Walking Meditation: Mindfully Walking Into The New Year

Getting in touch with your breath while walking is a natural choice if you're trying to be in the present moment. So it's a wonderful time to get in touch with your breath, BE in the present moment, get some exercise, AND be more in touch with your surroundings. Join me for this walking meditation as we head off into a new year. Music by Chris Collins. #93

Transcript

Welcome,

And I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.

I'm so glad you've taken the time to share this moment with me.

I say it all the time,

But time is our most valuable commodity.

It's the one thing that we spend where we don't know our balance.

So I'm glad that you're sharing some of your precious time with me.

It's January 3rd,

2025,

And we've just started a new year.

Anyone who's listened to me before or followed me knows that I often get in touch with my breath when I'm walking.

I've mentioned before that my dog Chip and I walk around seven miles a day,

And on most of those days,

I take time to get in touch with my breath.

Chip and I even took a new picture specifically for this meditation today.

And getting in touch with my breath when I'm walking is just in keeping with my philosophy in getting in touch with my breath multiple times a day,

And making meditation an integral part of my life.

Getting in touch with your breath while walking is just a natural choice,

Especially if you're trying to be more in the present moment,

Because if you aren't in the present moment and you're walking,

You're going to fall on your face.

So it's a wonderful time to get in touch with your breath,

Be in the present moment,

Get some good exercise,

And be more in touch with your surroundings.

Now,

Our goal during our walking meditation is just to be aware of our breath and to be very conscious of the world around us.

And I'm not walking where you'll be walking,

So I'll just describe the things that Chip and I encounter on our walk,

And you can adapt it to your own surroundings and terrain.

I ask that you please don't close your eyes unless you've stopped to ponder something.

But I do encourage you to stop and smell the proverbial roses along the way.

When walking with Chip,

He always loves to stop and investigate things along our path,

So I'm encouraged by him to stop fairly often.

And I've shared this before,

But I think it's worth sharing again.

When I think about Chip and walking,

It brought me to a realization that my walking with my dog is very much like a meditation in that I represent the breath and Chip represents the thoughts.

So like the breath,

I'm walking steady,

Keeping a steady pace as we go down the road.

But just like thoughts,

Chip gets distracted and he goes off to smell this plant or this squirrel or where another dog has been.

And that's where he wants to go.

So that's very much like what we encounter when we meditate.

You have to try to keep your breath steady and focus on that and just let the thoughts wander back and forth like Chip and let them pass away.

Just let them go.

There was a time when I used to fight with the dog because I wanted to be in control of my walk.

But then I realized that it's my walk,

But it's also his walk.

And the dog is motivated by his sense of smell.

So he's going to look and smell things that smell good to him that I can't smell at all.

Much like thoughts,

He's going to wander around.

Just let them go.

So now hopefully we're ready to go on our walk.

Just remember to be mindful and observe what's all around you.

So as we begin,

Let's take in a deep breath through our nose and exhale through our mouth,

Letting out a sigh.

Now just breathe normally and follow your breath and be aware of your breath.

Be aware of breathing in and breathing out just one breath at a time.

Since we're walking,

Your breath might be a little faster than when you're at rest and that's okay.

Our goal is to be mindful as we explore our world in this moment.

Just continue to follow your breath,

Your in-breath and your out-breath as we hit the road.

And if you're a person who doesn't feel like walking or you don't have time or the weather is bad,

You can also just stand or sit outside and appreciate all that's around you.

Just walk at whatever pace you feel comfortable with.

Chip and I walk fairly fast,

But you don't have to.

Remember this is your walking meditation.

You don't need to walk like me or breathe like me,

You need to walk and breathe like you.

And as you move through your world,

Take note of all the things you encounter on the way.

Chip and I often encounter squirrels and his nature is to want to chase them,

But when he's being mindful,

He just admires them.

Being in the present moment,

That's something you hear a lot on meditation sites.

And what it really means is living completely in the moment you're in.

That means not worrying about things in the past,

Because those things are gone and unchangeable.

And it also means not spending a lot of time worrying about the future,

Because the future does not exist except in your mind.

The only moment we're concerned with is this one.

This one right here,

And in this moment,

We're walking or standing outside,

Just breathing and noticing all the things that are in the world.

