Practice: Walking MeditationSession ObjectivesAfter this session, students will be able to
We are hardly ever "just walking."
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How to Do It
Walking meditation is simply that--attending to and noticing what it feels like to simple take one step after another in this particular place, at this particular time.
Formal practice is walking without trying to get anywhere, just doing the action of walking.
- There's a lot you can be aware of while doing walking meditation. When you first start doing this practice, you might want to keep the practice very simple, especially if you find that you get distracted easily.
- The first time you try walking meditation, you give it at least 20 minutes and go to some quiet place like a park, where you are likely to be able to walk undisturbed.
- You can start off just by being aware of your body as you walk. Perhaps you might spend most of your time being aware of just your feet. It's okay to do this, and to build up the practice slowly.
- You might then expand your awareness beyond the feet, to include the calves. Ant then the knees, the thighs, the hips, and eventually the whole body.
- Once you've gotten better at keeping your awareness grounded in your body, you can start becoming aware of other elements of your experience, like your feelings and emotions.
- When you can do that and still stay mindful of the practice for most of the time, then you can add the elements of mindfulness of objects of consciousness and balancing the awareness of inner and outer.
Formal practice is walking without trying to get anywhere, just doing the action of walking.
- Being present with each step, realizing that you are just where you are (which is why walking in circles and/or back and forth in lines allows your mind to quiet, know it is not striving to go anywhere).
- Eventually, the mind may call it stupid/pointless/useless, or play games by balancing or have you looking or thinking about other things (Kabat-Zinn, 1990).
Obstacles and Opportunities
Obstacle
Feeling awkward attending to something usually automatic
Opportunity
Practice deliberately being kind and curious
Obstacle
Feeling self-conscious
Opportunity
Notice mind’s judgment and chatter, opportunity for ordinary courage
Obstacle
Feeling like you should be walking differently than you are
Opportunity
Notice judging thoughts and allow them to pass
Obstacle
Distraction (like always)
Opportunity
Use the skills you have developed so far to bring the mind back to the body
Feeling awkward attending to something usually automatic
Opportunity
Practice deliberately being kind and curious
Obstacle
Feeling self-conscious
Opportunity
Notice mind’s judgment and chatter, opportunity for ordinary courage
Obstacle
Feeling like you should be walking differently than you are
Opportunity
Notice judging thoughts and allow them to pass
Obstacle
Distraction (like always)
Opportunity
Use the skills you have developed so far to bring the mind back to the body
Let's Give It a Try
Below is a 14-minute walking meditation from Williams and Penman that can be done indoors. It is a good first formal walking practice because it mixes good guidance with pauses to let you try it, little by little, on your own.
This 12-minute audio file from Headspace gives a nice prep for an outdoor walking practice. Consider downloading on your phone and taking it for a spin.
Walking Meditation - Headspace
Academic Applications
The walking practice is
- an effective stress reliever and mind-clearer during the day and evening. Reminder: it is important to just do it, without trying or striving to make something happen.
- easy to do at school between classes or on breaks to calm, center, ground, and refresh yourself. Added bonus: it doesn't look weird.
- an alternative way to hone the skill of present moment awareness and attention control (needed for concentration and focus). It can be easier to get the body to do something specific that allows the mind to follow, than it is to go directly to the mind and expect it to comply.
- sometimes easier for people prone to restlessness and who have a hard time sitting. Moving the body activates the cerebellum, part of the cortical "attention loop." Some ADHD experts suggest that this is the reason that some people need to "fidget to focus."
In the Next Week
- Consider incorporating mindfulness into your weekly calendar. Accountability helps make a new behavior more consistent. Remember, it takes 6-8 weeks for a new behavior to become a habit.
- Do at least two formal mindfulness practices each week.
- Practice informally as often as possible. Even small daily chunks are better than nothing. Doing it consistently even a minute per day helps to make it routine.
- Do at least one walk to class mindful.
- If you are doing this session for class credit/extra credit, click on the link below to open the assignment sheet.
mt_at_mc_credit_sheet_for_students.docx | |
File Size: | 14 kb |
File Type: | docx |