Watching Your Step

An alternative to the cushion

Every day, more and more people are discovering the benefits of regular meditation.

Whether that be for clarity Or for stress relief Or for mental fortitude Or to understand themselves more deeply Or even to transform and delve deeper into their understanding of consciousness

Whatever the reason, if you’re just now getting into meditation, or maybe even if you’ve been doing it for a while, your general idea of what meditation looks like is probably some form of sitting meditation.

Which is understandable. Sitting meditation has arguably been the most common one for as long as humans have intentionally meditated. Any time meditation is presented in a modern setting it usually depicts someone sitting in a chair or on a cushion somewhere with their eyes closed as they focus on their breath.

But that is far from the only way to meditate.

It’s not uncommon that for whatever reason, a person will find themselves unable to sit down to meditate regularly.

This could be due to some physical ailment where sitting for long periods of time and not moving causes pain or discomfort. Or it could be something mental where the person just can't sit for extended periods of time without mental distress. It could also simply be that the person doesn’t have time to sit down and meditate at that moment.

Whatever the reason, a good alternative for you if any of these reasons resonate could be Walking Meditation.

Assuming you go into walking meditation with the same attentiveness and openness, it is just as good as sitting meditation.

And just like with sitting meditation, there are both formal and informal versions of it.

Formal Walking Meditation

Formal walking meditation is just like formal sitting meditation in that you are intentionally setting aside a specific time in order to actively practice the meditation.

It’s usually best to practice somewhere private like your living room (So that you’re not getting gawked at for pacing or walking in circles) or somewhere that you can walk without being disturbed like a trail.

It’s also best to have nowhere to be when you’re practicing walking meditation. Having no destination in mind allows you to stay focused and present on the actual sensations of walking. If you have a destination in mind for where you’re walking it will likely stay at least somewhere in the back of your mind and take away your full focus from the practice.

With these two caveats in mind, all that’s left to do is start walking.

You can set your timer like usual or simply walk until you feel like stopping.

It’s up to you as to what you want to focus on during the walking meditation.

You can focus on the feeling of your foot touching the ground You can focus on the sensation of your knee bending as you lift your foot You can focus on a combination of any sensations that arise as you walk along with your breathing

The possibilities are more or less endless.

And just like in regular meditation, things will try to pull your attention away from the practice — Thoughts, sensations, emotions, etc. If this happens, you’re going to do like you do in a normal practice and just keep bringing your attention back to the practice, over and over again.

It’s also worthwhile if you’re choosing to meditate without a timer, to push past your first few instincts to stop the meditation. There’s a lot to learn by simply challenging yourself to push past these initial desires to stop.

Informal Walking Meditation

Informal walking meditation is also just like normal informal meditation in the sense that you are actively choosing to bring an element of mindfulness into your day-to-day life.

Maybe you’re walking to the store Or taking your dog on a walk Or walking around the office at work

Whatever the time and place is, you can invite mindfulness into each step.

What matters most is your present and accepting life as it unfolds for you.

Any time you notice yourself rushing along through life, it pays to understand the value that slowing down the pace and being present instead of having your finger pressed on fast forward.

As Jon Kabat-Zinn puts it in Wherever You Go, There You Are:

“If you miss the here, you are likely to also miss the there”

Fin.

Whatever your reason or goals. Walking meditation can be a great addition to your practice, even to go alongside your normal sitting meditation practice.

So give it a shot and be sure to let me know how it goes for you. Who knows, you may even discover your new favorite way to meditate.

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