ecoPharmacist

Walking Meditation

Walking meditation can be just as profound and enlightening as sitting meditation. It helps bring strong awareness to the body and to physical sensations around you. We are not talking about a difficult walk or hike, but simply a walking space that gives you peace and quiet to be mindful and meditate. As has been discussed a few ties now, there are different methods or techniques to meditate. Choosing the one or maybe more methods, that keep you consistently practicing is key. Here is what I mean by walking meditation:

Choose a small, flat path on which to walk back and forth, preferably no more than 10 paces in each direction. I prefer to be outside, as you get the physical sensations from the sun, the wind, the sounds of nature. But if indoors is all you can find, it is just fine.
 

Before you start moving, stand still for a few moments and consciously bring your attention into your body. Breathe. Notice the sensations of your feet on the ground, the clothes on your body, and the sun and the wind on your skin.
 
Now, begin walking as slowly as you can while still feeling natural.  Keep your attention within the body. When the attention drifts to outside sights or thoughts, which it will, gently bring it back to the movement in the lower half of your body – the soles of your feet on the ground, the bending and extending of the knee and the curl of your toes. For me I add the rhythm of my steps, rhythm of my pace with my breathing.
 
The simple act or exercise of stepping from foot to foot naturally creates a meditative state. I find a rhythm in my walk, which helps bring that calming state sooner. This state calms the mind and cultivates sharper awareness. Walking meditation can be a fantastic way to bring mindful attention to every part of the day. As I have previously discussed, you can meditate and be mindful in all that you do – from walking, to work, to cooking, or doing the dishes.
 
 

Five Meditation Techniques

Here are five meditation techniques for a beginner or in regular experienced practice:

• Sit or lie in a relaxed position

• Breathe regularly. You breathe in deep enough to get enough oxygen, this will relax you. When you breathe out, you relax your muscles so that your lungs are well emptied, but do not strain to release the air.

• Stop thinking about everyday problems or matters. Clear your mind.

• Concentrate your thoughts on something like a sound, a repetitive word or mantra, or a feeling or concept that you are experiencing or longing for.  All of your attention needs to be placed on the object that you have chosen.

• While in that state of concentration, if foreign thoughts try to creep in, you need to stop the thought, and go back to focusing on the object of your meditation.

Those five meditation techniques are the basics of meditation. There are varying techniques based on the degree of concentration and how you handle those foreign thoughts. Some suggest the practice should be to meditate so intensely that no foreign thoughts are allowed to enter at all. Another practice is to allow the concentration is more relaxed so that foreign thoughts enter your session more easily. When you discover or realize the foreign thought has entered, you simply stop, and go back to the intended or pure meditation in a relaxed manner. It helps you refocus and be aware in your meditation.

Meditation While You Are Sick

You might be able to tell by the themes chosen this week that illness is passing through our house. However, I’m trying not to let it get us down! The one thing that came to mind at 3:30 AM this morning, was whether or not meditation is good when you’re sick? My initial thought was it must be, but then I back peddled on that and wondered if the sickness makes it hard to really be mindful and focus on meditation? So I have done some searching on opinions of whether or not meditation while you are sick, is a good idea.

When you are sick, and in bed, meditation doesn’t fit the usual routine easily. Several articles and forums I came across all gave the same advice: if it is uncomfortable to sit up, you can lie down and meditate. ‘Also, because the extra rest is beneficial for your recovery, you are permitted to meditate as much as you like until you get better.’ That was a response that Deepak Chopra gave a member who was ill. Being sick will make it harder to focus, but you can do it. I have read that most advise that if you cannot breathe through your nose, due to congestion, breathe through your mouth. Focus on your breathing and allow it to occur as naturally as possible. Be mindful that the congestion is  part of the body trying to heal itself.  This will take away from some of your focus, but I have to believe that altering your practice, to breathe through your nose, has to be better than not doing meditation at all.

Focus on the breaths being a technique to repair or heal the body from your illness. Let the air you breathe out be the unhealthy black energy that is making you sick. Breathe out the nasty negative energy, breathe in new vibrant, clean energy air. Hopefully the negative emotional reactions you have to the illness will leave your body as well. Focus on the body repairing itself.

Meditation while you’re sick can be challenging, but as Deepak advised, you can use this down time to meditate as you need. Making alterations to your routine is allowable and again, hopefully you can focus on releasing the negative energy and heal.