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If the word meditation has ever made you roll your eyes, this one is for you. This 10-minute walking meditation asks for no cushion, no silence, and no empty mind, just your breath and your steps falling into a rhythm together, counted out until it settles on its own. You finish having meditated, whether it felt like it or not.
Safety note: Keep your eyes open and stay aware of your surroundings. Your safety always comes first. Follow the audio only as far as it's safe to do so.
What you'll explore:
- A simple count, three steps in and three steps out, and how to find the number that fits you.
- Why the two things you are already doing are enough to build a practice on.
- What to do when your attention wanders off, which it will.
How to get the most out of this walk:
- Pick a route you know well so you can give the rhythm most of your attention.
- Try it again on an ordinary walk, to the car or up the stairs, and see if the rhythm comes back.
Step Into Calm is a daily walking meditation podcast where each episode is a short guided meditation to help you build mindfulness, ease stress, and find calm, clarity, and focus in just 10 to 15 minutes a day.
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[00:00:00] Welcome to Step Into Calm, the walking meditation podcast where we quiet the busy mind and find a little peace, one step at a time. If you're not already moving, go ahead and start walking now at an easy, comfortable pace. Keep your eyes open and stay aware of the world around you as you listen. But before we begin, let's hear a quick word from our sponsors so the rest of your walk can stay calm and uninterrupted.
[00:00:30] We'll see you in just a moment. Hey there, if the word meditation has ever made you roll your eyes a little or feel like it's just not for you, then this one is especially for you. Because here's the secret, you don't have to sit still, you don't have to empty your mind, you just have to walk and breathe. That's really the whole thing.
[00:00:58] What we're going to do is called pace setting. Just letting your breath and your steps fall into a rhythm together. It might be the easiest way there is to drop in to the present moment. So keep walking at whatever pace feels good to you. Eyes open, aware of where you're going. Nothing here has to look or feel a certain way.
[00:01:25] To start, don't change a thing. Just notice that you're already breathing and already walking. Two things you usually do without a single thought. All we're going to do is bring them together. So first, bring a little attention down to your feet. Just a simple rhythm of one step and then the next.
[00:02:01] Now gently begin to notice your breath moving alongside those steps. Let's try counting it out together. As you breathe in, count three steps. In, two, three. And then breathe out for three. Out, two, three.
[00:02:27] Let's go again, nice and easy. Breathing in, two, three. And out, two, three. Now there's no perfect number. If three feels rushed, try two. If it feels too easy, stretch it to four. Let your body be the one to choose.
[00:02:55] Take a few breaths now and find the count that feels natural to you. Letting it settle into an easy rhythm.
[00:03:31] Good. Now you can let go of the counting and simply feel the breath and the steps moving together on their own.
[00:04:25] In, and out. Step, after step, after step.
[00:05:27] And that's it. That's the whole practice. Whether it feels like much or not, you are meditating right now just by walking and breathing.
[00:06:03] If your mind wanders off, and it will, that's simply what minds do. Just notice and come back to the rhythm, the breath, and the feet.
[00:07:17] There's nothing to achieve here. Nowhere you have to get to. Just this easy rhythm carrying you along.
[00:07:24] You might let your awareness widen a little to the air, the light, the sounds around you.
[00:08:27] While that steady rhythm keeps going underneath.
[00:08:30] As we come to the end, notice something.
[00:09:42] That was meditation. No cushion, no silence, no special anything. Just you walking and breathing. And it's something you can come back to anytime you're on your feet. Walking to your car, down a hallway, up the stairs.
[00:10:09] Just breath, and steps. And that brings our practice to a close. Let your attention open back to your walk, knowing you can return to this rhythm whenever you like. Nicely done. Take good care. Hisiri should be able to run by you. Theigence express муз