Sky Breathing Walking Meditation

"Walking meditation is another way to develop calm, connectedness, and embodied awareness." - Author, Jack Kornfield. This Sky Breathing Walking Meditation, can be used for a literal stroll, or as a visualization practice. Enjoy! Image:Johannes P. Pexels

Transcript

Hello and thank you for joining me for a light walk.

I'm your facilitator Jeannie Jay and in this mindful moving meditation we'll gently engage the somatic senses for a body scan and a good bit of imagination for sky breathing.

In keeping with the expansiveness of the sky this practice naturally includes lots of breathing room.

If you find that you are unable to join us in walking today it's perfectly fine to utilize this meditation as a visualization practice.

And did you know that research shows that visualization actually strengthens muscles?

It's true.

So thank you for listening today and enjoy your workout.

If you are walking today hopefully you're already out and about on a safe walking trail or track with plenty of water and a good view of the open sky.

And even this much is a good reason to breathe a breath of gratitude.

Even if you've walked this trail before or listened to this meditation before let's agree to approach this walk this time as if it's the first without preconceived expectations but with an openness and light-hearted curiosity for what might be different this time and perhaps a playful sense of wonder.

Before we begin our breathing portion of practice let's pause to receive the present moment.

First witnessing the sky.

What colors or moving cloud cover are in the sky at this present moment?

Are there winged things soaring through?

Softly scan and observe what's being extended within your view and listening.

Is there a breeze or bird song in the distance?

What sound vibrations are presenting themselves to your ears?

And then how about the present horizon?

The outstretched horizontal where earth meets sky.

Are there structures,

Trees or flowers nearby?

Or maybe meadow grasses gently swaying in the breeze?

What's straight within view actually encircles the globe reminding us to expand the limits of our imagination even as our eyes come to rest with a light gaze on a single point of focus in the distance and then as we continue forward in our approach gently shifting to a new point of focus slowly from point to point as if connecting dots within a larger picture.

We are reminded that there are many lines within the larger arc of our natural progression in the direction of our goals.

And next,

What type of ground is beneath you today where your feet meet the earth?

Is it paved or perhaps a road much less traveled?

With each step the earth rises to meet the soles of your feet and to receive your cares and worries.

Leaving them behind with each step or perhaps entrusting them to a temporary storage in the background of your mind.

So for now you can feel free to walk lightly upon the earth for a while.

Taking a deep breath with me here and consider what care have you given to your walking shoes?

Do your feet,

Knees and hip joints approve?

Can you hear,

Sense and feel your way into your best balance within the area of the pelvis gait and into finding your rhythm in your natural pace?

And with strength and poise in your core alignment are the shoulders slightly relaxed and hanging balanced towards the ends of your collarbones as the arms sway forward and backwards in rhythm with your steps.

Be mindful of the body's subtle indications for which small adjustments to make until you can attain an overall harmony in motion and a sense of being highly engaged with all the senses and an active awareness of the present moment.

So highly engaged and present not only as you flow but with a sense of being flow itself and now with the sense of being flow and being still within simultaneously.

Observing your beingness,

Your presence as an extension of your environment and or your environment as an extension of yourself.

And so we shift our awareness slightly more inward towards discerning an organic intention for our walk today beginning with just observing what feelings you currently feel in the body physically or emotionally and considering your overall emotional state lately has any one strong emotion been throwing you off balance lately?

In regards to this how might you begin to see,

Sense,

And approach things from different angles of perception allowing space and opportunity here for pertinent questions to form that maybe you haven't yet thought to ask.

Discerning and affirming what we want is often a process of following our thoughts and feelings through to our beliefs we believe that are causing them and then all the way back through to our hearts true desires as we train our minds to listen to the subtle cues of the body and indeed of life.

Then we begin to find that there's so much less that we actually have to figure out with the limited knowledge of only the mind and our knowing will spring from a much vaster awareness of wholeness allow unexpected and pleasing outcomes to present themselves to your imagination you can choose here in the safety of your own mind your uniquely right way forward in your life sensing what options add a lightness to your step and brightens your outlook.

I wonder how might you fill in the blank to the following statement today.

Today I am stepping into blank.

You get to fill in the blank with your heart's delight and for these next few breaths pose possible intentions or goals to your heart and sense what garners and galvanizes a sense of possibility and or full-on inspires a sense of yes very good each step stepping completely out of doubt each step you're stepping confidently into your yes with every step you feel more balanced and stronger and every breath you breathe you breathe expands your horizons and now we breathe the sky as we scan the body from the ground up first connecting your breath with the sky above by gently looking upward with your next inhale and continuing to breathe at your own natural pace allow your awareness to mentally drop into the soles of your feet without lowering your head if possible breathing these next few inhales down into the feet you might also imagine breathing the red light of a rainbow if you choose very good bringing the breath awareness upwards breathe the lower legs breathe the knees breathe the thighs buttocks and hips breathing all the muscles around the pelvis and breathing into the center hollow of the pelvis very good connecting your breath awareness with the sky above allow your breath awareness to rest in the lower torso from the lower belly just above the pelvis upwards to the lower rib cage and into the core of the belly breathing these next few breaths into the belly sides and lower back you might also choose to imagine breathing the orange and yellow light of the rainbow very good connecting your breath awareness with the sky above allow your breath awareness to rest in the center of your chest expanding through the whole rib cage and upper torso and through the arms and hands breathing these next few breaths into the heart space the whole upper torso including the back and arms and hands you might also choose to imagine breathing the green light of the rainbow very good connecting your breath with the sky above allow your breath awareness to rest in the hollow of the throat expanding throughout the collarbones and the tops of your shoulders breathing these next few breaths into the hollow of the throat and expanding you might also choose to imagine breathing the blue light of the rainbow very good you're doing so great in your practice today and now again connecting your breath with the sky above allow your breath awareness to rest in the center of your brain and expanding to fill the whole head the whole head breathing these next few breaths into the center of your brain and expanding you might also choose to imagine breathing the purple light of the rainbow very good you've done so great in your practice today pausing here to observe how you feel now as compared to when we started our walk today become aware of or imagine the channel of energy running along the core of the body just in front of the spine it runs down between the center of the legs and is rooted by vibrant light energy down into the core of the earth and above through the crown of your head it stretches upwards into the sky for these last few breaths of our practice today imagine it's but a short distance to allow a vibrant light energy to travel from the core of the earth through the body physical and expanding upwards into the sky and now again connecting your breath with the sky above inhaling breathing in all the colors of the rainbow or whatever colors you choose down through the crown of your head spiraling and swirling down through the spinal core channel of your body and down into the core of the earth exhaling the breath rises up again through the spinal core out the crown up into the sky breathing the spinal core for these next few breaths you are a bridge between earth and sky and the clear yeses in your heart are filled and fulfilled with expanding light you are stepping confidently into your yes and every breath you breathe you breathe expands your horizons continuing to breathe well thankful to earth body and the sky all systems aligned and ready to meet the world as your authentic majestic self this has been another mind body system upgrade with genie j thank you for allowing me to walk with you in this way till next time remember to step confidently into your yes