Moving Meditation

This moving meditation practice is a wonderful beginner’s how to meditate.

In Yoga we say that whenever you are fully present in what your doing, you are in meditation. It is so difficult to sit in a crosslegged position without letting you body fidget or your mind wonder. The entire attempt at meditation can be very frustrating and may even cause you to quit all together.

Fear not! You can meditate while moving and having your eyes open. This can be done in any kind of setting.

Start standing. Close your eyes for a moment and find your breath. Take a moment to scan your body. Feel what you are feeling without judgment or an urge to change anything.

Take one deep long inhale. Hold it at the top for 1-2 seconds and exhale through the mouth with a sigh.

Start walking. Make sure that you have no distractions (podcasts, music, phone call, texts). It’s just you and the walk.

As you walk, look around. Take in everything that surrounds you. The sky, city buildings, mountains, beach, suburban houses…take it all in with as much details as possible. Take in the size, color, shapes. Notice as much detail as possible. Maybe you see something that you have not seen before.

While taking in the sights, starts noticing the sounds. What do you hear? City sirens, birds singing, children playing, wind rustling tree leaves…take it all in with as much detail as possible. Refrain from making mental judgements; just witness the sounds.

If your mind starts to run wild with “to do lists” or worries or anticipating the future, simply take another deep breath and try to see/hear something more.

Moving on to smells. Notice anything that you are smelling. Is someone cooking near by? Some beautiful flowers. Allow yourself to stop walking to investigate a certain smell.

At this point in the walk, notice what you feel. Is it hot? Is it cold? Can you feel the wind on your skin or tossing your hair…take it all in.

As you continue on your walk, continue to notice as much of your surroundings as possible using all of your senses.

Now take a moment to stand still and close your eyes. Taking deep breaths, do a mental summary of all that you have witnessed…all of the sights, sounds, smells, and feels. Take a moment of gratefulness. Thank everything that you have witnessed for being there, for existing. Take a deep breath. Give yourself a smile and open your eyes.

Namaste