What Are The Benefits Of Walking Meditation?

[fabianfred]

What are the benefits of walking meditation?

Those who practice Samatha (concentration) meditation are trying to get to the state where they are unaware of the outside world and all its distractions, Withdrawing inside until the aches, pains, noises, thoughts etc. are gone beyond. They will be able to sit for hours or even days without being aware of the discomforts of the body.

Vipassana practisioners however are aware of every little itch, ache, and distraction, so sitting for much beyond a hour becomes intolerable.

Walking meditation usefully gives the legs a stretch and relieves the aches from prolonged sitting, but at the same time keeps the momentum of mindfulness going without break.

Other benefits are several. New meditatiors often notice the frequent passing of wind. This is because in the normal way walking is done without any awareness of balancing, but when we walk very slowly certain muscles are used which are not usually, and they cause tensions and massage to the stomach and intestinal regions. This is why walking meditation is recommended after meals, to aid digestion. One who does daily walking meditation becomes a real 'regular' guy. Often after ten minutes of walking I have to rush to the toilet to 'releive myself of suffering' as the Thais say.

So, besides being good for the plumbing what other benefits are there?

It helps endurance when doing various activities such as walking or running. I remember when in the Army we often had to do route marches with packs and weapons. They never told us how far we were going, so after an hour or so when getting knackered one would start to create all kinds of extra suffering for oneself by thinking, "how much further?"...."when are we going to get there?"..."I'm tired and have had enough of this lark..".

Remembering that 99% of all suffering is actually mental suffering we create for ourselves, because of our ignorance of the truth.

So using our skills from walking meditation we avoid thoughts and just concentrate upon 'one step at a time'....left...right....being mindful of the movement and the moment without day-dreaming about the past or future. You will get where you are going without so much stress and feel much better (I wish I had known this when still in the Army...).

This can be applied to almost any physical activity and is what mindfulness is for....everyday...every moment. If you have time to breathe you have time to be mindful..

[fabianfred]

....and another benefit I forgot to add....

Being mindful whilst walking helps you to get used to being mindful during all daily activities and shows you that you do not have to be sitting cross-legged with your eyes shut to be practicing Vipassana meditation since it can and should be done in every posture and every moment.

[RickThai]

Although I have a long way to go to get the full benefit of walking meditation, I find it useful when I have a few mintues to kill while waiting for something or someone. Rather than just standing around, I practice slow walking meditation, even if just for a couple of minutes.

RickThai

[fabianfred]

This is an important milestone, when we realise we can be mindful in every activity.

I tell my students that when we know how to meditate we need never be bored again...waiting for a bus...waiting in the doctor's waiting room...instead of fretting about how long we have to wait we can just close our eyes and drape our hands in our lap and meditate.

Those who go on retreats are always told to carry on at home, and some do. Some might say "..I do one hours walking and one hour sitting each day.." ...which i say is great...but what about the other 22 hours?? are we unmindful like ordinary people?

Walking to our quiet meditation centre I sometimes ask guests...."where are you going..?" and they say 'to the meditation centre'..... and I ask "what for?"...then when they reply ...'to meditate'....I say ..."why aren't you meditating now??"...at least being mindful whilst walking.

[khaowong1]

Here is something written about walking meditation, paraphrased from Ajahn Chah. At Wat Pah Nanachat, they pull all night meditations about once a week. He taught his students that would get sleepy to get up, go out and do walking meditation to wake up.

"Walking meditation may be practiced in a number of ways that require different degrees of concentration. While walking at a normal pace is suitable for developing awareness, very slow walking is more effective for refined concentration. You may want to experiment with walking at slightly different speeds until you find a pace most suitable for you.As with any meditation method, skill in walking meditation only comes from regular practice and patient effort, but the benefits are well worth it. Experiencing the simplicity and peace of being with one step at a time-with nothing else to do and nowhere to go-can be truly liberating. Each mindful step takes you toward the infinite wonder of the world of reality."

I use his walking meditation technique of Normal Pace walking. I find very slow walking uncomfortable and awkward. Thai's mostly seem to like the robot type slow walking. I don't have good enough balance.

And Fred, speaking of long hikes in the Army, I was in the Marines, and got so I had a kind of mantra in my head also, "one step at a time". or "one more step", without that thought, man it would get brutal.

[RickThai]

And Fred, speaking of long hikes in the Army, I was in the Marines, and got so I had a kind of mantra in my head also, "one step at a time". or "one more step", without that thought, man it would get brutal.

When I was in the US Army, my marching mantra was something like "<deleted>> this sh-t, <deleted>> this sh-t", when undergoing long, tortuous hikes. Now I am proud to say, I would take a more spiritual and civil approach.

RickThai

[moe666]

At wat tam wua walking meditation is used daily as part of the routine it sets the stage for the setting meditation to follow. But over the years I have had ensites to many issues that I concentrated on while walking.

[fabianfred]

I take it as the mood takes me. Sometime slow, sometimes normal pace. I often start (with numb painful legs from sitting) with the first step and gradually go through to my favorite, the fifth step.

Sometimes just standing still for half-an-hour is good.

[RickThai]

Occasionally, I can walk and subconciously start meditating without trying. These brief trips into the zone are very beneficial to restoring calmness and tranquility to my inner being.

[Brucenkhamen]

Occasionally, I can walk and subconciously start meditating without trying. These brief trips into the zone are very beneficial to restoring calmness and tranquility to my inner being.

Don't you see the irony? Meditation is about awareness among other things, it's about being clear and concious. You can't subconciously start meditating without trying, that would more klikely be drifting into a dull or peaceful state.

[sabaijai]

Just to add another perspective, it seems to me that the main benefit of walking meditation - and the primary goal - is the same as for sitting, lying or standing: to see reality, more specifically the arising of, and interplay between, nama and rupa.

For a certain percentage of people, this arises more easily in mindful walking than in mindful sitting. One tale says the Buddha himself attained realisation while changing from a seated posture to lying down.

The 'dynamic meditation' or mahasati method taught by LP Tien, Aj Dhammadaro, Aj Naeb (slightly different technique for her, but similar) and others works on the same principle, that sati may more easily arise when observing physical activity than during physical stillness.

Mahasi Sayadaw taught his students to note the movement of the abdomen when breathing rather than the breath passing the nose-tip because he noticed the same thing.