I created a Guided Walking Meditation because mindful walking can be a powerful form of meditation. This type of meditation has been practiced by many cultures, religions and spiritual traditions for thousands of years. Buddhist and Eastern spiritual traditions used walking meditation in combination with long periods of sitting meditation.
Labyrinths and mazes date back thousands of years. Drawings on rock art located in areas of Nevada, Cornwall, Lancashire, and Spain, are estimated to date back as far as 10,500-4800 BCE. The famous labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral in France dates back to the early 13th century and was walked by pilgrims as part of their pilgrimage.
The Glastonbury Tor is actually carved out in the shape of a Cretan Maze. It is not known how or when this hill was created in this way, but it was certainly created for ritual and spiritual purposes with its seven spirals beginning at the base and winding to the summit where St. Michael’s tower stands.
So it seems that mindful walking as a spiritual practice has a long history throughout many cultures.
“The practice of mindful walking is a profound and pleasurable way to deepen our connection with our body and mind. We breathe, take a mindful step and come back to our true home.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
In this day and age, you don’t have to follow any spiritual tradition to practice mindful walking. It is an easy and simple way to quiet the mind, to slow down your energy and to connect more deeply with nature.
Sitting meditation can be a challenge if you have a very busy mind and women, in particular, may struggle with this more. That is because women are natural ‘multitaskers.’ Men, for the most part, can drop into stillness much more easily than women. I wrote an article about it here.
Walking meditation, therefore, can be a wonderful practice for those who have a hard time stilling their minds. It takes you through a process of focusing on each step, and the rhythm of your breath. This deep focus naturally quiets the mind and turns off the constant chatter that is our normal experience.
But there is a deeper benefit, and that is the connection created between you and the earth. We normally walk through our day without any awareness of our connection to the earth. We spend so much time distracted by our thoughts that we forget how grounding and nourishing the earth is. This practice helps us remember the sacred and healing energy the earth so graciously offers us.
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If you want to learn more about walking as a spiritual practice, I recommend Walking a Sacred Path by Lauren Artress and How to Walk by Thich Nhat Hanh.