Mindful Mondays: A basic guide to meditation walks

meditation-walks
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Written by Trisha Bhullar

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Meditation doesn’t have to be a time-consuming, high-effort process. That’s why people love walking meditation, a type of meditation that can be done simultaneously as you go on a walk. Here’s a basic guide on how this form of meditation works, and the huge benefits it brings about. 

How do meditation walks work?

Walking meditation is a form of movement meditation. This form of meditation applies to exercises like yoga, Tachi and East Asian martial arts. While most forms of meditation focus on sitting and stillness, movement meditation encourages having the body in motion. 

Meditation walks can apply to walking in a circle, walking back and forth in a line or even over longer distances. That’s what makes them so popular. You can practice it while exercising outside or in the comfort of your home. 

There are plenty of traditional meditation forms that use walking meditation, including Kinhin, Theravada and Vipassana. While walking, focus on taking deep breaths. Listen to your chattering thoughts and objectively let them pass. Just acknowledge them. Slowly, focus on cleansing your mind and silencing your thoughts. The idea here would be to simply walk, with a quiet and peaceful mind. Once you are able to simply be present in your body during meditation walks, you can expand your awareness to include peripheral movement like people-watching or walking your dog. In each case, the movement of your body is the object of meditation.

Why should you try meditation walks?

#1 Reduced stress

It’s been found that walks tend to relax the mind and take us away from anxious thoughts. This benefit of walks, coupled with the benefits of meditation, could offer huge benefits to your mental health. By incorporating walking meditation into your daily life, you can enjoy a calmer, more relaxed state of mind.

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#2 Improved sleep quality

A physical benefit of meditation walks is that they relax your muscles, alleviating tenseness in your body. This ultimately leads to a better quality of sleep by reducing the likelihood of pains and sores. Additionally, having a peaceful state of mind could largely improve your sleep quietly as anxiety and worrisome thoughts will no longer keep you awake. 

#3 Health benefits

There are, scientifically, plenty of benefits that you may enjoy. For example, meditation walks boost blood flow which eliminates lethargy. Besides this, meditation walks are a great way to boost digestion and blood sugar levels. 

A little meditation goes a long way

Mental health is one of the most neglected aspects of human health in the 21st century. In fact, it’s the only form of health in which society has regressed in addressing. While we’ve modernised physical healthcare systems and medication, we’ve abandoned the ancient techniques of the past that are imperative to caring for your personal wellbeing. That’s why meditation is so important. Whether you like to do it sitting or standing, in the morning or at night, there’ll always be a meditation method for you. You just have to take the first step and explore the world of mindfulness in order to start.