Meditation Info, News, Pictures, Forum, Shop, Travel and Community
 Members 
 
 

MEDITATION INFORMATION ARTICLES

Observation Meditation in an activity - Walking Meditation

There are three different Walking Meditations that teach you to be completely in the NOW during an activity.

During Walking Meditations you Meditate on the activity of walking itself. In other Meditations you can also walk, but then this walking is just a posture just like sitting and the Meditation is focussed on another object of Meditation. It does not matter what you do: if you are completely absorbed by what you are doing and by the sensory sensations that the activity gives you, you will get very relaxed and feel extremely fine. As is the case with all forms of Meditation, we try not to judge, we try not to get angry when things do not go so well and we try not to be too goal-oriented. Let us begin!

Walking Meditation Exercise

Walking Meditation
Kind of Meditation Concentration/Focus
Degree of difficulty both beginners and more advanced students
Recommended duration 5 to 45 minutes
Posture Walking
Advantages
  • It improves your concentration.

  • It makes your mind clear and calm .

  • It removes feelings of stress.

  • It teaches you to live in the NOW.

  • It improves your confidence.

  • Remark This is a concentration exercise, suitable for everyone. It is a good exercise that trains you not only to stay in the NOW during your walking Meditation, but also during ordinary activities.

    A) Just enjoy walking.
    When we are tense, irritated or busy we often walk stiffly, quickly and hurriedly. In this Meditation we want to walk pleasantly and most of all comfortably.
    1. Walk in your usual pace and focus simultaneously on all the sensations that you feel in your body: your breathing, your muscle tension, your posture, your way of walking, aches, every movement and every thought.
    2. Direct your eyes slantingly on the ground in front of you and look with a "soft" focus so that you will not be distracted by the things around you.
    3. Take care not to walk automatically without thinking as you usually do and be as aware as possible of everything you do, everything you observe, everything you carry out and everything that takes place inside you.

    B) Breathe and walk Meditation
    1. Walk in a relaxed sort of way as described above. Be aware of every breathing in and breathing out.
    2. Pay attention to the way you breathe. Is your breathing tense, deep, from your belly or your chest, regular?
    3. Pay attention to how many steps you need to breathe in and to breathe out. Is there a difference? Generally speaking breathing out takes more time than breathing in.
    4. Count your steps with every breath and stick to a fixed pattern. For example: three steps to breathe in and four steps to breathe out.
    5. Let your steps be synchronous with your breathing: breathing in, step one, step two, step three and breathing out, step one, step two, step three, step four.
    6. Always take your mind back to your breathing and your steps when you notice that you have lost your concentration.
    7. If you like you can also do the "healing breath" Meditation: 10 steps to breathe in, 10 steps to hold your breath and 10 steps to breathe out.
    8. Look at breathing Meditations for all the information on the technique

    C) Sensory Perception Meditation
    1. Walk comfortably as in the Meditations described above and direct your whole attention to one or more senses.
    2. Focus on all the sounds you hear. What exactly do you hear? What is the intensity of the sound? What different kinds of sound do you hear and what kind of effect has the sound on yourself?
    3. In the same way you can focus on your sense of feeling. (feel for example the wind) or your sense of smell. What do you smell?
    4. Be fully present with your senses and if you do this exercise well you can even focus on all your senses at the same time. Then you are completely in the NOW.
    5. Give each of the things you observe your full attention for a few seconds and go from one thing to another.
    6. Always go back to your senses and the NOW when you notice that your thoughts wander off to the future or the past. Have fun!
    Of course you can also practise all these Meditations during other activities like cycling, swimming, eating, sailing, etcetera. Good luck!

    advertisementadvertising info

    See related products in our Meditation Shop:


    Print Version of this Article Print Article Comment on this Article Comment on Article Write an Article Write New Article Search our Meditation Articles Search Articles
    ARTICLE COMMENTS
    Thursday 17th February 2011 at 10:24:20 AM  
    vir
    Rank: Instructor
    #Posts: 1523   #Points: 1940
    View Member Profile Profile View Member Pictures Pictures Post a Comment Reply Post a Comment with a Quote Quote

    Center yourself and walk very slowly, being mindful of every move that you make. Right heel comes up, arch is raised, weight onto toe, toe leaves the ground, right foot is raised, leg moves forward, right heel is lowered, touches earth. Weight goes onto whole foot which touches earth. Left heel goes up and so forth. Put your consciousness in your feet as you walk, don't just talk to yourself. Really feel every muscle move, every tiny sensation in your legs and ankles. To do this over and over with every step develops mindfulness.

