om mind om mind
Finding a healing pace; can we meditate whilst walking? By Fiona Lines
Walking meditation
M
ost of us walk on a regular basis. We walk to
work, to catch a bus, and to the kitchen when we
want a cup of tea. We walk in country parks, up
hills and through woodland. We walk our dogs,
with our children and partners, and alone. We go
on holiday to walk, for fitness, to meet personal goals or for sheer
enjoyment. We walk out of choice and we walk because we might
have no other way of getting around. As I see and experience it,
just as those indigenous people living in the far north have many
words for snow, so walking can be subdivided.
As humans, walking is our primary mode of transport. Can it be a
form of meditation too?
It would be handy if so. Think of all that time we could save
as we double task! This got me thinking. My students sometimes
tell me they find it difficult to meditate at home. They live in busy
households with very little time and space to call their own. I
started to wonder; could walking meditation be a way to find calm
amid a home life full of distractions?Why meditate whilst walking?
For a start, walking is something that can be done anywhere, and
alone. It might be easier to leave the house for 20 minutes than
get everyone to be quiet so you can search for inner peace in the
spare room. Or perhaps a lunch break at the office is the only time
available. In our busy lives, we might as well try to find a bit of calm
when we can; going outside and putting one foot in front of the
other would seem to be as good a time as any.
Walking is also an ideal entry point into meditation for those that
struggle to focus whilst seated. This is because when we focus onwalking it becomes more difficult for thoughts to wander. The mind
has something to concentrate on in the physical movement of the
body, which takes it away from things that might otherwise draw
our attention. Once the mind is easily quietened during a walking
meditation practice a seated meditation might come more easily,
even if you can hear the TV in the background and the dog decides
to sit on your lap.
Along with the general benefits associated with meditation,
walking meditations also help to condition the body, building
fitness and exercising restless muscles. Through the locations
where walking meditation is practiced, we may experience
heightened appreciation of our environment and a sense of
belonging with the world, particularly if we employ mindfulness
techniques to open the senses.Is it really meditation?
The definition of meditation is very broad. Some people consider
that meditation must always look inwards, away from the external
world, which rules out even some established walking meditation
practices. The argument goes that whilst we walk, we need to
engage practically with our environment to avoid obstacles and
walk in our chosen direction; we cannot turn our attention inwards.
However, I like the explanation that it’s all to do with what’s
happening inside of us, regardless of what our physical body is
doing. Walking and seated meditations are different but can both
be enjoyed to great benefit.Types of walking meditation
Walking back and forth on a single path is a common type of
Buddhist meditation. Because there are no new physical obstacles
for the mind to negotiate, awareness can be turned inwards more
easily than in other types of walking meditation, and there is no
change in terrain which might cause shortness of breath. The pace
is generally slow, thoughtful and methodical.
In the same way that during seated meditation it is often helpful
to focus on the breath, during this kind of walking meditation it
might also be helpful to focus on the soles of the feet, using them
as an anchor to the present moment when new thoughts arise.