Today was our second walking meditation. I always feel clumsy when we start out and then again if we slow down part way through. Once we start, and I get used to the pace I can focus on how my foot feels lifting and then settling back to the ground. My RA currently affects my hands and feet, so paying attention to how my feet feel as I’m walking is helpful to me. I can notice new sensations or pains.
Another benefit to the walking meditation, besides a body scan, is noting sounds and happenings around you without holding onto them. For me, walking meditation is a great way to practice noticing and letting go.
A couple of things that Sharon points out today is to soften your gaze and have quiet eyes. What does that mean to soften your gaze? To notice if you are judging what you are seeing, or fixating on something then to soften your gaze to be more receptive to what is going on around us.
When I feel clumsy – which almost always happens at some point in a walking meditation – I remember that ‘it’s just one breath’ and I can ‘begin again’.
