By Jonathan Kaplan, Ph.D.

Traditionally, meditation done in four basic postures:  sitting, standing, lying down, and walking.  Tonight, I did a walking meditation, which I find to be a helpful practice when I'm particularly tired.  The process itself is fairly simple:  just bring attention to the sensations of movement.  The focus of attention shifts rhythmically as one walks, providing a more pronounced sensation than breathing.  In my experience of teaching meditation to others, it can be a nice introduction to the practice for people who (1) get frustrated by not being able to focus on the breath or (2) feel anxious or panicky with the seated version.  

Naturally, as we bring attention to walking, our movement slows.  It's almost like moving as a zombie:  slowly, deliberately, and sometimes wobbly.  On retreats, participants often do walking meditations en masse in fields adjacent to the main hall.  Picture dozens--even hundreds--of people moving back and forth, back and forth.  Now, consider the perspective from above.  It's easy to imagine that it would resemble a scene from a horror movie:  the dead have arisen!  Warn the townsfolk!