What is this walking meditation?
How often are we fully attuned to the world around us while walking? On the way to the subway, a meeting, or the grocery store, and even on walks in nature, we are often absorbed in our devices or in ruminating thoughts. This worksheet is a chance to walk with open awareness and take in the world with full attention as you move through it.
How to practice walking with open awareness
- The next time you head out for a walk, setting the intention to be fully present. Putting the phone away and taking headphones out, so you can absorb the experience.
- Noticing the speed and fluidity of your movement without judging it, allowing it to change naturally if it wants to.
- Noticing the physical experience of walking: feet making contact with the earth, the muscles at work, the arms swinging at your sides.
- Widening awareness to the flow of the breath. Is it deep or shallow, slow or fast? There is no need to judge what you notice.
- Once you feel grounded in breath and body, opening the senses: smells, sounds, the temperature of the air on your skin, and the colors, textures, and forms around you.
- Letting the eyes land for a while on something that pleases you. If you need to step aside and stand still to do this safely, doing so.
- Choosing something that draws you in, such as a flower, a garden bed, the way light catches a building, swaying branches, or a plant breaking through the cement.
- Spending twenty seconds to a few minutes with it, noticing how it feels to offer it your full attention.
- Continuing to walk with full awareness for as long as it feels comfortable.
Reflection question
What other seemingly small acts or movements in your daily life might you bring greater presence to?
