Walking Meditation

 

It might surprise some people that there is such a thing as walking meditation. Most of us associate meditation with the sitting posture of Buddha statues or the Zen monks in austere Japanese style meditation halls. The fact that walking meditation practice is a meditation technique in its own right highlights the point that mindfulness can be practiced throughout all aspects of our life.

 

Whether we are sitting, standing, walking, lying down, working on a computer, at our workplace, driving a car, we can always be practicing mindfulness and cultivating awareness.

Walking meditation can be a wonderful practice, particularly if we are in some conducive natural surroundings like a park or somewhere in the countryside. The great thing about walking meditation is that it can be done almost anywhere, we can even practice it when going somewhere, in this sense we are practising mindfully walking.

 

I’ve detailed two separate practices here as there is a very slow paced walking meditation technique that involves very slow and deliberate stepping in concert with the breath which is conducive to just as absorbing mental states as sitting meditations. The second practice is medium to normal walking pace and is more of a mindful walking exercise.

 

Walking meditation can also be a great practice to do when we are suffering badly from the hindrance of sloth and torpor and can’t resolve it. If that happens, simply get up out of your chair or off your meditation cushion or stool, and go straight into the practice of walking mediation.

 

 

Slow walking meditation

 

This practice involves walking at a very slow pace, gently placing your feet in time with your breath to aid in concentration. This can be a very grounding and calming practice as it is quite efficacious at anchoring our attention in our bodies due to its gentle and rhythmic movement.

 

Preparation

To begin the practice, find a flat and level length of space about 10 to 20 paces long. Start by standing still with feet close together, relaxing your whole body, letting any tension in your shoulders release, hands and arms at your sides. Take in a sense of yourself, checking in with your bodily experience, bringing your awareness to different parts of your body.

 

This is part of your preparation for meditation as a way of checking in with your experience, reconnecting with yourself. Once again, it’s the same as the body scan described in both the Mindfulness of Breathing and Cultivation Of Positive Emotion (Metta Bhavana) articles.

 

Note how you are emotionally and mentally, is your mind active at the moment or reasonably calm. Just note these things without judgement or any sense that it should be otherwise. You simply want to become aware of your current state of being.

 

The Practice

Now you are prepared to begin the practice. With slow walking meditation you take one full breath cycle, an in and out breath for each step you take. Note that you are not trying to control the breath or artificially change it in some way. Rather, you are timing your steps to coincide with the natural flow of the breath.

 

Begin by shifting your weight forward and prepare to take your first step. As your weight shifts and your heel begins to come off the ground, you begin taking an in breath. When your foot and leg are midway through the step you should be roughly at the change point between in and out breath. Then as your foot travels forward and your heel contacts with the ground and rolls forward to the ball of the foot, you are breathing out.

 

With your weight starting to shift forward more fully on this foot now, you will notice that your weight is starting to lift off the other foot. As this transfer of weight happens, you should be at the stage of change again between the out breath and in breath again. This continues to a full in breath as you roll off this foot and start the next step. Again you come to the middle of the step and your breath changes back to an out breath.

 

Continue the practice in this way, all the time using the sensations of your feet and contact with the ground as a focus for your attention. You can expand your awareness to include a sense of your whole body, noting posture and movement, feeling and sensations, as well as breathing.

 

Once you reach the end of your pacing area you can stop with both feet together, mindfully turning around 180 degrees. Make small rotational steps to turn around in time with your breath, and then start stepping back the way you came with the same mindfulness practice.

 

Concluding the Practice

When your meditation session has come to an end, stop at the end of your pacing area with feet together and relax your effort. Just be aware of yourself and the state of mind you have cultivated. Allow your awareness to broaden out to your surroundings, noting any sounds around you, taking in a sense of where you are.

 

It’s a good practice to allow at least a few minutes between concluding the walking meditation and carrying on with your normal activities. This allows an adjustment period for your mind to adapt back to regular ‘worldly’ interaction and stimuli. This can save you from a jarring feeling after being in such a refined mental state.

 

Conclusion

This particular meditation practice is very useful in reconnecting with ourselves and also with our environment. You can get a deep sense of your place in the natural world, particularly if you arecable to practice this meditation in a park or forest setting.

