Meditation Walk! Learn about its Benefits, Ways of Practice, and More!

29 Sep, 2020

• We live in a fast-paced atmosphere where we are always dealing with personal and professional chores/worries. We have become so accustomed to all this that somewhere down the line, we have lost touch with reality.
• This is where meditation comes into play!
• While sitting, meditation is practiced excessively across the globe for focusing your mind on redirecting your thoughts on your inner self and surroundings, it becomes challenging for some to continue for long in the sitting position.
• That is why walking meditation is becoming increasingly popular. With its origins in Buddhism, this technique helps you feel more balanced, grounded, and serene.

 Defining a Walking Meditation Practice

• Walking meditation is designed in such a way that it helps in syncing our mind and body while we are on the move. This typically includes walking back and forth in a labyrinth/straight line or in a circle.
• The pace at which you walk is usually slow and depends on the particular technique you use. Most of the time, practitioners opt for a walking meditation between long periods of seated meditation sessions.

 The Biggest Challenge- The Auto-Pilot Mode

• The biggest challenge faced by people when starting out with a walking meditation is going in the auto-pilot mode.
• This includes going in the usual mode of walking that is filled with thoughts of planning, remembering, worrying, dwelling, analyzing, and more.
• So, every time this happens, the mind finds it hard to connect with the surroundings and inner self, forgetting to appreciate the simple walking pleasure.

Walking Meditation Types

1. Kinhin: In this, while walking at the same tempo of the breath, a person focuses his attention on all the aspects of the posture.
2. Theravada: In this, a person walks forward and backward in line with a path that is 30-40 feet in length and maintains a changing and specific attention focus throughout.
3. Vipassana: This walking meditation type is more of a self-exploratory journey that is observation-based and focuses on deep body and mind interconnection through the realization of physical sensations around.

The Walking Meditation Technique

• Place: Choose a place for walking that is low on distraction levels.
• Body: As you start walking, notice the way your body feels; relaxed/stiff, light/heavy and become aware of the same.
• Observe: Observe your gait without changing the way you are moving.
• Tune In: Just acknowledge the things around you without thinking about any one of them.
• Sound: Similar to what you can see, acknowledge what you can hear without dwelling on it.
• Smell: Now you need to focus on the smell, unpleasant or pleasant without allowing your mind to go into any past occurrence related to that smell!
• Physical Sensations: Next is the time to acknowledge the physical sensations like feelings about the weather or the moment your foot touches the ground.
• Movement: Contemplate the body movement’s sensations: the way arms swing/hang, weight shifts from one corner to another, and your pace/stride.
• Rhythm: As your awareness base, use the rhythm of your soles feeling the ground to come back mentally when your mind starts to wander off. Keep repeating all these steps throughout your walk.

Top Meditation Walk Benefits Explained

1. Blood Flow Boost: When you walk while meditating, it directly affects your blood flow and gets it to start moving, improving blood circulation in the body eventually, explains a top physician.
2. Digestion Improvement: When you walk, it helps in moving the food through the digestive tract, helping you prevent constipation, thereby improving your digestion.
3. Anxiety Reduction: Meditation, combined with walking, has proved to be highly effective in reducing anxiety amongst individuals. This includes meditation after walking, meditation before walking, and meditation while walking.
4. Improved Blood Sugar Levels: As per a 2016 study, walking meditation had a positive effect on the blood circulation and sugar levels amongst individuals with type 2 diabetes.
5. Depression Alleviation: Especially in the elderly, regular exercise is a must to keep fitness and mood intact. As per a 2014 study, elderly who practiced walking meditation 3 times/week for 12 weeks witnessed fewer depression symptoms.
6. Enhanced Well-Being: A 2018 study revealed that individuals who walked for at least fifteen minutes in the bamboo forest showed improvements to their blood pressure, anxiety levels, and mood, leading to enhanced well-being eventually.
7. Improved Sleep Quality: With walking meditation, our mind comes down to peace, and our body experiences improved flexibility and reduced muscle tension, helping us in sleeping well.
8. Alleviated Exercise Fun: Yes, by incorporating the use of mindfulness into your fitness routine like walking, you can make it even more exciting and fun, along with reaping the associated benefits.
9. Creativity Boost: A 2015 research revealed that walking meditation brings more focus and clarity to one’s thought patterns, leading to a creativity boost. Apart from this, a person’s problem-solving skills creatively also get enhanced.
10. Improved Balance: Another 2019 study revealed elderly women’s balance was greatly improved by practicing walking meditation, along with boosting ankle awareness/coordination.

Conclusion

• Without any doubt, walking meditation has numerous benefits, and one should incorporate its use in daily life. It not only helps you in maintaining high fitness levels but also aids in relaxing the mind for better focus and visibility into life.
• Individuals of every age can benefit from this type of meditation, especially elderly who are able to make a lot of improvements in their health systems.
• People in the old age should look for natural remedies for maintaining their health, and for problems where natural remedies do not work; one has the option of consulting an efficient primary care provider.
• If you are looking for one to treat any type of health ailment of an elderly person in your home or neighborhood, you may contact the team of experts at Central Valley Medical Providers. 
• For knowing about our services in detail, feel free to get in touch with our Customer Service Department at (877) 216-4215/local: 559.450.6334.