Meditation Articles Series

Now and again you may consider walking as meditation and mindful practice.  Go to some place in nature if that is possible for you.  Find an area where you won’t be disturbed and can walk about twenty paces to and fro.  Begin by being very aware of how you place each foot on the ground, where you notice the weight of your body through your feet, step after step.  I find keeping my eyes lowered is less distracting. I also find that my hands and arms feel comfortable placed behind my back.  My gait is usually slow.  You can speed up a bit if you start to feel too lethargic, but just be aware of whatever feelings are arising in your body as you walk back and forth.  What may be lethargy could simply be resistance and mental thoughts arising like, “this is pointless,” or “I’ve got better things to do with my time,” or something else.  The mind will always have an endless number of reasons as to why a walking meditation is unnecessary.  Anyway, see how you go, and accept and allow resistance in your body when it arises as well as resistance in your mind.  Continue the walking meditation for about forty minutes. During this time be mindful of what is happening in your body, how your body is moving with each step, how each walking step creates a rhythmical flow in your body.  Remain mindful of how you place each foot down, and how your feet touch the ground.  As this unfolds you may notice the stillness that spontaneously arises in you, and the centering that happens in that stillness to bring you into here and now.