    Tuesday 22nd February 2011 at 3:40:01 AM  
    vir
    Rank: Instructor
    #Posts: 1523   #Points: 1940
    View Member Profile Profile View Member Pictures Pictures Post a Comment Reply Post a Comment with a Quote Quote

    The breath, when walking, should be rhythmic. Practice taking the same number of steps to inhale, to hold, and to exhale. For example: Take four steps, inhaling slowly; hold for four steps; exhale slowly during four steps; hold again for four steps. Increase the number of steps to the breath as you acquire strength and power with practice.
    Saturday 26th February 2011 at 3:38:08 AM  
    vir
    Rank: Instructor
    #Posts: 1523   #Points: 1940
    View Member Profile Profile View Member Pictures Pictures Post a Comment Reply Post a Comment with a Quote Quote

    Try this Exercise-

    Walk about the room slowly and quietly, keeping the mind wholly upon " general consciousness." Now rest a moment. Repeat — always retaining your hold on consciousness, never allowing it to wander — ten times. Make a record of the most prominent facts reported. Repeat every day for ten days, with rest. On the tenth day compare the records and note results as before.

    Thursday 10th March 2011 at 8:52:55 AM  
    vir
    Rank: Instructor
    #Posts: 1523   #Points: 1940
    View Member Profile Profile View Member Pictures Pictures Post a Comment Reply Post a Comment with a Quote Quote

    Walking should be a continual fall forward just as in running. Each step should save you from a fall, and the body should be always inclined far enough forward to insure a continuance of the movement. The entire form should always be erect, shoulders back, chest prominent, head back and eyes looking straight to the front, unless it is necessary to look to the ground in order to select your path.
    Thursday 10th March 2011 at 8:57:48 AM  
    vir
    Rank: Instructor
    #Posts: 1523   #Points: 1940
    View Member Profile Profile View Member Pictures Pictures Post a Comment Reply Post a Comment with a Quote Quote

    Expel all the air that you possibly can from the lungs while walking at your ordinary gait. Next you inhale all you can, expanding from the abdominal region upward.This practice will vastly increase your endurance, and you will derive pleasure and benefit from it. It will also lead to better meditative state.

    Wednesday 13th April 2011 at 4:51:43 AM  
    vir
    Rank: Instructor
    #Posts: 1523   #Points: 1940
    View Member Profile Profile View Member Pictures Pictures Post a Comment Reply Post a Comment with a Quote Quote

    'Walk twice a day. Preferably not over the same route daily; a change of scene brings change of thought and this helps to keep one out of a rut. Make it a point to walk in the country or to take long hikes over the hills or mountainous trails for a holiday. Think cheerful, happy thoughts while enjoying the exercise. Breathe deeply and draw in an abundance of life-force to be distributed over the entire body. Walk with a free, easy, springing stride and drink in the beauties of Nature everywhere about you with appreciation.'

    Wednesday 13th April 2011 at 5:05:10 AM  
    vir
    Rank: Instructor
    #Posts: 1523   #Points: 1940
    View Member Profile Profile View Member Pictures Pictures Post a Comment Reply Post a Comment with a Quote Quote

    'If you walk not forcefully,but gently,easily,and rhytmically,it is always invigorating, refreshing and exhilarating.'
     
     
     GLOBAL MEDITATION SEARCH
    Entire Site | Info | News
    Pictures | Forum | Shop | Travel
    WRITE AN ARTICLE
    We invite you to submit your own Meditation articles and add them to our website to share them with the world!
    INFORMATION SITEMAP
    An easy way of finding the information you are looking for is by checking our well-structured Site Map.
    Back to Top


    © 2003-2012 ABC of Meditation, part of MaxLifestyle International Inc. All rights reserved.