Walking meditation - Yup it exists, I'm not kidding

Your first reaction might've been dude, are you serious?

Let me explain :)

Generally, whenever someone mentions the word meditation, we instantly visualize a monk sitting peacefully in a garden outside, legs folded, arms resting on the knees, blissfully enjoying a meditative and happy state. So, what the heck is a walking meditation?

In walking meditation, we bring attention to our walk as a means of self-awareness, very similar to how we bring attention to our breath when we are meditating in a sitting position.

Ah, I see, So how do I do this?

Here are the steps you can follow. Note this is not a strict guideline, feel free to modify as you see fit :)

1. Find a path you want to use for the meditation. Ideally, this would be somewhere where there is lush greenery like a garden. While not mandatory, this would help you be one with nature and truly integrate mindfulness into this practice

2. Start observing your surroundings. What do you see? It could be houses, trees, people walking around with their kids, cars, or anything. Don't think too hard, just observe and take note of them

3. Start noticing your sensations. How do you feel? Is the weather hot? cold? Is there a gentle breeze blowing against your skin? How do the soles of your feet feel when you walk? How does your body feel? Heavy? light? again, don't think too hard. Just observe

4. Start noticing sounds. Are there kids playing? cars around?

5. Don't think too hard or analyze. You might have worries you've been carrying throughout the day. Groceries, laundry, that one pesky presentation that you have to submit on Monday? Let them go, this time is for you to connect with yourself and nature. You can always go back to them once you've finished this meditation :)

6. Now, start building a rhythm. Notice how your body feels when you step. Synchronize your steps with your breathing. Your walk is a base of awareness, for you to return to whenever your mind starts to wander.

7. Take a few steps around the block. Again, if your mind wanders, don't worry. Just acknowledge, and let go.

8. And that's it!

Nice! You know how I'm a video guy, got anything up your sleeve?

Yup! right here :)

References:

Here is a detailed article by the headspace team. I would recommend exploring this website as well, they've a ton of useful articles around meditation, mindfulness and sleep.

https://www.headspace.com/meditation/walking-meditation