Welcome to this brief walking meditation.
This is an opportunity to bring attention to a movement that many people do throughout the day with little thought involved.
While the instructions will be for walking,
You can adapt the practice as needed to focus on different movements,
Such as wheeling a chair,
Lifting arms up and down,
Or blinking eyes,
Whatever is most accessible for you.
So beginning by standing in one spot with shoes removed,
Feet firmly rooted in the ground,
Head reaching up toward the sky,
Chest open to receive the breath,
Arms loose at your sides.
Closing your eyes for a moment if you choose as you ground yourself here in this place,
Held by the weight of gravity,
Moving from your head into your body,
And bringing to mind these words of God given to Moses at the burning bush recorded in Exodus 3.
Remove the sandals from your feet,
For the place on which you are standing is holy ground.
So like Moses,
You stand in God's presence,
Your feet on holy ground.
Slowly shifting your weight here onto the right foot and noticing changing sensations as you shift,
Then coming back to center and shifting onto the left foot.
Continuing this a few more times in your own rhythm,
Aware of the muscles involved in this small movement back and forth,
Keeping you balanced and upright.
And then returning to center and to stillness for a moment.
Taking a deep breath in and letting it go as you gently open your eyes if they're closed and begin to walk with attention on your feet,
Connecting with the ground.
Seeing the movement of each step as the foot and the leg move through space.
Seeing if you're able to break down each part of each step,
Slowing down your pace a bit as you pay attention to the lift of the heel,
The ball of the foot,
The toes,
The movement of the foot and leg through space as the body balances on the other foot,
The connection of the foot with the earth again,
First the heel,
Then the ball,
The toes,
The full soul of the foot on the ground.
Noticing the weight shifting from one side to the other.
And then seeing if you're able to slow down your pace a bit as very slowly you fully experience each step,
The heel,
The ball,
The toes,
The movement through space,
The shift of the body.
Noticing if you can be fully present to each step,
Aware of the physical sensations of walking,
Tuning into the physical sensations of each part of each step.
And when you notice that your attention has moved back into your thoughts,
Into that area of your head behind your eyes,
You might give yourself a smile and then begin again with this step,
Starting over again and again as many times as you need during the practice.
You're simply taking this practice one step at a time.
If it's helpful for you,
Perhaps using a quiet up,
Down,
Up,
Down in the back of your mind,
But keeping this quiet as your focus rests on each step,
Moving your attention over and over from the stories in your head all the way down to the sensations at the bottoms of your feet.
Seeing if you can get that much distance from your thoughts as you experience the miracle of walking,
The gift of movement.
You can maintain a light awareness of what is around you here in the space while keeping a deeper awareness on the sensations of your feet touching the ground.
Perhaps acknowledging other sensations in the body associated with this movement,
Sensations in the legs,
The hips,
The torso,
And then bring that focus back to the bottoms of your feet.
Getting at whatever pace you choose,
Whatever pace best supports your attention.
And now you can simply stop where you are and stand.
Notice the place where your feet touch the ground,
This holy ground and God's presence.
Notice what you see and hear around you.
Notice the groundedness of your body in the earth,
The compassion of your creator,
And the gift of this movement that you have experienced.
See if it's possible to bring this mindful awareness with you into the rest of your day.
So in peace.
