Guided Walking Meditation – Beautiful Mindfulness in Motion
If you have been reading the blog for a while, you may have noticed I love to get out for a walk in nicer weather. Not only is it great exercise, it also helps me relax, unwind, and get my daily dose of sunshine. I love when Adam is able to join me on a walk, it is a great opportunity for us to catch up on our days and spend quality time together. When I go out by myself though, I like to incorporate a walking meditation or mindfulness practice.
If you are an e-mail subscriber, you should have received the Spring Mindfulness Walk Scavenger Hunt in April (if you are a new subscriber, or missed this e-mail, send me a message and I will get the Scavenger Hunt over to you along with the new Autumn Mindfulness Walk Scavenger Hunt).
Using all five senses through the practice I guide you through in the audio in this post is another way I like to incorporate mindfulness into my walks. This guided walking meditation deepens the practice by incorporating both mindfulness and breath and body connection. Throughout this meditation, you are guided to link your breath and movement (moving meditation) as well as use your five senses to observe the world around you.
The benefits of this practice
As with other breathwork techniques, this practice helps you move from a sympathetic nervous system response (fight,flight, or freeze) to a parasympathetic nervous system response (rest and digest). You can read more about the physical, mental and emotional benefits of making that shift here.
This practice also helps you connect to the world around you. The mindfulness technique of exploring the world around you through your five senses is incredibly grounding. It helps bring you back into your body and into the present moment. And being in the present moment is where you are able to find ease.
When your mind is truly in the present moment, you are neither fearful of the future nor regretful of the past. But our minds can be stubborn, the ability to be in the present moment is a learned skill. Like any other skill, you achieve mastery through practice. By linking movement to breath and incorporating a mindfulness practice, you hone your skill of living in the present moment.
If you are new to breathwork or moving meditation
Linking breath and movement requires some practice. If you are new to moving meditation or to the practice of breathwork in general, I suggest you focus a few minutes on this portion of the exercise before beginning the recording.
To practice this technique, inhale, take a step with one foot. Exhale and step with the other foot. Continue to walk, moving each foot on either the inhale or exhale. Your goal is long slow breaths. This means you will be walking slowly to match your body movement with your breath. Imagine moving as though you were walking through molasses.
Practicing this technique will feel strange until you get used to it. In our busy world, it may be uncomfortable for you to be moving so slow. I like to do this type of walking in an area where I don’t have to worry about other pedestrians – walking through a park or field, by the ocean during the winter, or through a forest. Walking through my neighborhood at mid-day I rarely encounter another pedestrian, perhaps you can find a similar time in your neighborhood.
Safety First
Whenever you are walking, please be alert to your surroundings. This recording has no background music and is recorded in mono so you can listen with just one ear and reserve the other for the world around you. Regardless, I do not suggest using this technique on a busy road or crowded sidewalk.
Try to pick a part of your walking route where you are able to move slowly without being in the way of other pedestrians and where you can safely focus on linking breath to movement (this will split your focus and can reduce your awareness of any traffic).
Ready to go?
Here is the audio recording of this guided walking meditation.
You can download this recording so you have it available to listen to offline. Additionally, if you practice this technique regularly, you will find you can do so without listening to the recording.
If you would like to have additional time during the portion of the practice where you are using your five senses to observe the world around you, feel free to pause the recording until you are ready to move on. Regardless of whether or not you pause the recording, remember to continue to walk linking breath to movement – inhale and step, exhale and step.
Hoping this guided walking meditation helps you find your own inner sense of calm and connection to the present moment.
[…] on a mindfulness walk. […]