A Walking Meditation

a moment of mindful

I was flipping through the latest issue of Slow magazine recently and somewhere in there I saw a reference to a walking meditation. It really caught my eye, it's something I haven't done for many years now.

I learned how to do it when I put myself onto a 3-day Tibetan Buddhist meditation retreat, a long time ago now (which was an eye opener for me, as I didn't really know how to meditate before that and it was a fairly intense way to start). Anyway many of the meditation practices I learned then I kept going with, but the walking meditation I did not. I tried it a few times at home after that but I found it too awkward, trying to be in a meditative state, walking super slowly in the back yard and knowing my housemates thought I was kinda weird. So it just slid and I didn't even think of it for years. Until that  reminder in the magazine.

The way my body jumped at the thought, I knew it was time to go back to that practice, even just for a few minutes here and there. Such a soothing, gentle way to slow down, ease a racing mind, settle frazzled energies and become centred and grounded. I got up in my living room, and began walking slowly, very very slowly. Mindfully with each step, noticing my heel landing on the floor, the movement of my body as the weight was transferred, moving up onto the ball of my foot, rolling onto the toes, watching the other leg lifting from the ground, just bumping the floor as it came through, then the heel striking the floor... and on it goes. Such a simple yet profound practice.

As soon as I started, after a few settling steps and getting slower and slower with each one, I noticed the reiki energy pumping through my hands, the way it does when I get a yoga pose in the sweet spot. What that means is, it instantly got my energy flowing clearly. The chi moving well in my body. And it took about 30 seconds. After only a couple of minutes, I felt transformed from how I had been feeling before. Not that I was feeling bad, it was just a relaxed night at home, pottering around the house, making a cup of tea. But that simple few minutes, it brought me right out of my head and into my body, to a space of just being, rather than thinking this, working out that, doing doing doing.

I am so glad to be reconnected with this simple mindful practice. I noticed that even after I stopped the practice, I was suddenly more connected to my body, my movements; my awareness had shifted so quickly. I already do a daily meditation practice but there is always a case for adding more mindfulness to my day. It's not necessarily one I would schedule in on a daily basis, but having this one to fall back on when I need to stop, slow down, breathe (which is often!) is just wonderful. It's probably more of a practice I can do numerous times throughout my day, rather than setting aside a specific time for it, the way life is now.

A mindfulness practice doesn't have to involve walking (although this is such a great place to start with as you get a really good idea what it is about) - it can be anything you are doing in any moment. It can be washing the dishes, slowly, purposefully, examining each dish carefully, rinsing it slowly, placing it down mindfully. It can be when you're tapping at a keyboard, watching your fingers work their way over the keyboard, slower perhaps than you would normally do, being aware of your posture, your eyes, your neck, your back, your feet, letting go of any tense spots.

Every little moment of slowing down, of being mindful, is a step towards creating a more mindful, deliberate life. A moment of being truly present in your life. Those moments are so precious and often so few and far between for many of us. Threading them together, bringing the moments of mindfulness closer, stringing them together throughout the day. Day after day. A simple walking meditation is a very powerful tool to help bring through those moments of mindfulness, long after the practice itself is finished.

Have you ever tried a walking meditation? How do you stay mindful and present in your days?

(oh and barefoot is the way to go for a walking meditation...)