Mindfulness Meditations guided by Una Keeley Professional MBSR Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor Mindful walking practice Variations 1,
2 and 3 Decide first of all how much time you're going to spend practicing mindful walking.
So set aside 5,
Maybe 10 or 15 minutes initially for trying out this practice.
And when you've become familiar with the mindful walking practice,
You may like to try 20,
30 or even 40 minutes.
You can do mindful walking indoors or outdoors.
You can also try doing it barefoot on the grass.
The morning time when there's dew on the grass is the best time.
Or you can walk through a forest,
Walk through a park,
Wherever it feels comfortable for you to have a little bit of space and a little bit of privacy where you feel comfortable practicing this.
I'm going to do it indoors using a space where it's literally just three paces.
But you can choose the space that feels right for you.
So perhaps you've got 20 paces,
Maybe 10 paces,
Using whatever is available to you.
It's not about the distance that you walk.
It's about the internal placing of attention,
The focus of attention,
The sensing in the body and practicing it as a meditation.
So variation one.
To begin,
Stand still for a moment at your starting point and become aware of your body in the standing posture.
You may want to allow your arms to hang loosely by your sides,
Or if you prefer,
You can bring them together and clasp them in front of your midriff,
Or you can place them behind your back,
Allowing the shoulders to be relaxed.
When you found the position that works for you,
Allowing your shoulders to relax downwards.
If you like,
You can close your eyes for a moment while you bring your awareness fully to your body.
You may also leave your eyes open and gaze downwards about a meter distance in front of you.
Begin now to tune into your direct experience on the level of sensation.
Feeling now the distribution of your weight on your feet and the sensations in your legs,
Your back,
The front of your body,
Your arms,
Shoulders and head.
We are not trying to change any of these sensations.
We are simply practicing being aware of them.
And now,
When you're ready,
Open your eyes if they've been closed and begin to slowly walk forwards.
With each step you take,
Be aware as best you can of the sensation of movement in the body.
Becoming aware of the contact of your foot with the ground.
Becoming aware of the pressure of your foot on the ground.
The lifting of the foot,
The shifting of your weight from one foot to another.
And slowly take one step,
Then another,
Then another,
And another.
Once you reach the end of the distance that you've set for yourself,
Pause for a moment and be aware of your body.
Then turning around slowly,
Pausing again for some moments in the standing posture.
And then when you're ready,
Walking back along the same route that you've just taken.
Continuing walking back and forth,
Remaining aware of all the sensations that are revealing themselves to you as you engage in the process of walking.
If you find your mind wandering,
Which is likely to happen during the walking meditation,
Especially at the beginning,
Just be aware of it in a gentle and non-judgmental way.
Then turning your attention to the step you are in the process of taking and any sensations that may be revealing themselves to you in this present moment.
Continue the walking meditation until you come to the end of the time period that you've set for yourself.
To end the walking meditation,
Come to a standstill and rest for a few moments in stillness,
Sensing your whole body standing here,
Witnessing breathing happen.
When you're ready,
Bring the meditation to a close by perhaps rubbing your hands together,
Stretching out your body and allowing the body to move in whatever way feels comfortable for you.
Variation two,
Try this variation when you've become familiar with the practice.
So this time,
Allowing the in-breath to be in sync with the lifting and placing of the first foot and then allowing the out-breath,
The exhalation to be in sync with the lifting and placing of the second foot.
So allowing yourself to move forward in this way,
Lifting and placing of the first foot on the in-breath and lifting and placing of the second foot on the out-breath.
In the beginning,
This may feel a little unusual or unnatural and you may even find the mind trying to force and control the movements,
Trying to dictate the pace of the walking.
Practice acknowledging this and allowing the natural rhythm of the breath to slowly set the pace.
So allowing the mind that's trying and striving to slowly move into the background and allowing the sensation of breathing and the sensation of walking movement to come in sync with each other.
You'll notice the walking pace beginning to slow down as this naturally begins to happen.
So again,
Walking back and forth in the allotted space that you've given yourself and each time you get to a turning point,
Allowing the body to come to a standstill and slowly moving one foot,
Then the next foot,
Then the next foot until the body slowly turns around and allowing the breath to be in sync with this lifting and placing of the feet.
In the turn as well,
Allowing the turn to be part of the mindful walking practice.
Variation three.
When you've become familiar with the two previous practices,
Allow yourself to practice this variation.
So this time we're allowing the in-breath to be in sync with the lifting of the foot and then allowing the out-breath,
The exhalation,
To be in sync with the placing of the same foot.
So the in-breath as you lift the foot and the out-breath as you place it.
And then following this through with the second foot.
So the lifting of the foot on the in-breath and the placing of it on the out-breath.
Practice syncing the breath with this lifting and placing of each foot.
And this again will slow the pace even more.
Noticing the mind's urge to try and get it right and allowing the attention to defer to the sensation of breathing to set the pace of the lifting and placing of the feet.
And continue this for as long as feels right for you.
And again when you're ready to bring this practice to a close,
Allowing yourself to come to a standing position,
Sensing the whole body,
Sensing the feet and the ground.
Taking a couple of deep breaths and when you're ready beginning to open your eyes,
Move your hands,
Your feet and allowing the body to move in whatever way feels comfortable for it.
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