So how have your weekly meditations been coming along?
Are you sitting for 5-20 minutes a day?
Is it JUST. TOO. HARD??!!
Does this sound more like you?
Don’t make me do it, I can’t do it!!
I’m here to tell you……
YES. YOU.CAN.
Eventually, that monkey mind of yours will calm enough for you to sit, but the fact of the matter is, even if it doesn’t you can still sit and find a way to meditate.
As much as sitting and focusing for that 5- 20 minutes a day is a great way to calm yourself, the stress of the day and fully be present to who you are and who you are becoming.There is another way.
Moving meditation
With a moving meditation, you need to be very present, sometimes I actually find a moving meditation more difficult, but many people find it much easier.
So how in the world do you perform a moving meditation?
Here is what works best for me…
- Stand in one place and focus on your breath. I like to take between 5 and 10 deep breaths and focus deeply on my heart
- Breathe your breath into your heart and breathe out your breath from your heart
- If you have developed a mantra practice this is a good time to add your mantra to your breath
- When you feel calm and ready you are going to take your first step
- Put your right heel on the ground…in your mind or aloud say I am putting my right heel on the ground
- Follow that through to the ball of your foot…in your mind or aloud I am putting the right ball of my foot on the ground, I am lifting my left
- I am putting my left heel on the ground, putting my left ball of my foot on the ground and lifting the right foot.
As with sitting meditation, your mind will chime in and you will lose focus, but as soon as you realize this then you go back to the focus on the walk.
Advanced Practice 1
Discover what is going on in your body:
Sometimes with a moving meditation, you can feel your body better. To advance your meditation once you have truly mastered focusing on witnessed your walking. Begin the noticing of your body, how it moves and how it feels.
- Begin by focusing on your walk, then move to other parts of your body, take as much time as you like or need.
- Move up to your legs and feel what you notice in your legs.Go back to focusing on your walk.
- Move up to your abdomen and feel what you feel in your abdomen.Go back to focus on your walk.
- Move to your arms and feel what is in your arms. Go back to focusing on your walk.
- Move to your heart and feel what is going on in your heart. Go back to focusing on your walk.
Advanced Practice 2
Discover your surroundings:
- Focus on your walk, then say right now I notice the air…and notice the air. Is it cool? Is it warm? Is fragrant? Is it still? Is it windy? Just notice.
- Focus on your walk, then say right now I notice my surroundings…and notice them. Is the grass green? Is the grass brown? Are there people? Are you in complete solitude?
Keep going back and focusing on the walk, especially if you find your monkey mind gets lost in the noticing. So often we do things and don’t take the time to actually be mindful of ourselves, our bodies and our surroundings.
Be careful not to create stories, just simply notice. Just simply Be.
When you finish the walk stop and give the same pause as you did in the beginning. I really like to drop into my heart and acknowledge gratitude for this time that I’ve had to calm my monkey mind.
This can happen for 5 minutes or it can happen for an hour. You can have a moving meditation every time you walk or move in any way. That way every time you are moving you are in mindfulness.
Here is Jack Kornfield’s moving meditation. Enjoy!!
In love, joy and laughter
Karen
For all the other blog titles in the Meditation series.