 

The calm and contentment that comes with walking meditation has benefits throughout our whole life; these are both physical and mental. I encourage everyone who takes up meditation to include this type of meditation in their regular practice.

 

I am always interested in talking to people about meditation, so if you have any further questions regarding this practice or aspects of your own practice, please see my contact page for email address details.

 

Regular pace walking meditation

As with all meditation practices, walking meditation is about bringing the mind into a fully absorbed state by applying concentration techniques to a meditation object, which in this case is the activity of walking. Rather than being a meditation practice in its own right, ‘Regular Pace Walking Meditation’ can be more accurately considered to be mindful walking practice, but no less valuable.

 

Practicing walking meditation at a normal walking pace is quite different to the slow walking meditation practice described above. Part of the reason for this is that you are not timing your pace directly with the breath in the way we do in the slower practice. This practice shows us that we can be mindful of all our activities and movement, no matter what we are doing.

 

Preparation

As with any meditation or mindfulness practice, it’s important to become fully aware of our experience in a sense of connection to the present moment. We do this by carrying out our initial grounding of awareness and body scan as described in both the Mindfulness of Breathing and Cultivation Of Positive Emotion (Metta Bhavana) articles.

 

The Practice

Choose a path to walk on that is relatively level and free from obstructions. If you are practicing this meditation whilst traveling to a destination then you can mentally plan a route that is less noisy and distracting if possible.

 

A word of caution, if you are practicing walking meditation on route to a destination then you will need to maintain a broader awareness of your surroundings. Be on the alert for traffic, people and obstructions as you continue on your journey, taking action where necessary.

 

Begin by walking from your starting point in a relaxed way at a leisurely pace. Bring your attention to your feet, noticing the feeling of pressure as they make contact with the ground, and how the pressure changes as your feet come off the ground then reconnect again.

 

You can start to bring awareness to your legs and the rhythm created by your walking pace. You can then start to expand that awareness even further, noting the way your whole body moves. Shoulders, back, hips, legs, head and neck, arms, all synchronized in the miracle of walking, an activity that we are unaware of most of the time.

 

While you are doing this, you can also note the rhythm of your breathing, sensing how the breath contributes to the walking process, the movement of chest and diaphragm and so on. Don’t feel that you need to tie the rhythm of the breath with that of walking; it will be there quite naturally so you do not need to interfere with the process, simply be aware of it.

 

If you find that you become distracted by thoughts, bring your attention back to the contact your feet are making with the ground, noting all the rhythmic sensations that you experience. This is a good anchor for you to come back to as the mind starts to wander off.

 

Don’t be concerned about how distracted you are, this is quite normal. It is the state of our minds; meditation simply highlights this to us in spectacular fashion. Just note distraction with kindness, and without judgement return your attention to your meditation object/s.

Continue the practice in this way for your designated session time if you have one or until you arrive at your destination.

 

Concluding the Practice

Finish your meditation by taking note of the mental state that you have cultivated in the practice. You might already be aware of it but it is good to note it in particular as you can bring the memory of this with you into the next practice. Besides this, it is also good to notice the benefits of meditation and to affirm your practice of it.

 

After meditation practice it is important to give yourself an adjustment period to readjust to the ‘outside’ world, I suggest at least a few minutes. This is even more relevant if you have become particularly absorbed in the practice.

 

This adjustment period might involve some reflection on what you have just experienced or just limiting your interaction with others for a few moments. This will help avoid any irritation or jarring that you might feel after being in a more refined mental state.

 

Lastly, allow the sense of mental calm you have cultivated to stay with you as you continue your day. Being actively aware of this state of mind helps it to continue to be in existence. This can flavor the rest of your day, allowing a broader and deeper sense of yourself and your environment to pervade your consciousness.

 

Conclusion

Walking meditation is a great way to fully experience life by practicing mindfulness and awareness in daily activity. It helps to center ourselves and create a break in our habitual thinking patterns. Over time this practice has the effect of deeply connecting us with what it means to be alive and present, not only for our own benefit, but for anyone we come into contact with.