Breathing in and breathing out,

One breath at a time.

On our walk today,

It was just above freezing.

I'm in the southern United States.

And we were walking out and the first thing we encountered was some squirrels.

And it's always great when you can encounter squirrels.

I said Chip has gotten to be a lot more zen about squirrels than he used to be.

Perhaps you encounter some birds along your path.

Today we saw a blue jay and a couple cardinals,

Both a male and a female.

And we saw some chickadees and some tufted titmice.

I think that's what they're called.

So we saw lots of different birds.

We also saw some turkey vultures and we saw a red tail hawk.

And all the while you're breathing in and breathing out.

Notice where your breath comes in.

Maybe a cool sensation in your nose and the movement of your chest and belly as your breath flows in and flows out.

It's really easy to be mindful when you're walking.

More so than any other time.

And it's easier because you're moving through the world and all you have to do is have the intention to be mindful and stay in this moment and then move your feet.

Being in this moment,

I want to experience as much as I can.

I want to feel the wind on my skin and in my hair.

I want to feel the sun on my face.

I want to touch the bark on the trees and the leaves on the shrubs.

I want to see and appreciate any people or creatures that I come across along the way.

And as you walk,

Sniff the air and see what's going on around you.

On our walk today,

I could smell the definite scent of pine.

I could tell that someone in the neighborhood had had a fire last night.

And sadly,

At this time of year,

There's no real good flowers that are putting anything in the air.

But that's okay.

We saw a couple white-tailed deer on our walk today.

And what I want you to do as you walk through wherever you are,

Just notice the beauty and the wonder of the world around you.

We're just moving through it and we're breathing,

Breathing in and breathing out,

One breath at a time.

There's so much going on in the world and if you aren't present,

It'll all just go past you.

Even when it seems it's all quiet,

All you have to do is stop and listen and hear all that's going on around you.

The meowing of cats,

The barking of dogs in the neighborhood who notice you walking by,

The movement of the leaves in the trees,

The sound of cars or trucks or buses.

On our walk today,

We passed another lady who walks three dogs of hers and it was a fun time trying to keep the dogs away from each other.

And as I'm walking,

I'm just focused on my breath,

Sensing where I feel it as it moves in and moves out.

And there's always so much going on when you go for a walk.

Even if it seems like there isn't,

There's movement and sound and smells and activity all around you.

So there's things to see and smell and feel if you just remain in the present moment.

Just breathing in and breathing out,

One breath at a time.

And then again,

And then again.

By taking a walk this way,

We can accomplish several things.

We can get in touch with our breath.

We get some valuable exercise,

But more importantly,

We can truly live in this moment and experience the wonder of it all.

We could come to more fully appreciate everything in the world around us.

How often have you walked and not even noticed the flowers or the birds or the trees?

How many times have you listened to someone,

But not really heard them?

How many times have you seen beauty,

But never really noticed it?

Too often we go through our world and don't really see what's there.

We just skim through it all.

We skim past all the beauty and wonder of the world.

And a walking meditation can help us to see everything that's there.

By walking in your world in a mindful way,

You allow yourself to notice all the beauty and the wonder that's all around you every day.

And while following your breath,

You will never,

Ever see the world the same way again.

I promise you,

The world will be different once you've taken the time to walk through it mindfully.

As we come to a close,

Stretch and come back to where you are and realize how good it is to be alive.

I encourage you,

Go for a walk like this and try to truly experience all that is around you.

There's so much beauty and wonder in our world that we just have to take time to see it and appreciate it.

I hope this has been a beneficial session and I'm so thankful we've shared this time together.

Till next time.

Reviews

This was great hearing about your surroundings when you and Chip walk. I walk about 5 miles a day with my dog, Maddie. I am mindful of the beautiful red mountains surrounding me, the bright blue sky, & the river flowing through the farmland. I have a bench that I stop and sit to watch the horse riders below by the river. Maddie loves watching the horses & cows, & looking for lizards & bunnies. It really is my best & most peaceful time of the day. Thank you, for this reminder to stay mindful.

Another delightful and uplifting meditation, Michael. I loved your renumeration of all.the animals- birds and mammals, from your walk. Thank you 🙏🏾💖🧡🌳🍃🐕🚶‍♂️😄🦃🦅🐦🐾🐀