Welcome to this walking meditation as part of the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy program.
I am your instructor,
Jen Churchill.
As we begin,
I invite you to find a space where you can move about at least five paces in either direction.
Bringing yourself to one end of the area and starting by standing.
Feet underneath the hips,
Spine reaching tall,
Shoulders under the ears and chin parallel with the floor.
Your arms can rest at your sides or they can be gently resting in front of you or behind you.
Either way,
Starting in this posture of stillness,
Define the body aligned and define the gaze out in front of you.
A soft and neutral gaze.
We use walking the sensations in the body and movement as our anchor in this practice.
Just as we would use the breath or other sensations in other practices.
So registering what's here,
Thoughts,
Sensations,
Greeting whatever arises with a sense of friendliness.
And now starting to slowly move as you shift your weight into one foot.
Begin to lift the opposite foot,
Just lifting the heel at first.
Eventually letting the foot lift all the way off the floor and start to swing forward,
Placing the heel and then shifting the weight forward onto that foot.
As the opposite heel starts to lift.
Knees bending,
Body adjusting,
Feeling the muscles move and support you.
Adjusting for balance for stability here.
You start to alternate,
Bringing one foot forward,
And then the other.
Staying with the sensations of the body.
Feeling how engagement and movement travels up through the legs,
Up through the entire body.
When you get to the end of your walking space,
Bringing just as much awareness and intention to the act of turning around,
Traveling in the opposite direction.
Walking is an activity we do all the time,
Multiple times a day,
Often without even thinking about it.
So knowing that this is an activity often done in autopilot,
If you start to shift into autopilot during this walking meditation,
You might find it helpful to stop,
Take a moment to pause and orient yourself.
To feel a breath moving through the body.
And then when you're ready,
Beginning again.
Lifting the foot,
Moving it forward,
Placing it down,
And shifting the weight between the legs as you go.
Maintaining that soft gaze out in front of you.
Simply walking here.
As we travel back and forth in this way,
Knowing that we're walking,
Simply for the practice of walking.
Knowing where to get to.
Recognizing the thoughts that arise,
Perhaps boredom,
Frustration,
Thoughts and feelings coming up as they do.
Allowing them to be part of the experience as well.
As you move here,
Staying with the sensations of walking,
You might find it helpful to say to yourself in your mind,
Lifting as the foot lifts.
And moving as the foot moves forward,
Placing as the sole of the foot comes down onto the ground beneath you.
Repeating that pattern,
Lifting,
Moving,
Placing.
Continuing to inhabit the act of walking.
Simply walking,
Body moving in this fashion.
You might find a rhythm to your walking.
You might find it helpful to slow down the pace,
Or speed up the pace.
Whatever helps you to stay with the act of walking.
Staying with those moments of transition,
Just as much as those movements of lifting,
Moving,
And placing the feet.
For your balance and awareness,
It's typically most helpful to do this with your eyes open.
However,
Know that you can also practice for moments with the eyes closed.
Closing out from the visual field and really feeling into what's happening in the body.
The movement of the joints,
The engagement of the muscles,
The connection through the nervous system from the brain to the body,
Directing the limbs to move.
Recognizing everything that's happening here,
The delicate balance that keeps us moving,
That keeps us stable.
Recognizing everything required,
Quite a miracle that our bodies are able to move in this way,
Often without us even thinking about it.
What is it really like to slow down and recognize this action of walking?
As you travel in this way,
You'll likely notice that your senses,
Other senses,
Such as sights,
Sounds,
Smells,
Are registering,
Are engaging.
You have that choice of how tightly or loosely,
How close or distant you allow your attention to travel,
From sensations of movement in the body to other senses engaging.
Allowing your attention to move in whatever way best supports your ability to anchor into this moment.
And arriving now towards the end of the practice,
Letting the body return to stillness for this moment.
I thank you for practicing with me,
And I look forward to practicing again soon.
