Walking, meditation in motion

Posted by Ann Brown | January 5th, 2010 in Fitness and Exercises, Health Info, Meditation, Walking | No Comments »

walking

Many know that in the midst of their hectic lives, they would need to take a break, but it is very difficult to put “one foot on the brake.” For them, the “moving meditation” can be the solution. Many know the great benefits of meditation, which inter alia may reduce stress, tension, increase inner peace and well-being, improved concentration, providing moments of calm during the busiest days. “However. how to achieve this same meditation when one finds it almost impossible “unplugged” from the daily grind?

Most likely, your case is the same as any urban dweller, who, trapped by modern life, experiencing great difficulty in putting a stop to their daily movements. Therefore, if you can not get to sit or lie down long enough to relax, or conceived formal meditation as a form of spiritual practice that simply finds it impossible to achieve, it would be time to try do it. in movement, ie walking.

A walk outdoors can become a kind of moving meditation, if you consider the following five points: the attentive and aware of your breath, very into account the space in which it develops, is attentive to the movement of your body, properly planned and meets certain times, and it takes some time to reflect on his experience when he returns home. A mobile or walking meditation is simply an exercise of insight, so we will refer to this practice as a “knowledge by walking.”


1. Focus Breathing

To begin, we must take notice of one’s breath. Is under the influence of stress and mild and often takes short breaths, even inadvertently? If so, make three deep slow breaths but, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. Taking time to focus on your breathing will be very important as it will signal your body, mind and spirit, are joining spaces.

In this way, you can separate himself from many of the things that you can press every day, like your boss at work, the cry of his children, an answering machine or an overloaded mail box, or a bathroom that needs to be cleaned. (If none of the stressors, common in the daily life of urban dwellers are made to eradicate, it will accumulate and “staying” in the inner self). The idea would be to stop on the way to achieve all these complications. In the same walk! Concentrate on your breathing, help you much to make this transition.

2. Knowing your environment, being part of it
The second step to take, you have to do with being very attentive to the environment in which to develop their “walk inside.” What season is moving? If you are in an urban or suburban, take a few minutes to hear the sounds flowing around you. Feel the wind, sun, fog, or even the rays of light hitting her face. Look at the sky, trees, buildings, birds, animals, or people who may be around.

Also make some good deep breaths and try to feel as part of that same environment, just at the point where you are at that moment. This connection and interconnection with the natural world, will help you get oriented in their path, both literally and metaphorically.

3. The importance of body
Pay attention to your body, will be the third step of this behind. Start exploring your body to locate any areas of tension that may be in the same. The most common places where these items are housed, are the neck and shoulder area of the plexus, back, and legs. Try deep breathing, and feel that areas become more sensitive to find the tension is at these points.

Then take into account its position. Walk in a way that is comfortable for you, but not slack. Ideally, it would be that your body has a combination of relaxation and strength, as much as possible. So do you usually do naturally, that is put one foot before the other. It is best to strive for a steady pace and rhythm. Remember, not playing a race, nor do you have to hurry to get anywhere.

4. Time and experience
There is no minimum or maximum time for this, although the ideal would be to do less than ten to fifteen minutes. As you walk, pay attention to the experience of their movements. Can you feel the muscles in your legs, which contract and / or relaxed? How do you feel the breeze hitting his face and body? Let your mind be as open as possible, being aware that everything we experience, from the bottom to the smallest detail, and how all the stressors that alter his life begin to scream to get your attention. That is the point to make: you let them come, the note, but also is making them pass by, out of their body.

5. Returning home
Finally, upon your return home, take five to ten minutes to reflect on their experience. This will provide an end to your walk, and allow you to achieve the necessary transition between the interconnected worlds of body, mind, and soul, to coordinate a single time. What differences do you experience now, compared with minutes before departure? How influential winds, steep slopes, and the different routes of your way? What was it more expensive? What was most enjoyable? Where did you get a greater source of energy and vitality? What were the positive and negative thoughts experienced during the walk? Did they have changed?

All these questions form part of another meditation, a meditation non-mobile, but it is much easier to achieve after your walk. The “walking knowledge” can be easily made through another path, that of everyday life, away only a short time at the beginning or end of the day or on the way to any of its destinations. This exercise is an ideal solution for people of action, it is not necessary to make a sudden stop to their lives in motion and activity.


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