Walking meditation: a simple guide for restless days

Walking meditation is what it sounds like: meditating while you walk. The attention that would rest on the breath in sitting practice rests on the feeling of the feet and legs moving instead. It is one of the oldest forms of practice, and in Zen it has its own name, kinhin, where it is done between periods of sitting.

It is also the best answer to a common problem. Some days the body will not sit still. Walking gives that restlessness somewhere to go.

How to do it

1. Find a path. Ten to twenty steps is enough: a hallway, a room, a quiet stretch of garden. You will walk it back and forth.
2. Stand for a moment. Feel your weight in both feet. Let your arms hang, or hold your hands loosely in front of you.
3. Walk slowly. Much slower than usual. Feel each foot lift, move forward and come down.
4. Rest your attention in your feet. Notice the pressure shifting from heel to toe, and from one leg to the other.
5. Come back. When your mind wanders, notice where it went and return to your feet.
6. Turn with care. At the end of the path, stop, take one breath, turn, and begin again.

Start with five minutes. A timer with a closing bell lets you forget the clock.

How slow is slow?

Slow enough that you can feel each part of the step. In formal Zen practice a single step can take a whole breath. You do not need to go that far. Half your normal pace is a good start, and you can slow further as it becomes comfortable.

If slow walking makes you wobble, widen your stance a little and keep your eyes resting on the ground a few steps ahead.

Indoors or outdoors

Indoors is easier at first, because there is less to look at and nobody to wonder what you are doing. A short straight path works better than a circuit, since the turn gives you a regular moment to check whether you are still paying attention.

Outdoors, you can practice at an ordinary pace on any walk you already take. Choose one stretch, perhaps between two lampposts or for the length of one street, and for that stretch do nothing but feel yourself walking.

Why it helps

Walking gives the mind a larger, livelier target than the breath. There is more sensation to notice, so it is easier to stay with. For the same reason it suits days when you are sleepy, since it is hard to doze on your feet, and days when you are agitated, because the body is allowed to move.

It also closes the gap between practice and the rest of your day. Attention you have trained while walking is easy to bring along to the next time you walk anywhere.

Common problems

“I feel self-conscious.” Practice indoors, or walk at a normal pace outside. Nobody can tell.

“I keep speeding up.” That is the mind hurrying toward the next thing. Notice it, and slow down again. Noticing is the practice.

“My mind wanders constantly.” It does for everyone. Try silently noting “lifting, moving, placing” with each part of the step for the first minute.

Pairing it with sitting

Walking and sitting work well together. Try ten minutes of sitting, five of walking, then ten of sitting again. The walk rests the legs and wakes the mind, and the second sitting is often steadier for it.