Mindful walking?
Find yourself a stretch of space,
Almost like a track,
Where you can walk along for about five metres or so,
And then have a space where you can then turn around and walk back again.
Reminding ourselves that mindful walking is not about getting anywhere,
It's about being in touch with the body as it's walking.
So walking is something we do so many times without really paying attention to the actual experience of walking,
We're just always trying to get somewhere.
So in this practice we're going to slow down walking.
So let's start with feet on the floor,
Feeling grounded,
Just having a relaxed and dignified posture.
And coming to notice how the body feels right now.
The sensations in the feet,
Feeling of connection.
And your intention to walk usually starts with the movement through one leg.
So whichever leg you're choosing to start with,
Seeing if you can use the opposite leg.
I'm beginning now to take that first step,
So very,
Very slowly moving the foot,
Taking the heel off,
Moving the foot forward and placing the foot.
And noticing that as you do that,
The foot behind starts to move,
And that comes off the ground.
So let's see if we can be now as we're walking and taking these steps,
Let's see if we can be as fully mindful as possible of the movement.
So there is a lifting of the foot,
A moving forward and a placing,
And that's followed by the other foot,
Lifting,
Moving and placing.
So connecting with that process,
That experience of the foot coming off the floor and then returning to the floor.
I've heard this talked about as if it's kissing the earth as you walk,
So really connecting.
If the movement's a little bit slow for you,
You can speed it up if you feel like you're going to lose your balance.
So really try to stay with the attention on the feet,
The connection with the floor,
The heels of the foot,
The soles,
The toes.
When you've reached the point where you're at the end of your track,
Then just coming to stand and turning,
Noticing how you turn the body,
What unfolds in the body to make that movement.
It's actually a very complex movement.
Having another pause before you start again and then taking that next step.
Just noticing,
Connecting,
Feeling,
Being aware as well now of the rest of the body,
How it's moving as well.
The knees and the hips and the rest of the body,
How it's moving to keep you upright.
So going at your own pace now.
When you get to the end of your track,
Just taking a pause,
Using that almost like a mindfulness bell,
Pausing,
Tuning in,
Turning around,
Coming back,
Nowhere to go,
Has nothing to achieve.
You're walking for the pure joy of the experience of walking.
We also notice that through the walking practice,
Maybe we wobble at times,
Maybe it's not so joyful.
So tuning in to those moments,
Those wobbles,
Those distractions as well.
And then using the space now to continue the practice until the bells ring.
