Good morning, folks! I am Jin with Morning Mindfulness Podcast. Hope life is treating you well wherever you are! Let’s breathe and smile.

Let’s talk about Walking Meditation

When I say the word meditation, majority of people, at least those I’ve met, imagine somebody sitting on the mat with eyes closed or maybe even rolled up. Some people have really funny ideas about meditation. However sitting is just a small part of the family. I do teach several different techniques in my classes in Phoenix, AZ. But today I’d like to talk about specific type, which is a walking meditation.

This practice is really not as uniques as somebody may think.. Walking is a part of practice in Buddhism and Taoism. In Baguazhang, which is one of the main Chinese martial art schools, circle walking is a fundamental practice. And not just in the East. Look at European Christian labyrinth walking, for example. There are many Labyrinth societies everywhere, including US, and quite a few people are walking as a way of spiritual practice.

I don’t know how many people can relate to my experience, but I’ve had many days when starting my morning training was a torture. The mind, overloaded by thoughts, would not let me get away from other things, like my business for example.

In those cases I found a simple solution that worked for me. I was beginning to walk a circle with no intent to do any other training. I was just telling myself, that I would keep thinking while walking. So there was no emotional or psychological resistance. I was not going against my own thoughts. I agreed instead.

Dealing with our mind is like dealing with a child: trying to force the activity will create a conflict, but distraction works miracles.

I would start walking. Eventually my attention would switch from whatever I was thinking about to the process of putting one foot in front of the other. After a while, other thoughts would go away, and I would proceed with the training.

This is something you may want to try one day. In case of frustration, you can literally walk away from it. Even if you are just walking the circle.

Thanks for tuning in! You can subscribe to my podcast on my site HPLN.org.
Now let’s breathe and smile. I will talk to you next time.

PEACE!
Jin

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