Welcome to this Baby Loss Relaxation Walking Meditation track.
My name is Lucy,
I'm a Mindfulness for Loss teacher and I'm here today to take you through this walking meditation.
I wanted to put together a walking meditation track for our Baby Loss community because I understand as a bereaved mother that there are some days a sitting meditation just won't work.
There are some days that my mind feels so dispersed and so anxious but sitting still is just impossible.
Healing really is every step and when we partake in a walking meditation it means we're able to connect with the present moment but we're also able to move the body so that any pent up energy,
Any irritability,
Any restlessness can be addressed.
So assuming now that you have left your house or you have left the place where you were and you are now at doors.
So as you gently walk along now at your own pace I want you to know that there is no judgement here,
Nothing but compassion and kindness.
It's all too easy to pass judgement on ourself and not to be kind or compassionate to ourselves,
To rush the process of grieving,
To give ourselves a hard time for not feeling like we have it all together.
So for today's walking meditation practice I want to invite you to let go of all judgement,
Let go of all expectation and bring into this space today kindness and compassion and a real acceptance to whatever's happening.
You may find that you don't listen to all of my words but that's ok.
Just whenever you remember to tune in this meditation track will be therapeutic in some sense.
So before we connect to our breath and our steps I wonder if you can bring to your awareness what you can see as you walk along noticing the shapes and the colours,
The textures.
Noticing other people,
What they look like,
What they're wearing.
Noticing buildings,
Objects,
Light and darkness.
Gently noticing the sky.
What's your weather like today?
Is it warm?
Is it cool?
What can you smell?
Take a slow breath in through the nose.
Notice what you can smell.
What can you taste?
Moving your tongue around in the mouth.
Stay with that sensation.
Noticing what you can taste.
How does the body feel?
Is there any discomfort anywhere?
Are there any areas that feel warm or pleasant?
Really connecting to the present moment through your senses.
Allowing your senses to be your anchor into this present moment.
Even if the body feels anxious now as you walk what does that feel like?
Not turning away from sensations of anxiety but just acknowledging what's happening.
When we resist our experience,
Whether that's resisting emotions or resisting physical sensations in the body,
This only allows those emotions or those physical sensations to get stronger.
There's a really great saying in the mindfulness world which is what we resist persists.
So as you're walking along now,
Slow the steps down.
Slow your pace down.
Connect with this moment.
If you're fortunate to be around nature,
Connect with nature.
With the trees,
With the grass,
With the leaves and the vibrant colours of any flowers that you can see.
And if you're not in nature,
Connect with the sky,
With the weather,
With the breeze or the wind.
Slow your pace down.
Connect with this present moment.
Bringing your awareness now to your breath.
This breath that gives you life,
That gives you energy.
Following the breath all the way in through the nose,
Down the throat,
Into the belly.
From the belly out of the throat and out of your nose.
And as you walk along you may wish to connect your steps with your breath.
Every step is healing.
So as you take four steps,
Breathing in,
Counting in your mind,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
And as you release the breath,
Take another four steps,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Breathing in,
Counting those steps,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Breathing out,
Counting the steps,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
And I'm going to be quiet now to enable you to practice that.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Connecting the breath with your steps,
Connecting to the earth and to nature.
Breathing in and breathing out.
And when the mind wanders around,
Which it will do,
That's okay.
But know that just a few cycles of breathing and walking and counting all together can settle down that anxiety,
That restlessness,
Move that unwanted energy in your body.
This can be really effective.
And when we practice walking meditation often,
It becomes a strong practice.
We have seeds that are planted in our mind,
Seeds of compassion,
Seeds of joy,
Seeds of anger,
Seeds of sadness.
And it's up to us what we choose to water.
If we choose to water the seed of mindfulness,
We really,
Really practice coming home to our body,
Being in the present moment.
If we practice watering the seeds of joy,
The seeds of compassion,
The seeds of happiness,
These seeds will bloom into beautiful plants and flowers.
But if we water the seeds of anger,
Judgment or any other seeds that don't serve us,
Then this will also make those plants grow.
So it's really up to us which seeds we choose to water.
And during grief,
Following the loss of our beautiful child or children,
We owe it to ourselves to water these beautiful seeds of happiness,
Of joy,
To cultivate compassion for ourself through practices of self-care such as walking meditations.
So just letting go of the breath and the steps and speeding up if that feels right or continuing to walk at a slow steady pace.
Choosing to continue now in this way,
Noticing what you can see,
What you can hear,
What you can smell,
What you can taste or feel.
Finishing your walk if you have reached your destination or continuing on but really cultivating mindfulness,
Enjoying the world and the joys that you see.
It might even be just the way the sunlight hits a leaf.
It might be an older couple holding hands and enjoying a conversation.
It might even be the feel of a cool gentle breeze on your cheek.
Remember you can come back to this practice every day.
So sending all my love wherever you are in the world.
Keep following,
Keep practicing and remember that wherever you are,
You always have your breath.
