Inner Work

For the week of June 9, 2008

Walking Meditation

Walking meditation takes the work of walking presence to a deeper level. In normal walking we encounter distractions like the need to avoid obstacles and adjust our path to match our intended route, the sights and sounds along the way, and so on. In walking meditation we minimize all the distractions, to bring even more attention and energy to bear on our inner work. Here’s how.

Find a quiet room with a clear lane for walking, preferably at least fifteen feet long. Stand at one end of the walking path, facing the direction you will walk. Allow your arms to hang at your sides, relaxed. Or, if you prefer, hold your hands on your belly, about navel height, with one hand in a relaxed fist and the other hand around the fist. You will maintain the same relaxed position of arms and hands throughout the walking meditation session.

Collect yourself. Become aware of your body, of the sensations in your body. Do this for a minute or two to prepare for walking. Then slowly, very slowly, walk to the other end of your walking lane, one step at a time. Let the slowness be natural, not forced, not a matter of holding back. As you enter the presence of walking meditation, you realize viscerally that you have nowhere to go, that you have already arrived, and you inwardly slow down.

To enter here, be aware of each step, each movement. Be in your foot as you raise it, move it forward and put it down. Be aware of your leg as you move it. When you reach the end of your walking lane, slowly turn around, with attention to each movement as you turn. Then slowly, very slowly, with full awareness of each step, walk back to your starting point. Again, slowly and in full awareness, turn around.

Now back at the beginning, spend a couple of minutes in standing meditation. Expand your body awareness to more, and eventually to all, of your body. Standing in stillness, enter the quiet peace of consciousness. Inhabit your body. Be the one who is standing here. Take the opportunity afforded by the stillness of standing meditation to enter the sacred as deeply as you can. Then with that depth resonating in your soul, resume the slow walking with full awareness. Continue in this fashion, walking, turning, and standing, for the time you have allotted to the session. End with standing meditation to allow the results to collect and settle into your being.

Keep attention and awareness throughout the entire session, whether walking, turning, or standing. If your attention strays into thoughts or anything else, then when you notice your mind wandering, gently bring your attention back and reenter your body.

Walking meditation can be an excellent complement to sitting meditation. We can alternate walking and sitting in longer meditation periods. If we are very tired, walking meditation can provide the energy we need to maintain our attention, to maintain our presence. While sitting meditation tends to take us deeper, walking meditation helps bridge our depth of experience into our daily life.

For this week, find time to practice walking meditation. Be the walker.

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