It’s the time of year when we revel in the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the summer months.
Here are three walking meditations to explore and try on your breaks or the next time you’re experiencing the great outdoors. Remember to be keenly aware and walk safely!
Regular pace walking.
Walk at a relaxed pace, and as your left foot touches the ground, say ‘left’ silently to yourself. As your right foot touches the ground, say ‘right’ silently to yourself. And so on. This keeps you mindful and present as you pay attention to syncing your words with your steps.
Shifting awareness.
Walk at a relaxed pace, and place your awareness on your breath for a short while. Anchor in the present moment by feeling your body breathing. Then shift your awareness to your surroundings (for example, place keen awareness on sounds, sights, smells, activity, etc). Shift your awareness back and forth between your breath and your surroundings.
The very slow walk.
If you don’t care who might watch you, try taking super slow small steps, synced with your breathing. As you take a step forward and your heel touches the ground, exhale. As you shift your weight forward on the same foot, inhale.
Walking meditation is a wonderful, mindful way of giving ourselves a break from our busy days. It’s a great way to bring more movement into our lives and a sense of relaxation and calm. You can even try doing this during your workday as you walk from place to place, meeting to meeting.
Wendy Quan is an industry leader in helping organizations implement self-sustaining mindfulness meditation programs to create change resiliency. She is the founder of The Calm Monkey, the first and only online and in-person training and certification of its kind, which turns experienced meditators into Mindfulness Meditation Facilitators in the workplace and community.
Wendy is a certified organizational change manager who has been recognized as a pioneer by the Greater Good Science Center of the University of California, Berkeley and the global Association of Change Management Professionals and the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources. Her client list includes individuals from around the world and organizations such as Google and the government of Dubai. Her life’s purpose is to help people create a better experience of life.
Photo Credit: Melissa Lafrance