Mindful Moving Meditation: Hiking Your Way To Nirvana
Posted by Heather Taskovics · 6 Comments
The other day I was out hiking with my daughter at a local state park, not far from where I live. As I was listening to the sounds of the wind flowing through the trees and the birds chirping away, I was inspired to practice a form mindful meditation as I was walking along the well-worn paths.
Mindful Moving Meditation is pretty much what you might think it is: while you are walking, you are slowly and deliberately taking note of everything that is going on while you move–the sound of your breath and the feel of the air around you, the feel of your muscles expanding and contracting as you move, as well as the feel of the ground upon which you are stepping.
While I was hiking, I would take a moment to close my eyes and listen to the sounds of the wind and feel the air moving around me. I focused on the sounds of my own breath and the feel of the ground under me as I slowly and deliberately moved my feet and legs. I could sense my body relaxing and felt a state of calmness washing over me as I continued my practice. And the best part was: it only took a few minutes!
This type of meditation can be done with your eyes either closed or open. Just make sure you are careful of your surroundings before you practice the moving meditation with your eyes closed.
Don’t feel that you need to devote a long time to your mindful moving meditation practice. Although some people are able to practice for longer periods of time, you may only need (or have) 3-5 minutes to spend in a moving meditation. Every little bit helps.
And don’t think that you can only do this while hiking out in the woods up in the mountains in some far off region to receive the benefits of a mindful moving meditation practice. The great thing about a moving meditation is that it can be done just about ANYWHERE! In your home, out in the yard, at the beach, in the park, etc. You can even practice mindful moving meditations in the pool–as you would with practicing on land, just take a moment to listen to your breath and feel the coolness of the water splashing around you as you swim, float, tread water or what have you.
Mindful Moving Meditations are a great way to de-stress and “get away from it all” without spending a lot of time doing it. You can do this during the work day when you need a break, or at home while the kids are at school or taking a nap. When you are working in your business, take just a few minutes and step away from your office to go in another room or outdoors–just somewhere that isn’t where you are working–and practice mindful moving meditation. Once you feel you have finished, you will be able to resume what you where doing with more energy and a clearer head.
I hope you find this post helpful and would love to know your thoughts on this subject–so please take a moment to leave a comment in the message box below. If you enjoyed what you read and you can follow my blog and tweet the link on your Twitter page, or post the link on your social networking sites and even include the link in your own blogs.
I look forward to hearing from you. Until next time…
Namaste,
“On A Mission To Help You Achieve Success In Life”
http://heathertaskovics.net
contact@heathertaskovics.net
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Hmm that was weird, my comment got eaten. Anyway I wanted to say that it’s nice to realize that someone else also mentioned this as I experienced trouble finding the same info elsewhere. This was the first location that told me the answer. Thanks.
You may haven’t intended to do so, but I think you’ve managed to express the state of mind that a lot of individuals are in. The sense of wanting to help, but not knowing how or where, is something lots of us are going via.
Heather,
When I need more than 24 hours in a day to accomplish the day’s activities, meditating is one of the FIRST things I forget to do. Thanks for the reminder that meditating is appropriate in lots of different places—multitasking, right? I’ll put it at the TOP of my “To Do” List
.-= Darlene Davis´s last blog ..Validation =-.
Great post Heather! I love hiking in Griffith Park near my house. It’s really relaxing. Thanks for bringing it into focus with this post.
Glenn
Hi Heather,
I love doing moving meditations out in nature. The key word here is “mindful” where you focus your awareness on connecting with the elements such as wind and earth and linking them all together through being conscious of your breath. Spending quality time connecting in such a way in my opinion is necessary in order to achieve happiness and success in life. It’s nice to know that meditation can be dynamic and is not necessarily about sitting still and can be practiced anywhere if we consciously make the mental shift!
Om Shanti
Fredric
Hi Heather,
You’re right, it’s such a simple thing to do, yet one we so often overlook. When we take the time to truly “be” in the present moment, life is good!
Thanks for your reminder to stop and smell the roses…
Namaste,
Kathy J