Mindful Walking (15 Minutes)

We can bring our awareness to any activity in our daily lives, including the act of walking. This meditation offers guidance for slow mindful walking, which is a formal practice. Mindful walking can be done at any speed in any location more informally in the midst of day-to-day activities.

Transcript

Mindful walking is a formal meditation practice that can help us bring mindfulness into our daily lives through the ordinary act of walking,

Whether that's unassisted or with support for mobility like a cane or a walker or a wheelchair.

I'll be guiding primarily for walking without assistance,

But depending on your circumstances,

Please feel free to play with this practice and adapt it as needed to be most supportive for you at this time.

To begin,

It's helpful to have a space that will allow you to take about 15 or 20 steps either in a straight line or a circle,

And that can be inside or outside,

Just allowing for some privacy.

So taking a moment to get yourself set up in a space that's conducive to this practice,

And then as you're ready,

Coming into a standing posture known as the Mountain Pose.

So this position allows you to be stable and upright and alert and relaxed at the same time.

So just beginning by feeling the soles of the feet making firm contact with whatever's beneath you,

Checking the space between your feet to make sure that you feel grounded,

So that might be hip-width or wider,

Whatever's comfortable for you.

And starting to soften the joints,

So there can be a little bend in the ankles and at the knees,

A sense of softening through the hips,

The lower half of the body starting to ground you and support you,

Connecting you to the earth,

Either directly or by extension through whatever you're standing on.

At the same time,

The upper half of the body can be pulling you gently upward,

So sensing the crown of the head lifting up gently,

The back long and strong without being stiff,

Chin tucking a bit,

Shoulders dropping down and back,

Arms heavy and hands and fingers and thumbs loose,

Adjusting your posture to come into a state of ease and balance as much as possible for you.

And starting to sense the stability of the body,

You might like to rock back and forth a little bit to notice what it feels like to shift the weight.

And then also side to side,

Just feeling your weight moving gradually and slowly settling into a place that feels like center,

Noticing what it feels like to come into a sense of balance again.

For walking meditation,

The arms can either rest alongside the body or you might like clasping your hands in front of you or behind you.

Your eyes should remain open,

Your gaze can be soft,

Just gazing down a few feet in front of you.

And the attention comes to the soles of the feet,

Becoming very aware of the feet as they make contact with the floor or the earth and becoming aware of the weight as you shift the weight from one leg to the other,

From one foot to the other and move the body forward.

So we'll try and take a few steps very slowly just to really tune into the sensations of each step.

So gradually shifting the weight onto the right leg,

Grounding through the right foot,

Rooting to the earth through whatever's beneath you.

Left leg begins to feel a bit lighter,

Maybe a sense of hollowness.

And as you're ready,

You can gently lift the left foot,

Move it forward,

And place it down,

Feeling the moment of contact with what's beneath you,

And then shifting the weight forward onto the left foot and the left leg.

As you become stable on the left foot and the left leg,

You'll feel the right leg becoming a bit looser,

A bit lighter,

And as you're ready,

You can pick up the right foot and move the right foot and right leg forward,

Feeling the moment that the right foot makes contact with the floor,

And shifting the weight again onto the right leg.

So we did these first two steps very,

Very slowly,

But you can do mindful walking at any pace.

And I suggest that you start with a slow pace,

Not so slow that it's hard to maintain balance,

But slow enough that you can rest the attention completely with one step at a time.

And just play with your pace until you find a rhythm that's comfortable and supportive for you,

One that lets you be as present and focused as possible.

If you're walking in a straight line,

You can just pause at the end of your path,

Notice how it feels to come back into Mountain Pose,

And then turning gradually,

Feeling what it feels like to turn,

And continuing.

And if you're walking in a circle,

There's really no need to pause at all during the practice.

So we'll walk in silence for a couple of minutes,

Just tuning into each step to the sensations in the feet and the legs as you move slowly and quietly in this manner.

Just like with any other practice,

The mind can and most likely will wander,

And we can just notice where the mind has gone when it wanders off,

And then return our awareness to the next step.

You might like to try coordinating your walking with your breath.

So if it's comfortable for you,

You can time each step with either the inhalation or the exhalation.

So breathing in,

Lifting and moving and placing the left foot,

Breathing out,

Lifting and moving and placing the right foot.

If you're walking at a faster pace,

Maybe you're walking outside,

You might just lightly and silently count the number of steps that match each portion of the breath,

The in-breath and the out-breath.

So breathing in,

Counting the steps,

Breathing out,

Counting the steps.

Just letting the attention focus primarily on the sensations of walking,

And then be supported by very soft counting.

Noticing if you're rushing or leaning forward with the attention in some way,

Seeing if you can let the attention rest back,

And just be with this step.

And now this step.

Knowing that there's nowhere to go and nothing to do,

We're simply practicing arriving here in each moment with each step.

Noticing thoughts and emotions as they arise,

Seeing if you can let them pass by without getting pulled into them.

Now,

Aware of any limitations or challenges that you experience with moving the body,

Knowing that changes have happened over time,

And just being very tender with yourself and taking care of yourself as you practice in this way.

Crisis is one of the worst dangers of any shot in life.

.

In a moment I'll invite one sound of the bell.

And when you hear the sound of the bell,

Please just take 10 more steps at your own pace with no need to rush,

And come back into a standing posture,

Stabilizing and grounding yourself,

And I'll offer a bit more guidance.

.

As you gradually make your way back to the standing posture,

Arriving back in Mountain Pose as you're ready,

Just remembering to allow the joints to soften,

Feeling the soles of the feet root you down to the earth through whatever's beneath you,

Crown of the head gently lifting,

Body coming into ease as much as possible for you.

And resting in this posture for a moment,

Just sensing the body breathing and the heart beating,

Knowing that we can walk with awareness anywhere,

At any pace,

And just considering whether you'd like to take this practice with you informally into your daily life,

Helping you bring mindfulness into ordinary moments.

And you might like to express a little appreciation for the body with all of its abilities and limitations,

But it might be also for any supports that enable you to move with greater ease than would otherwise be possible right now.

And in a moment I'll invite three sounds of the bell to close this practice out.

You can just take in the sounds and then gradually continue your day from here.

The bell is invited.

The bell is invited.