Walking meditation is a form of active meditation. The physical, mental and emotional sensations experienced during a mindful walk are the basis for developing greater awareness. This practice is also a great way to incorporate more meditation into your day. You become less reactive and more present with everything you do, whether it is work tasks, conversations, or just moving from one place to another. Every able-bodied person does at least some walking every day – even if it’s just walking from home to the car and from the car to the office. Why not use this time to refocus and tap into a more conscious, grounded state of mind? Practice walking meditation with Yogilab!

Five benefits of walking meditation according to the Buddha

The Buddha lists five benefits of walking meditation. First, one who practices such meditation will have the strength to make long journeys. This was important in the Buddha’s time because bhikkhu and bhikkhunī, or monks and nuns, had no other means of transportation besides their own legs. You meditators today can consider yourself a bhikkhu and think of this benefit as a physical strengthening of the body. The second benefit is that meditating while walking gives you the strength to practice. It takes double effort when walking. In addition to the ordinary mechanical effort of lifting the foot, there is also the mental effort of focusing on that movement. This double effort strengthens our capacity for intense, continuous mental effort, which, as all yogis know well, is essential to the practice of Vipassana. The third benefit according to the Buddha is that the balance between sitting and walking adds to your health, which in turn accelerates progress in the practice. Of course, it is not easy to practice when you are sick. Sitting for too long can also cause many physical ailments. Changing positions and moving while walking relaxes the muscles and improves blood circulation, thus preventing illness.

The fourth benefit is that mindful walking helps with digestion. Improper digestion is a cause of ill health and becomes a hindrance to the practice. Walking helps empty the bowels, which reduces heaviness and drowsiness. To prevent these two states, walking should be practiced diligently after meals and before sitting. Also, walking right after waking up will effectively help establish mindfulness and prevent the head from drooping when sitting in the morning. Last, but by no means least, the benefit of meditation in motion is that it develops sustained concentration. As the mind works to focus on each step during a walking session, concentration becomes uninterrupted. Each step builds the foundation for the sitting that follows and helps the mind persist moment by moment with the object of focus, ultimately leading to the revelation of the true nature of reality at the deepest level. Think of a car. If the car is not used, the battery gets discharged. A yogi who doesn’t practice meditation walking will have difficulty practicing when he sits on a cushion. Conversely, someone who is diligent in walking will automatically transfer strong mindfulness and unwavering focus to sitting meditation.

This meditation practice involves being aware of the process of walking. If you are moving relatively quickly, note the movements of your legs in your mind: “left, right, left, right” and pay attention to the sensations in your legs. If you are moving more slowly, note the lifting, movement, and standing of your feet. In both cases, pay attention only to the sensation of walking. Notice what processes occur when you stop at the end of the path, when you stand still, when you turn around and start walking back. Don’t look at your feet unless necessary if there is an obstacle on the ground. Looking at your feet and keeping a mental image of your feet is not helpful when you are trying to be aware of the walking sensations themselves. Your job is to focus on the sensations, and these are not visual in nature. Many people find that this pure, naked perception of physical sensations, such as lightness, tickling, cold, and warmth, is extremely fascinating.

Maintain your focus

It is very easy to lose our focus when we hear a bird singing, see a butterfly flying, or feel the wind blowing. The primary goal of walking meditation is to keep your attention on your breath, your steps, and your internal sensations. In the beginning, it will be very difficult to keep your full concentration on these three things, but with practice, you will eventually get there.

Choose a suitable environment

For your meditation walks, choosing a quiet and peaceful place, if possible in a nature meditation setting can enhance your experience. Although you can also meditate while walking in the street or in the supermarket, walking by the sea or in the forest will significantly increase the effects of meditative walking. You can walk in the same place all the time, it doesn’t matter. The philosopher Kant walked every day at the same time and in the same place, it helped him to think. As a general rule, outdoor meditation is the most beneficial.

Walk alone

Walking meditation is an activity that you do alone. Just take some time for yourself, leave your spouse, children, and pets at home, and go on your own adventure. walking meditations will allow you to clear your mind and will do you good both physically and mentally. Once your practice has matured, you can try to practice in a group.

Repeat a mantra

You can use a mantra during your meditative walk. In addition to being extremely powerful, repeating a mantra will help you to set a rhythm in your walk. The objective is to set a rhythm in 4 beats: heel lift and toe touch for each of the 2 feet. Choose a word, a sequence of words that you like to pronounce or that has a personal meaning, and repeat it tirelessly. You can for example repeat “I am here” in the rhythm of your own steps.

Break down each of your steps

Here is a practice you can do daily during your meditation walk. This mental exercise will allow you to deeply feel your body and anchor yourself in the present. The idea here is to bring your attention to one of your feet and try to cut out each of its movements in your mind, starting from the lifting of the heel, then the toes until the foot makes contact with the ground and gives way to the other foot, and so on.

Step-counting technique

Here the goal is to measure the length of your breath by the number of steps you take. For example, count the number of steps you take while breathing in. And then, how many steps you take when you exhale. The tricky part is going to be not changing your breathing by trying to lengthen it. You can slow down your steps a bit but you have to breathe normally. You will see that at the beginning it will not be so straightforward, that’s why being alone is advisable to start your practice. This will help you to be more focused on yourself. With this step-counting technique, your attention is focused on your steps as well as on your breathing.

Focus on one sense at a time

When walking meditatively, you can also focus on being attentive to the experience of one sense only (e.g., hearing, seeing, feeling). This will help you deepen your focus. Once you’ve chosen one, you walk consciously, not looking for particular experiences, but being open to them, and when they occur, you take them as they are, without analyzing, evaluating, or giving them any labels.