Walking Meditation Instructions

Tara gives instructions on standing and walking meditation during the IMCW New Year's residential retreat.

For written instructions, visit: http://www.tarabrach.com/walking-meditation-instructions-pdf-from-tara-2/.

For more freely offered talks and meditations, visit http://www.tarabrach.com.

Transcript

Some words on the walking practice. And what I'd like to do is begin by inviting you just to stand up. Because walking meditation begins with standing meditation. And if you haven't explored standing meditation, It's as with every posture. I mean, There's not a posture that doesn't become the place of meditation. But it's a very, It's a really powerful and valuable one, Because there's more energy in being upright, And yet there's that stillness. So you might close your eyes and just, You know, Find your balance in the standing posture. So there may be some subtle micro-movements that, Where you find yourself adjusting your posture, So you're standing in a way where the shoulders are back and down. Perhaps the pelvic area is in a bit, So you're not like, Your back's not arched. The knees are bent very slightly. And just feel the weight on the feet, The pressure of the feet, Just the feeling of gravity. The arms are relaxed, Hands floating in space, The sensations of the hands. You might let them be relaxed by your side. You might even notice if you bring all your weight now over to the right side, Just bring all your weight, Just notice the sensations that arise with that very subtle movement. Feel the pressure at the feet. Notice what happens through the feet, The ankles, Right up into the calves, And if you keep noticing right up through the whole body. And then moving slowly, Shift the weight, So you're coming all the way now over to the left side, The left foot. And just notice what's happening. Notice the whole play of sensations that arise, Just with this simple movement of shifting the weight. And then gently come back to center. And again, Standing meditation. You might let the attention sweep through the whole body again, Feeling softening at the back of the knees. You might loosen the belly a little. Relax the shoulders back and down. And then as you're ready, Feel free to open your eyes and just say a bit more about the actual walking practice. What you'll be doing is not really shifting from side to side, But you'll be doing the walking movement, Which really has to do with a lifting, Moving forward and placing of one foot, A shift of the weight, And then a lifting, Moving forward and placing of the other foot, And a shift of the weight. So that's going to be your movement, But you can bring this very precise, Very intimate attention to those sensations. So typically what we do is we find a starting place, We start our standing meditation, And then a spot about 15, 20 paces in front of us, And that's going to be the end of it. So we're really moving back and forth between these two spots. In contrast to taking a walk where there's an idea that we're going somewhere, You're arriving again and again in the moment. And rather than, Let's say, Having an anchor, Particularly of the breath, The primary anchor is the feeling, The receiving, The sensations that arise as you move. You can be very, Very precise and feel the sensations right in a certain part of the feet, The ankles, The calves, Or you can feel the sensations of the whole body moving through space. You'll be walking at the pace that most allows you to be present with the sensations. So for many of us, It starts perhaps a little bit at a faster pace, Because we're just matching wherever our mind is or it helps us to feel alive and moving. And you might find it naturally slows down so that you can pick up more and more. I find that for myself, Just in general, If I go half as fast, I experience twice as much. That's just like in life, You know. But it's the same thing with walking. You'll find you experience more. You have to think, Oh, Well, Walking meditation, And you have to go into this very slow zombie thing where it's, You know, And then you feel like, Where's my balance? And it can get wacky. So pay attention to your own body, Your own needs. A couple of other pieces on this. It's really wonderful to walk outside, To find your walking place outside. The attention with mindfulness can be very, Very narrow. It might be just at the feet. If it helps you to widen the attention and let the other senses be awake, That's great. You know, Sense colors, Forms, The feeling of the cold on the cheeks, You know. Let it be a sensory experience. But you'll find you'll be more concentrated if it's very specifically on the sensations that arise. So again, You're the contemplative artist. You choose. Does it help you to open the tension wide and take in the sky and the sounds of the birds? Does it help you to narrow it and say, Okay, Stepping, Stepping, Stepping? Feel what serves you. The best instructions I've ever gotten is just simply enjoy. Really, Enjoy. Relax back into awareness. Enjoy the sensations and the life that arises. Thank you.

Reviews

Thank you, Tara! “Enjoy” practice is my new favorite

Thanks Tara, you’re the best

This is my first experience with a walking meditation. I highly recommend it, as it marries stillness with movement.

Thank you for reminding me.

It was not what i expected, more standing meditation than walking, but i enjoyed it neverheless