Our practice today may be helpful in cultivating a more embodied sense of presence.
Walking or moving meditation can be a practice for developing calm,
Connectedness,
And embodied awareness.
It can be practiced on its own,
Or also integrated into your workday or daily routines,
Or before or after a sitting meditation.
The art of the practice is to learn to be aware as you move and use natural movement to cultivate mindfulness and wakeful presence.
There are many ways to do this meditation.
I will share a few options and encourage you to explore what works best for your body and mind.
You may find a different approach works for you,
And that is welcome.
During this practice,
You are also welcome to close your eyes or cast your gaze softly in front of you.
I'd like to invite you to take a shape now that feels upright in your body of the day,
Whether that be sitting or lying down or standing.
Connecting in with your body in this space,
Notice where your body connects with a surface or the earth.
And also,
Let there be an awareness of the part of your body that is open to the sky,
Whether that is your crown,
Your headspace,
Or the front of your body if you are lying down.
And notice gravity in your body,
Allowing wherever you feel weight to invite your muscles to soften where they can.
If it feels comfortable for you in this moment,
You might choose to release the muscles or any tightness in the face,
In your jaw,
Releasing any muscles or tightness in your throat and and also your shoulders.
Sensing aliveness through the arms,
Softening the container of your ribs and inner organs,
Your heart and lungs,
Softening down through the belly bowl of the pelvis and noticing as you soften,
If the breath feels more free,
Releasing through the legs,
Ankles,
Feet.
Even a body in stillness has some movement,
And how much movement varies from body to body.
You can choose to be in stillness,
Noticing and including your internal movements,
Such as your breath,
And connecting to parts of your body and any subtle shifts that arise.
Or if it's available to you,
You might bring your attention to your hands,
Where they are resting comfortably.
How intimately can you feel your hands from the inside right now?
Feel the backs of the hands,
Feel the volume of the palms,
Fingers,
Thumbs.
Feel a space between the fingers.
You may be able to sense a pulse or tingling or other subtle sensations.
And then bring your attention to your right hand,
Whether you're sitting or standing or lying down.
With your palm against your thigh,
You might gently turn the palm facing up.
And as you inhale,
Gently lift your right hand a few inches off of your thigh.
And while doing so,
You might inwardly whisper to yourself,
Lifting.
Then turn the palm facing down,
And exhaling slowly,
Lower the palm to your thigh.
While doing so,
You might inwardly whisper,
Placing.
And we'll repeat this with the other hand.
So bringing your attention to your left hand,
With your palm against your thigh.
You might gently turn the palm facing up.
And as you inhale,
Gently lift your left hand a few inches off of your thigh.
While doing so,
You might inwardly whisper to yourself,
Lifting.
Then turn the palm facing down,
And exhaling slowly,
Lower the palm to your thigh.
While inwardly whispering,
Placing.
Alternating now,
Lift and place your hands.
Consciously breathing with the movement,
And labeling lifting or placing.
Let the movement be smooth and as natural as possible.
Notice how intimately you can time the breath with the movement of the hands.
The breath should feel easy,
With no strain.
You may continue either in stillness,
Noticing any subtle body movements,
Or you may continue alternating lifting and placing your hands.
Or,
From a standing position,
You might choose a short path to walk comfortably,
Back and forth.
If on a walking path,
Begin by standing at one end,
With your feet firmly planted on the ground.
Letting your hands rest easily wherever they are comfortable.
Inhale,
And open your senses to mindfully see and feel your surroundings.
Then,
Bringing your attention to focus on the body,
Center yourself and feel how your body is standing on the earth.
The pressure on the bottoms of your feet,
And other natural sensations of your body.
Begin to walk a bit more slowly than usual.
Letting yourself walk with a sense of ease and dignity.
Let your walking be easy and natural,
Paying attention to the body,
And with each step,
Feeling the sensations of lifting your foot and leg off of the earth,
Then mindfully placing your foot back down.
Feel each step as you walk,
And if it's helpful,
Use the labeling lifting and placing with each step.
When you reach the end of your path,
A few steps in front of you,
Pause for a moment,
Center yourself,
Carefully turn around,
And pause again so that you can be aware of the first step as you walk back.
As you continue,
Whether sitting or standing or walking or lying down,
You might release control of the breath.
Focus on any movement,
Noticing what is happening as it's happening.
And feel free to experiment.
It might be helpful to vary the pace of lifting and placing,
Slowing down or speeding up slightly as you feel the movement.
Experiment as well with the practice of labeling.
You might concentrate on naming precisely the movement as it's happening,
But you might also drop labeling and focus more on the flow of movement.
If your attention wanders,
You might softly acknowledge where it went,
Acknowledging this moment of wakefulness and guiding your attention back to the practice.
Come back to being alive here and now.
If you are lifting and placing and you find that you lose connection with this,
You can always come back to stillness and begin again wherever you are,
Choosing to sit,
Stand,
Or lie down.
You can always come back to this practice to live more wakefully in your body,
Allowing it to teach you how to stay centered and steady as the waves or experience rise and fall with each movement.
For now,
As you are ready,
Giving gratitude to your body,
Heart,
And mind of this moment for this practice and all the wisdom gathered here and then return again to opening your eyes as you are ready.
