9 Reasons Why You Should Try Walking Meditation

Mindful walking meditation serves as a perfect complement to the conventional seated meditation techniques. Meditators who are still new to the practice are encouraged to work with the walking meditation since it’s closer to our everyday experience.
Walking meditation involves more than just strolling about. It consists of being mindful of the movement of your legs, feet and body as you walk. When it comes to meditation, walking is easier than seating – not only are your eyes open but also your mind and body have a deeper interaction with the external world. You are rooted in the present, which is a key step during meditation. You can be guided by walking meditation instructions contained online and in certain meditation apps as well.

1. It Connects You With Nature
2. It Makes You More Mindful Of Your Body
3. It Clears Your Head
4. It Slows You Down
5. You Can Do It Anywhere
6. It Increases Your Awareness of Intention
In yoga philosophy, the refined control of attention and intention is known as Dharana. Through Dharana we learn how to harness the power of our awareness and desires to bring about transformation in life. By walking mindfully, we cultivate a deeper understanding of our intentions through conscious movement, one step at a time. Each walk begins with an intention; each footstep also begins with intention. And if we practice walking with attention and clarity of desire, we can more easily choose transformative intentions that bring the most fulfillment and happiness into our lives.
7. It Expands Everyday Mindfulness
Walking meditation is a practice; it’s a skill that develops over time. The more you do it, the more it becomes a part of your being. This integration of mindfulness starts to spill over into other areas of your life, infusing them with deeper awareness.
And since walking is a basic activity that most of people engage in on a daily basis, you can practice any time you get up to take a walk, whether it’s for 30 seconds or 30 minutes. This regularity helps this mindfulness become a part of everything you do.
8. It Helps You Connect to the Present Moment
As you walk and become increasingly aware, the mind grows quieter. On occasion, that quiet becomes deeply profound. Your awareness goes beyond the walking, the breathing, and the passing scenery into the boundless field of pure awareness.
Such transcendent moments feel as if time is standing still as the walker, the process of walking, and the environment merges together into one. In this eternal present, there is no past or future, only the infinite now stretching out forever. Moving into this unbounded realm beyond thought, time, and space allows us to experience Atma Darshan, or a glimpse of our soul.
9. It Strengthens Concentration
Seated meditation is practiced in a subdued, quiet surrounding. Mindful walking takes place in an environment filled with potential distractions. Nearby traffic, fellow walkers, weather, birds, insects or other animals all add to the regular stream of thoughts and bodily sensations fighting for your attention.
As each of these distractions come into your awareness, you repeatedly bring yourself back to the present moment and the practice of walking. The continual process of attention drifting away and coming back strengthens the mind’s ability to remain focused on the task at hand. With time and repetition, this exercise builds the mental muscles that make one-pointed focus a more regular experience.