Walking You do the walking practice somewhere you can walk without being disturbed and where you won't feel too self-conscious.
And it's a formal mind-time practice,
So an opportunity to deepen and strengthen your aim,
Working with allowing,
Enquiring and matter awareness.
So see what it's like to treat it like any other mind-time practice.
Just working with aim over and over.
And start by coming to stand with your feet parallel to each other and slightly apart,
Knees unlocked so they can flex slightly with your arms hanging by your sides.
And let your gaze rest on the floor five or ten feet in front of you.
And if it's safe and comfortable,
Just letting your gaze be unfocused.
Now moving attention to whatever sensations you find where your feet meet the floor.
Feeling weight going down,
Height reaching up.
And maybe flexing your knees slightly a few times,
Getting a clearer sense of the sensations in the feet and the legs.
And when you're ready to walk,
Letting one of your heels slowly rise up from the floor,
Keeping attention with the changing sensations in your legs,
Noticing the sensations in the calf muscles and the thighs,
The knees,
Continuing the movement,
Letting the whole foot lift gently up as the weight shifts quite naturally to the other leg.
Feeling the sense of weight shifting,
Staying aware of the sensations in the moving foot and leg as you carefully swing them forwards and let the heel come into contact with the floor.
Letting the rest of that foot make contact with the floor,
Feeling the weight of the body shifting forwards onto that leg,
And the other heel now comes naturally off the floor.
So when the weight has fully transferred,
Let the other foot lift up,
Swinging it slowly forwards,
Staying aware of the changing patterns of sensations in the feet and legs as you do this.
The heel makes contact with the floor,
Sensing the weight shifting forwards onto that foot as it's gently placed on the floor,
And the other heel rises up again.
Keep walking slowly,
Staying aware of sensations in the soles of the feet and heels as they make contact with the floor,
As well as sensations in the legs as they swing forwards,
And finding the rhythm and the pace that works for you.
You don't have to do this practice very slowly,
Although that's how we're beginning.
Just finding the pace that allows you really to pay attention to all the sensations in the feet,
In the legs and the rest of the body as you walk.
And when you've gone as far as you want to in one direction,
Letting the body make a turn however it wants to,
Turning slowly round,
And staying aware of the complex pattern of movements involved here,
And continuing to walk in the opposite direction.
So walking up and down in this way,
As much as possible staying aware of sensations in the feet and legs,
Feeling contact of feet with ground,
And keeping the gaze steady,
Not looking about or finding other things to occupy the attention,
Just staying with the sense of walking,
And allowing,
Enquiring,
Further aware.
So when you notice that the mind has wandered,
Gently bringing the focus of attention back to sensations in the feet,
Just walking,
Keeping awareness with the feelings of movement.
And when you become aware that the mind has wandered,
Just seeing where it went and then gently,
Kindly,
Returning the attention to the sensations that come as you walk.
First in one direction,
And when you're ready,
Turning around and walking in the opposite direction,
Allowing,
Enquiring,
Matter aware.
Notice any temptation to judge,
Any tendency to be critical of yourself or the practice,
Allowing.
And if the mind becomes agitated it may be helpful to stop for a moment and just stand there,
Taking a moment or two to reconnect,
Giving the body and mind a chance to restabilise themselves,
Standing,
Breathing,
Then continuing to walk.
Staying aware of sensations in the hips,
The legs,
The feet.
Continuing to walk at the pace that's right for you,
The pace that allows attention,
And working with allowing,
With enquiry,
With awareness.
Just walking,
Fully aware,
As best you can.
Sensing feet making contact with ground,
Weight shifting,
Knees flexing,
Hips moving.
And when it's right for you to stop and bring the practice to a close,
Just coming to stand and standing there for a few moments,
Breathing,
Before letting go of the practice and moving on to whatever comes next.
