Walking meditation.
For this meditation,
Find a quiet place indoors where there is a space to walk in small circles or choose a path or quiet open space outdoors.
We'll begin standing.
Close your eyes with your feet hip-width distance apart and your arms hanging loose by your sides.
Wherever you are,
Root your feet to the ground and feel the opposing energy that transfers from the earth up through your spine and out through the crown of your head.
Notice how the more you press down into the earth,
The taller you feel.
Let breath awareness guide your attention in toward your body.
Focus on the connection between your feet and the ground and sensation in your legs and low body.
Spend a few cycles of breath here,
Simply noticing what is,
Where the body is,
How the body feels.
With your eyes still closed,
Slowly shift back and forth a few times from your heels to the balls of your feet.
Notice what arises in your awareness with this small movement.
Then return to neutral.
Get centered and shift side to side.
Just a small sway of your weight from the right foot to the left,
Back and forth,
Or from the outer edge of the foot toward the inner arches.
Notice what arises in your awareness with this small movement.
Come back to center and focus your energy again on noticing the connection between your feet and the earth,
The sensations of your lower body,
Your thighs,
Knees,
Calves,
Shins,
Heels,
Inner arches and ankles,
The soles of your feet and your toes.
Maintain this awareness of your feet felt sense of the body as you slowly open your eyes.
Still standing for a few cycles of breath as you take in the information of the body in spite of the distractions of all that you see.
As you are ready with body awareness,
Begin slowly walking forward.
Take as much time as you can with each movement and each part of every movement.
Notice all the detail you can.
The shift of your weight forward,
The shift from heel towards toes,
The lift of the heel,
The lift of the foot,
The movement of your foot through space,
The placement of the foot,
The shift of weight.
As you move through space,
Walking forwards,
How is your intent to walk forward related to the movement itself?
Which comes first,
The lift of the foot or the intention to lift the foot?
Which part of the process is intentional or is the body acting on its own?
As you walk forward through the space around you,
Curious about the process,
Curious about the movement itself,
At which point does the shift of weight begin?
At which point does the lifting of the foot begin?
At which point does it end?
At which point does the lifting of the foot become the placing of the foot?
As you slowly step forward,
Notice when the body is still and when it is moving and allow for the boundaries between movement and stillness to break down.
As you slowly walk forward,
At which point are you in contact with the earth and when are you not?
Is there ever a point in which you are not held by the earth?
Allow for the boundaries between your body and the elements around you to break down.
Continue with the movement until you've reached the end of your path or until your time is up.
Press pause now to get to that point and when you reach the end of your path or your time,
Press play once again.
Spend a few moments standing still.
Close your eyes and come back to the sensation of feet rooted to the ground.
Allow yourself to feel held.
Notice the energy that the earth gives back to you when you surrender to the earth and release your heaviness down.
Notice your breath and then slowly open your eyes.
