Mindful Walking

A practice to move around in a mindful way with me. This can be indoor or outdoor. Use the body in movement to anchor attention. It's really interesting to try attending more closely to something we do all of the time.

Transcript

Mindful walking practice.

Finding somewhere you won't be disturbed for the next 10 to 15 minutes with a reasonable amount of space for you to move around.

Doing this practice in bare or stocking feet or if you're outdoors then in comfortable shoes.

Coming to stand for a few moments,

Having soft knees,

Bringing attention inwards if it feels okay,

Allowing the eyes to close for a few moments.

Feeling the feet on the floor,

The angle of the legs,

The spine rising up,

The neck and shoulders,

The arms and hands,

The head and face.

Bringing our attention to the face for a few moments.

What's my expression like right now?

As with all the practices we don't have to be any particular way.

Just bringing our attention,

Our awareness to how the expression feels from the inside.

Becoming aware of breath,

Feeling that flow of breath moving in and moving out.

Just checking in with how my breath is right now.

Doesn't have to be any particular way,

Doesn't have to be particularly smooth or relaxed.

We're bringing our attention to the breath just as it is.

Feeling the in-breath and the out-breath.

Allowing our awareness to move all the way down to the soles of the feet.

Feeling that connection between the feet and the socks or perhaps shoes and the ground below.

Noticing the points of contact,

Retaining an awareness of breath,

Moving in and moving out.

Allowing the feet to fill awareness and starting to feel where the weight of the body is.

Is it more towards the balls of the feet or perhaps towards the heels or somewhere in between.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Now we're going to get ready and prepare to begin to walk.

Noticing what happens with the body as the brain hears this signal.

Do we favour one leg?

Are we starting to shift our weight?

We don't have to do this in any particular way,

We're just bringing our curiosity to this whole process.

Slowing it down to enable us to move from automatic pilot to a state of mindful awareness.

Moving that weight to one foot and preparing to lift the other foot from the floor and noticing the muscles,

The ligaments,

All the parts of the body that are involved in this action.

Just slowly peeling that foot away from the floor.

Moving the foot,

Being aware of what's happening with balance.

Only going as far as is okay for your body right now and then bringing the foot down to the floor.

That interplay between the heel,

The outer edge of the foot and the ball of the foot and the toes.

Being aware of what's happening to the back foot.

Is this beginning to peel away from the floor?

Just starting to move in your own rhythmic way.

One foot gently in front of the other.

So we're peeling one foot away,

Moving and placing.

Feeling the weight move across the sole of the foot.

Noticing what happens with the other foot.

Peeling away of that foot,

Moving and placing.

Resting our awareness down at the soles of the feet.

Feeling the pressure with contact with the floor,

The areas of feet that are involved in this movement.

Steadily placing one foot in front of the other.

Taking quite small steps.

We don't have to stride out.

We don't have to stretch through this.

Noticing what's happening with the mind.

Is the mind able to stay with the feet?

Or are thoughts coming up if they are?

That's okay.

That's what minds tend to do.

Just gently bringing our awareness back to the soles of the feet and to the toes.

Taking one step in front of the other.

And if it feels okay and it's safe for you to do so now,

We can close our eyes for a few moments.

Slowing this right down.

Really bringing the awareness to the soles of the feet.

Taking one step in front of the other.

Lifting,

Moving,

Placing.

Lifting,

Moving,

Placing.

Just being careful of the environment around you.

Navigating any turns.

Just moving freely around the space that you have available.

Then we start to bring our awareness further up the length of the body.

Noticing the ankles and the calves.

Feeling the knees.

The efforts involved with the body.

And this simple act of walking.

Lifting,

Moving,

Placing.

One foot in front of the other.

Noticing what's happening with the upper legs and the thighs.

The hips,

The pelvis and lumbar region.

Is my core involved in this simple act of walking?

Lifting,

Moving,

Placing.

Lifting,

Moving,

Placing.

Steadily repeating this movement of one foot in front of the other.

Just taking small and slow steps.

Slowing down this act that we do so frequently.

To bring our full awareness to the whole experience of this body moving.

This body walking.

Noticing the upper chest.

The shoulders,

The arms and hands.

Are they involved in the act of walking?

What's happening with my neck?

The head and the face.

Checking in with the expression on the face.

Lifting,

Moving,

Placing.

Lifting,

Moving,

Placing.

And beginning to speed up this simple act of walking.

So we're starting to take a pace more alike our everyday walking pace.

Again moving around the environment.

Noticing any thoughts that come up.

Maybe concerns about how this might appear if someone were to see you.

Acknowledging those thoughts but then coming back to resting our awareness on the body.

To being alongside this body in movement.

Lifting,

Moving and placing of one foot in front of the other.

Noticing the breath.

How is my breath right now?

Has it changed in any way?

It's bringing awareness to where the breath is coming in the torso.

Is it up in the upper chest?

Further down towards the lower ribs?

Perhaps even the belly.

However it is for you today,

That's okay.

We don't have to fix or change what we notice.

Just bringing our awareness alongside our current experience just as it is.

Placing one foot in front of the other.

Steadily and repetitively experiencing this body in movement.

Lifting,

Moving,

Placing one foot in front of the other.

And then I'm going to invite you just to come to a standstill for a few moments and allow the eyes to close.

Resting attention over the whole space of the body.

Scanning lightly from the soles of the feet all the way up to the crown of the head.

The very top of the head.

Where do I experience the sensations?

Are they just in the feet?

Are they elsewhere?

The legs?

The torso?

The arms?

The spine?

The head and face?

Bringing awareness fully to this body's experience.

Standing still following our walking practice.

And I'm also going to invite you to drop two anchors on the soles of the feet.

So bringing awareness down to the soles of the feet now.

And noticing where for you,

You feel the contact between the feet and the floor most strongly.

The most vivid sensations or where the attention is pulled to today along the length of the bottom of each foot.

And we're going to imagine we're dropping two small anchors here.

Leaving these markers that we may return to throughout the day at any point.

To remind ourselves to check in with the experience of the feet meeting the floor.

The movement,

The changes in pressure that occur when this body walks.

Becoming aware of breath once again.

Feeling that flow of air moving in and moving out.

And if you've had your eyes closed,

Just gently starting to open the eyes and coming back to the space that's around you.

Retaining this bodily awareness.

Taking this with you into the rest of your day.