Meditation Walk

While the weather doesn't always permit enjoying this meditation outdoors, it is recommended whenever possible. Rest assured, however, even the inside version of "pacing" back and forth will reap the same benefits. The meditation walk enhances awareness and consciousness with your environment. This increase in mindfulness results from a strengthening sense of "oneness" inside you. And this "oneness" manifests not only within you, but between you and your surroundings as well. The objective of the meditation walk is to attune breathing and walking. Just set the pace and the stride to whatever you find comfortable, while establishing a smooth rhythm. Ideally, synchronize each step of your walk to correspond with a single breath.

DOING IT:

Start walking...left, right, left, right... Now choose your tempo and add in your breathing. For example, you might decide to inhale during the first three steps, hold your breath for the fourth, and exhale during the fifth and sixth, then repeat. Or you could inhale for four strides and exhale for four strides. The pattern is entirely up to you, just establish a comfortable rhythm. Even eliminating the "holding breath" entirely is a possibility and would result in something like: Inhale (however many strides), exhale (same number of strides), and so on. As long as the number of steps are equal for the inhale and exhale, anything goes. Try different arrangements and see what feels the best.

Other Guidelines:

• Do the meditation walk for as long as you like, but for a minimum of five minutes
• Walk outside whenever possible
• Aim for the same time everyday