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As a form of mindfulness practice, walking meditation in a natural setting carries similar benefits to other kinds of meditation practices. However, it has the added benefit of connecting practitioners to the natural world and other species, as well as being a form of mild physical exercise.
Here are a few benefits of walking meditation as confirmed by experts and research:
- Unlike ordinary walking where one's mind tends to "wander", mindful walking encourages a present-moment mindset, which allows walkers to feel, enjoy and appreciate one's sense of place without a sense of destination (Kabat-Zinn, 2018)
- Mindfulness based walking has been known to reduce "symptoms of perceived stress" (Gidlow, et al, 2016)
- Some forms of meditative walking, such as Labyrinth Walking (Welch, 2010) can be used to express one's spiritual path and deepen their affinity to a spiritual tradition. (See Resources for Teachers for an exercise on Labyrinth Walking).
- Walking can be done anywhere (Anh-Huong & Nhat Hanh, 2019), and does not require expensive equipment
- Walking in nature has cognitive benefits, such as "allowing top-down directed-attention abilities a chance to replenish" (Berman, Jonides & Kaplan, 2008, p. 1207) and thus improving tasks that involve concentration.
- Walking meditation combines the health benefits of aerobic exercise with anxiety-reducing meditative practices, thus being a complement to a regular exercise practice (Edwards, Rosenbaum, Loprinzi, 2018)
Exercises:
Exercises:
1. Take some time to read one of the articles in the Reference Section (below) to familiarize yourself with a particular benefit of walking meditation. Feel free to add more articles that you might find related to the benefits of walking meditation, to the Annotated Reading List Document Below. Note that this is a dynamic reading list which anyone can edit, so it is hoped that teachers can collaboratively build this list .
2. As is shown from the research, Walking Meditation can have salutary benefits in many areas of life. Now let's consider, what would you be willing to walk for?
- Download the google doc "What Am I Walking For?" and use it to assess what you would like to gain from starting a walking meditation practice. This is a four quadrant exercise which considers four distinct areas of life: Physical, Emotional, Spiritual, .Mental). Feel free to adapt the four quadrants according to your liking.
- To motivate your practice, write down the names of five people you might want to dedicate your practice of mindful walking to. It could be a friend, loved one, pet, etc. Mindful dedications play a key role in focusing your practice, by extending it outward to other beings. Please take a moment to fill out this form.
- To motivate your practice, keep this doc in an accessible place on your cellphone, laptop, or refrigerator.
References
Anh-Huong, N. & Nhat-Hanh, T. (2019). Walking Meditation--Anywhere. Trike Daily. https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/walking-meditation-public/
Berman, M. G., Jonides, J., & Kaplan, S. (2008). The cognitive benefits of interacting with nature. Psychological Science, 19(12), 1207-1212. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.
Edwards, M. K., Rosenbaum, S., & Loprinzi, P. D. (2018). Differential Experimental Effects of a Short Bout of Walking, Meditation, or Combination of Walking and Meditation on State Anxiety Among Young Adults. American Journal of Health Promotion, 32(4), 949–958.
Gidlow, CJ., Jones, M.V., Hurst, G. , Masterson, D. , Clark-Carter, D. , Tarvainen, M.P., Smith, G. Nieuwenhuijsen,M. (2016) Where to put your best foot forward: Psycho-physiological responses to walking in natural and urban environments, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 45, pp. 22-29
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2018). A Guided Walking Meditation To Savor the Day. https://www.mindful.org/walking-meditation/
Welch, S. (2010). Walking the labyrinth: A spiritual and practical guide. Norwich: Canterbury Press
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