A New Meditation

I’m accustomed to meditation in a seated position or lying down. When I come to this relaxed pose, I focus on my breath and try in earnest to let my thoughts come and go. Recently, I’ve been trying to deepen my meditation practice, and this effort has seemed to have brought me further from my goal–to rest easily within my divine self.

To get myself back on track, I’ve sought many texts and audio guides to help me relax and feel connected to my universe. This morning, I tried a walking meditation for the first time. Using the guidance of Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh and one of his principle students, Nguyen Anh-Huong, I walked with peace in every step. The 20 minute guided meditation, read by Ahn-Huong, asked me to not only focus on my breath, but to also sync my breathing with my steps.

The most important thing to remember when practicing a walking meditation is that you have no destination. You are there–here–at home. I walked past just six houses during my 20 minute meditation. I’m sure my neighbors were curious about what I was doing when they saw me walking zombie-like as they got their morning newspaper.

These outside distractions were easy for me to block out. I was totally engaged with my step. Feeling the earth under my feet and feeling nourished by it. I really felt at peace, present and happy.

I encourage anyone who has either come to a stall in their meditation practice or those who have yet to start one to try walking meditation. I found the book, CD and DVD program I used at the library (aka it was FREE)!

I found this article. It is a nice summary of walking meditation.