Walking at Home
Try this as a slow motion walk, in a straight line, going forward for 10-20 paces and then turning around to walk back to your starting point, runway-style. This meditation-in-motion—to be done at home or any comfortable space—can help you find inner focus with attention on the deliberate movement of each step.
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So before you begin to walk, just take a moment. Just standing completely still. Just feeling the weight of the body press down into the feet, into the floor. Make sure shoulders are loose. Arms are loose. You can just move them gently. Make sure that everything feels comfortable, at ease. And just make sure you've got a clear, kind of, runway in front of you that you can walk up. Pause at the end, turn around, pause, and then return to where you began. Before we set out walking, just take one big deep breath in, breathing in through the nose. And as you breathe out through the mouth, just setting off walking. To begin with, we're gonna walk at a natural pace. So not walking too slowly, too soon. Just setting out. Walking whatever pace feels comfortable for you. Remember when you get to the end, just pause, turn around, pause, and set out again. Each time you set out, you're gonna slow it down by about 10%. So we just progressively get slower over time. Always walking naturally. No special way of walking. Walk in a way that feels comfortable for you. And to begin with, just notice how the body feels, how the posture feels, how you hold your body as you walk. Notice any areas of tension, discomfort. Just acknowledging them, nothing else to do. And just starting to notice how the body moves as you walk. Noticing not only the legs, the feet, the arms, the hands moving, but also the rest of the body. Perhaps noticing the shift in weight. Either side to side or backwards and forwards. But just becoming more aware of that walking process Remember every time you get to the end, just pause for a moment, just a second. Turn around. Pause for another sec. And then just set out walking again. Each time, just slowing it down, just by 10% or so. And as you slow down, makes it just a little bit easier to become aware of the different sensations in the body. With that in mind, just resting the attention now on the movement of the legs, one leg moving in front of the other. And walking naturally at a comfortable pace. Just present. Aware that sensation of one leg moving, the next leg moving, the next, the next... Just staying with that. So pausing, turning, pausing, walking. Walking down the runway, setting out. Remember each time, slowing it down just a little bit more each time. And as we slow down, just starting to refine the focus a little more. Now, starting to notice the movement of the feet and, in particular, the sensation as the foot presses down, against the floor. First on one side, then on the next side, and on the next, and on the next, just staying with that rhythm, with that sensation. Remember if at any stage you get distracted, just taking a moment to notice the distraction, letting it...
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