Walking Meditation Guide

Hey! My name is Lauren and I’m a yoga instructor here at Wellness of the People. Today I’m going to guide you on a winter walking meditation. Meditation is designed to get you in the present moment, focusing on smaller details of your walk like noticing a small animal in the trees to meditating on the bigger picture by using your peripheral vision to take in your entire surroundings.
Let’s go!

Start Outside

Start outside in a location where you can remain stationary. If you feel safe, you may close your eyes or gently rest them on the landmark of your choosing. Begin by taking a deep breath, stomach and rib cage fully expanding. Allow yourself to take two more of these breaths, taking in the fresh air and the sounds around you.

Start walking and take note of the small details of the landscape that surrounds you. What do you see? What do you hear? Street lights, other people walking, or maybe you see a flock of birds. Are there trees near you? Notice how they sway in the breeze, or the shape of their leaves. Be sure to take in deep inhalations as you continue your journey.

Bring Awareness

Bring awareness to your body and your senses. How are you walking? Notice how your feet feel on the ground as you take in the little details of your surroundings. Remember, it’s perfectly okay if your mind wanders. Acknowledge your thoughts, take a deep breath, and find a new focus.

After you’ve taken in the smaller details of your surroundings. Find a place where you can find stillness. This can be standing or sitting. Perhaps you find a local bench or maybe you’re standing and contemplating which path to take.

Sync your breathing

Take a moment to tap back into your breathe and take three deep inhalations to sync your breathing.

Once you’ve finished your deep inhalations, begin walking once again. This time, use your peripheral vision to take in the entirety of your surroundings. What do you notice when you aren’t focusing on one particular object? How blue the sky is? Or the sounds of the passing cars?

Notice the moment

Notice how you feel in this moment. What thoughts come up? As we close out of this walking meditation, begin to contemplate what each line of vision, the smaller details or the bigger picture, taught you about your surroundings, as well as yourself.

Take this line of vision into your day and know that whenever you choose, you can come back to this guided meditation to help give you a fresh new perspective.

Have a great rest of your day!