Welcome to this practice of mindful movements.
Welcome just the way you are.
Walking meditation is a classical Buddhist practice.
However,
The Buddha gave instructions on all sorts of movements and actions of the body.
The following practice is perhaps especially helpful for those of us who have challenges doing walking meditation.
It can,
However,
Be done by all of us and be of benefit.
I will be focusing on the hands and arms and their movements.
If you have challenges moving your hands and arms,
You can instead focus on a finger or two fingers moving,
Or on your foot moving slightly,
Or some other part of your body such as the head and neck moving.
Get into a comfortable position for you,
Seated or lying down on your back.
Let your hands rest comfortably on the tops of your thighs.
You can close your eyes or let them be open with a relaxed soft gaze.
A deep inhale and long exhale.
Relax.
Open your awareness to the sounds,
Smell,
Taste and touch.
And then move the attention to your primary anchor,
The hands or some other part of the body that you have chosen.
Do you notice some sensations in the hands?
Backs of the hands.
Palms of the hands touching the thigh.
The fingers.
Space between the fingers.
Perhaps you sense the pulse,
Tingling or other subtle sensations.
Bring your attention now to your right hand,
Palm against the thigh.
Sense the weight of the hand on your thigh.
The contact.
And then on your next inhale,
Gently lift your right hand slightly up.
You can do this slowly.
And then on the exhale,
Lower the palm down to your thigh.
Again,
Sensing the contact.
Bringing attention to the left hand now.
As you inhale,
Lift the left hand slightly up.
Exhale,
Back down to the thigh,
Again sensing the contact.
And again,
Right hand.
Inhale,
Up.
Exhale,
Down.
Left.
Inhale,
Up.
Exhale,
Down.
Do this at your own pace.
Let the movement be smooth,
Natural and relaxed.
Just following the breathing,
Breathing natural.
Feel free to experiment.
You can vary the pace,
Slowing down,
Speeding up.
You can also experiment with labeling.
Whispering,
Lifting as you lift.
Whispering,
Placing as you lower the palm to your thigh.
Being mindful of the movements and breath.
As in any meditation practice,
The mind will inevitably wander.
When you notice this,
You can merely acknowledge this moment of wakefulness.
And guide your attention gently back to the practice of the mindful movement and breathing.
Even the smallest,
Most subtle movement can be done with mindfulness.
Gently,
With attention,
With kindness,
Presence.
Lifting as you inhale,
Placing as you exhale.
Lifting as you inhale,
Placing as you exhale.
Lifting as you exhale.
Lifting as you exhale.
Higher.
.
.
.
.
