Walking + Wondering

Walking meditation has been beckoning me of late. It’s one of the four traditional postures for meditation (the four being: sitting, lying down, standing and walking) and it's a mainstay of meditation retreats; but since CMP moved to virtual sessions it has fallen out of our rotation - it just hasn’t felt as natural to try to do walking meditation while on the phone or zoom.

And I miss it! So I’ve begun making sure it’s part of my personal practice again. Sometimes inner stillness comes with outer stillness, as in when we’re seated quietly. Other times, especially if we’ve spent hours sitting in front of computers, or if the mind is especially active, outer movement can unlock the door to inner stillness.

Traditionally, walking meditation is done using very slow and deliberate steps, bringing the focus to the sensations in the lower leg and feet caused by walking. We are familiarizing ourselves with what our moment to moment experience is like as we walk. This can be done in a hallway in our home, as we climb a flight of stairs, and yes, it can be done when out for a walk in public, but it does garner some quizzical looks.

We don’t always need to do things in a traditional way and it can be liberating to take our practice out into the world. Meditation and mindfulness are personal journeys - explorations fueled by curiosity, sustained by a sense of play.

So I’ll share the walking meditation that helped to tame my mind’s racehorses today out in public : )

I began by walking at my usual clip, then for several steps each:
Looking around at all the colors and shapes,
Listening to my feet shuffle through leaves and to the remaining bird songs of the season,
Smelling the dried leaves and late fall aromas
Feeling the air across my cheeks….

Then, for five or so steps each, wondering what each step felt like in:
The toes,
The soles of the feet,
The heels of the feet,
The ankles,
The calves,
The knees,
The quadriceps,
The hamstrings,
The glutei,
The hips,
The core,
The shoulders,
The arms,
In the head.

I made several tours though the body in this way.

This wondering and invoking curiosity can have a loosening effect on the body and I noticed by the time I moved my attention up to the arms that my arms were swinging more freely and naturally than when I normally walk.

This freedom of movement, I was certain, was sending information up into my brain (interoception) that I was relaxed and happy. Moreover, in the process of this practice, I was getting some much needed fresh air and exercise, was training my mind to focus on a given object/area, was connecting my mind and body, familiarizing myself with what it was to be alive in that very moment, and catalyzing the release of dopamine (curiosity stimulates the brain to release dopamine which can help with motivation and memory). In short, I was fully alive in the present moment and building skills and habits to support my future moments.

Please let us know if there is a moving meditation that supports your sense of well-being!

May all beings without exception find a deep sense of living fully,

Your CMP family