How to Practice Walking Meditation

Although sitting quietly is the form that most people associate with meditation, there is another form of meditation that is much more active: Walking meditation. Walking during meditation can aid concentration and can also quiet your mind. The rhythmic motion of walking can also induce a hypnotic trance, if you know how to do it correctly. Walking meditation, in fact, adds an invigorating variety to the traditional sitting meditation, and can be just as effective in calming your mind. Here is how to practice walking meditation.

Instructions

How to Practice Walking Meditation

1. Search for a pathway to perform your walking meditation. The ideal pathway will be between 30 and 40 feet long and will be relatively straight. This path should also be smooth, without ruts and big rocks that could trip you.

2. Stand at the beginning of the path and begin walking. You may walk either fast or slow, but make sure your pace is consistent.

3. Look down at the ground (perhaps with your eyes half closed) as you walk.

4. Concentrate on your legs as you walk. Bring your entire attention into your legs. Feel the sensation of your feet touching the ground, lifting up, touching the ground again. You might want to silently say, “left, right, left right” in time with your steps. This practice will keep you in the present moment, and will aid your concentration and keep your mind from wandering.

5. Stop at the end of the path, turn around, pause for a second, and then start walking again in the opposite direction. Stopping, in this manner, will catch your attention in case your mind has started to wander.

6. Keep walking like this, back and forth, back and forth, for at least 20 minutes, or until you feel satisfied with your meditation.

Tips & Warnings

• Experiment with the pace of your walk. Find the pace that feels the most comfortable for you. You may even vary your pace within the same walking meditation, just make sure that you are consistent in the same pace for awhile.

• Do not just walk around randomly, without having a specific path identified, because part of your mind will be figuring out where to walk next. Also, you will have to watch for hazards, such as rocks and holes, and this will distract your mind. For the best walking meditation, your path should be the same, well-trod one.