It is important to be safe while walking. While this type of meditation is great for calming down and relaxing, you do have to remain aware of what you are doing and where you are walking. It is not meant to be a trance-like state.
Knowing how long you want to walk can be helpful in choosing a place to walk. If you know you’re only going to walk for five minutes, you can probably find a small park to walk through. If you are feeling very upset about something you can also skip this step and just dive straight into walking. You can walk for as long as you feel like walking or until you feel that you’ve calmed down.
After you take a few deep breaths, return to your normal breathing, but try to stay focused on your normal breathing. Try to become aware of how your body is feeling. Notice any soreness you might have or any tension you are feeling. Some also recommend setting an “intention” before each meditation session. If you are meditating to calm down, you could make this your intention. For example, while you are standing there breathing, think about exactly what it is that is upsetting you, but don’t think about what you are going to do about it. Say to yourself, “During this meditation, I want to calm myself. ” You could also simply say to yourself, “Calm. ”
While you walk, try to stay focused on the physical sensations that you feel as you walk. For example, do you notice any pain in your knees? How do your feet feel as they touch the ground? You will probably get distracted by something you notice while you are walking, or your mind will want to wander back to whatever upset you. Don’t get even more upset by beating yourself up about this. When you notice your thoughts have wandered, simply go back to focusing on how walking feels.
Once you have spent some time focusing on your feet, slowly start to move upwards. For example, move to your ankles. Think about the sensation of your ankle joints allowing your feet to flex and relax. Then continue to move slowly up your body stopping anywhere you notice tension. When you notice tension in the body, focus on letting that tension go. Let the tension in your hips relax, and allow them to swing loosely. Visualize the tension leaving your body and floating away.
Remember that meditation is a practice. This means that you aren’t meant to become the ultimate master of meditation in a month or even a year, but instead that you can practice meditating to become better at it. You will have some days where it is very easy to stay calm and focused, and some days you will find it nearly impossible.
Having a calm mind will allow you to deal with the problem with less anger, and may help you see solutions you weren’t able to see before.
Try to minimize distractions. Turn off the television, the computer, the stereo, and close the door to the room you are in to keep any pets from wandering in.
If you’re brand new to meditating, try to aim for a short time, maybe five minutes. If you are very upset by something, meditating for a bit longer (say 10 minutes) may be very helpful in allowing you to center yourself.
You will want to sit up straight while you meditate, so make sure that you will be able to comfortably do so in your chosen sitting position.
Your intention can even be a single word or phrase. For example, the intention of your meditation might be to calm down, so you could simply say to yourself, “Calm. ” It can be helpful to say the word or phrase that is your intention aloud, but if you don’t want to, then just say it silently to yourself.
You don’t have to sit with your hands in any particular position (e. g. with palms facing upwards and index finger and thumb touching), just sit however feels most comfortable for you.
You don’t need to stare at a fixed point, just let your gaze land wherever feels comfortable. You can also close your eyes if that is most comfortable for you.
You can focus more on the in-breath for awhile and then switch your focus to noticing the out-breath more for awhile. You can also focus on the whole pattern of breathing from start to finish if you like. If you find that you absolutely cannot clear your mind, then incorporate your anger/worry/stress into your meditation. For example, imagine your anger leaving your body through each out-breath. Think of each in-breath entering your body and “cleaning up” all the anger, and carrying it away as it leaves your body.
The key is not to get angry with yourself. — if you start to get angry or frustrated, remind yourself that it’s normal for your thoughts to wander. Make a conscious decision to stop your line of thinking and go back to focusing on the breaths as often as it occurs. Keep going if you notice that you’ve been thinking about something that upset you for the last two minutes, simply go back to the breath. You can also try visualizing your problems floating away as you become more calm or you can visualize yourself in a more positive state of mind. The point here is to find a way to make your meditation helpful to you. If you find that you are getting more frustrated because you can’t keep your mind clear, then switch your focus to something that feels helpful, such as visualizing your problems leaving your mind, for example.
If you can spare a few minutes to sit quietly, try to do it in a peaceful place where you won’t be bothered. For example, you could also try this type of meditation while washing the dishes, or while walking to school or work.
Realize that if you say you are “angry” that there is a more primary emotion underneath that. For example, if you think to yourself, “Oh, I am so angry because of that negative feedback I received on my work. ” Think about the reason for your anger. For example, maybe you feel worried that you might lose your job, or you feel scared that you aren’t good enough. If you feel that you have exhausted yourself by thinking of your problem, then skip this part. It is simply a way to help get your thoughts in order, but it is not necessary for a successful meditation.
For example, your mantra could be, “Let it be,” “Take a step back,” or “It’s not the end of the world. ” Remember that these are just examples, and that you can choose whatever helps you to become more calm.
The purpose of this is to give yourself a more calm feeling.
If you are saying the mantra internally, you can still practice this. To do this, take a deep breath in and then, as you breathe out, say it silently to yourself.
These are not hard and fast rules, but will help you get into a more meditative state.
The point of meditation is to help your mind become more focused and relaxed. If you spend time analyzing the meaning of the words, your mind will not become relaxed.
Try to keep in mind that there are guidelines for meditation, but the purpose is to make you feel more calm and centered. If you stress yourself out about meditating “correctly” then you are defeating the purpose.
