Walking meditation
The miracle is to walk on Earth. ―Zen Master Linji
👥 Serves: 1 person, 11-25 people, 2-10 people
🎚 Difficulty: Easy
⏳ Total time: 1-10 minutes
🥣 Ingredients: Outdoor space, “Touching Peace” book by Thích Nhất Hạnh (if you’re curious to find out more about it!)
🤓 Wholebeing Domains: Awareness, Bioempathy
💪 Wholebeing Skills: Breathing, Contemplation, Embodiment, Mindfulness, Movement, Nature kinship, Presence, Refuge
Walking meditation
📝 Description
A quick walking meditation to connect you to the Earth.
Changemakers share a deep commitment to make the world a better place. But this commitment can sometimes transform into an obsession: it can lead you to see only the suffering and the pain in the world and it can prevent you from seeing a world that is already flourishing. If you are to succeed in your mission to create a better world, you must learn to appreciate the innate beauty that already exists in reality. You must learn to touch the Earth.
The following practice has been taken from Touching Peace by Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh. In this book, he shares his teachings on practising the art of mindful living through practical tips to expand and deepen your meditation practice into your daily life. This particular practice reminds you that walking meditation is one of the best ways to touch the Earth. As you discover our interconnectedness to all life, you realise that the Earth has the power to heal you, and you have the power to heal the Earth.
You can practise mindful walking between meetings, walking from your car to your house, or on any other occasion.
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This recipe has been featured in our blog post “If you only get a few minutes outdoors, walk mindfully” published on tbd* on 22 April 2020.
👣 Steps
Step 1 – Walk slowly (1’)
Start by walking slowly, massaging the Earth and planting seeds of joy and happiness with each step, and following your breathing at the same time. Don’t try to go anywhere. You arrive with every step.
Step 2 – Breathe in/out (3’)
When you breathe in, you count the number of steps you take. If you take three steps, you say, silently, “In, in, in.” When you breathe out, you do the same, “Out, out, out.” If you take three steps as you breathe in and four steps as you breathe out, you say, “Out, out, out, out.”
You listen to the needs of your lungs, and you breathe and walk accordingly. As you walk, bring your attention down into your feet. You breathe as if you were breathing from the soles of your feet. You don’t stay in the zone of your thoughts and emotions.
Step 3 – Breathe flower/fresh (3’)
After practising “In, in, in,” and “Out, out, out,” five or ten times, try to practise “Flower, flower, flower,” while breathing in, and “Fresh, fresh, fresh,” while breathing out.
Step 4 – Breathe mountain/solid (3’)
After practising “Flower/Fresh,” you can switch to “Mountain/Solid.” Practise each exercise as many times as you wish, enjoying your walking and not arriving anywhere, except the present moment. Allow enough time to walk.