what's showing up today.

Can you take a moment just seeing the beauty of the sky that's presented for us today?

In whatever way it's showing up.

Bring your awareness back to your stride.

Inhale each step on the earth.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

Using each step with care and attention.

Can you notice the temperature on your skin?

Do you feel the warmth of sunlight?

Maybe you feel some heat if you're dressed in layers.

Or does the air feel cool on your fingertips?

Are there moments of maybe a gust of wind letting the air just kind of dance across your skin?

As you dive past and feel the breeze against your skin,

Against your clothing,

Through your hair.

Give all of your attention to this moment.

Right here,

Right now,

All you have to focus on is what's being presented for you.

The earth you're walking on.

Everything that's around you.

Exhale each step.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

And as you continue,

What's something about this moment that could bring a smile to your face?

What's something about this moment that you could be completely grateful for?

Without trying to change this moment in any way,

But what could we love about it exactly as it is?

Now,

Hold that feeling.

Hold that thought.

You might even spend the next few minutes or the rest of your walk looking for those moments of beauty.

Peeking out what can bring a smile to your face right here in this moment.

And know that you can always come back to your breath.

Exhaling as you count each step and exhaling to repeat.

Feeling your body's rhythm.

Feeling the motion of each step.

Feeling how each foot connects to the earth.

And let the remainder of your walk or your journey be your own.

You could continue with this practice,

But you could just let yourself enjoy walking.

And notice what you might experience over the next few minutes.

Enjoy.

Reviews

Grounding and connecting❤️

Really enjoyed this meditation and your guidance.

Just what I was looking for to play on my morning, pre-work walk. Inhaled the smell of the season… crisp, early autumn 🍂 in the UK. Thank you.

It was great. I couldn't think anything, just enjoyed my walking. Thanks.

Your voice, your tone, and the nuances of your phrasing created a wonderful walking meditation practice for me. Especially when you asked what in this momemnt can make you smile. thank you.

Really great

Really well done

Loved this. Perfect length for a good walk. I just walked in my neighborhood on a cloudy, drizzly day. I saw so many beautiful early spring flowers blooming and enjoyed all the wafts of the grape popsicle- scented Texas mountain laurels!

Great walking meditation . I liked the focusing on the breath and feet.

Nice paced walk. Getting my steps in along the American River!!