I have taken up walking seriously for the first time in my life. I have heard the multi-benefits of good health and less stress from do-gooders for years, yet only a fraction of those experts walk themselves (take their own advice)! My initiation is not related at all to that easy to give advice. I tried a number times in the past but couldn’t muster getting beyond three attempts in a row. In fact, “every time I heard the dirty word ‘exercise’ voiced, I wash my mouth out with chocolate.”
This time it was my way – walking at night after Kenny’s store closed and about 9 pm. The roads are deserted in this sleepy town. I was hesitant at first to do it alone. I thought it might be like going to a movie by myself: “Why is everybody looking at me? I could have brought a girlfriend or friend with me if I wanted to!” I was first to dart from the theatre seconds before the closing credits started.
Walking began earlier in January and I swear every night was colder than the one before. It wasn’t a marathon, only around a block to this point. The key was to get out consistently, not the actual distance. I did miss one night when it was over 30 degrees below. I stepped out and quickly back in.
I never doubted that studies showing that people are much more creative when they are walking as opposed to just sitting still. I composed this column in my mind while doing one walk. I’ve noticed other folks walking day after day but it is still a small margin of the potential people who give walking advice to others. Many were fair-weather walkers, absent in extreme hot or freezing weather. I figure I’m ahead of the game having survived our cold January.
We all want to feel grounded and content. Regardless of how much we have, it can feel like something’s missing especially during this ongoing pandemic. It’s natural for a longing for something more to come about.
Social science research shows that most people possess something that’s called optimistic bias or the tendency to think that things will turn out better than perhaps they actually do. This bias is what gets us moving forward instead of staying stagnant.
The challenge arrives when you struggle to ignore this mindset. That’s where meditation comes in to help. Meditation is a set of techniques intended to encourage a heightened state of awareness and focused attention on the present moment.
What Is Walking Meditation? It is a moving meditation from the Buddhist tradition. And I intend to pursue it by means of consistent walks. In essence, keeping my eyes open while using this experience of walking as the focal point until learning to breathe without effort.
When moving instead of sitting, you will feel sensations in your body – your feet repeatedly touching the ground, your arms gently swinging back and forth, and so on.
It comes with an array of other advantages for your health and well-being. Connecting the mind and body to the present moment is the biggest benefit. As well, there is reduced anxiety, improved concentration and an overall healing.
Mindful walking is not the destination, it’s the journey. You aren’t trying to get anywhere. You’re already there.
Actually the toughest part of Walking Meditation is to truly let go and just walk and breathe. The outcome is completely up to you.
There is instructions to show how to stand, eyes focusing ahead of you as you begin to walk slowly. Then awareness of sensations in your feet and noticing the rhythm of them. Continue to focus on your steps and breath. As the practice ends, gently halt. Take a few deep breaths, do a body scan, and observe how you feel. You likely will experience more grounded and connected to the present.
My intention in the near future is to extend my walks, concentrating on the techniques of walking meditation until they become second nature.
Walking for me will never become an outdoor stroll taken with no real purpose, no direction or just a vague desire to be seen outdoors again after avoiding it for years.
