Can mediation be done while walking ?

[garry420]

Hello

I read somewhere that meditation can be done anywhere and anytime..eve when you are sleeping , walking or talking.
is it true ?

Thanks

[iamthat]

There are many systems of meditation. Most are done while sitting but some are done while active in a state of mindfulness.

Walking meditation is an aspect of Zen called kinhin:

Kinhin is practiced between two periods of zazen (sitting meditation). The practitioner focuses his or her attention on every aspect of the posture while walking in rhythm with the breath. In kinhin, the left hand creates a fist with the thumb tucked inside, and the base of the thumb presses on the solar plexus. The right hand covers the left hand, and the shoulders are relaxed. Otherwise, the upper half of the body is positioned exactly as in zazen; the lower abdomen relaxed, the neck relaxed, the chin tucked in, and the gaze lowered. During a deep and calm exhalation the ball of the big toe on the front foot presses into the ground as the rear leg relaxes. At the end of the exhalation, the inhalation naturally follows and the body relaxes as a half step forward is taken.

Some activities such as gardening are also conducive to meditation - again, this is a state of mindfulness. The mind becomes quiet and the gardener is one with the act of gardening. The same with painting, where the artist enters into a state of being one with the act of painting which then flows effortlessly.

Other activities such as talking are perhaps more difficult because the tendency is to get drawn into the subject and the interaction with other people rather than speaking from a state of emptiness.

Meditation while sleeping is yet more difficult. The Mandukya Upanishad describes the three normal states of consciousness - waking, dreaming and deep sleep. But there is a fourth state of Turiya which underlies and transcends the other three states. Identification with Turiya is a very high state.

Peace.

[Blue Tiger]

Walking meditation is completely doable. The obstacle would be finding a place where you can walk and focus on your breathing without worrying about running into or falling over anything. Gardening has a zen-like effect, due to the fresh air and focus on nature. Not sure this qualifies as meditation, but if it feels like meditation to you, it is.

[inavalan]

Originally Posted by garry420

Hello

I read somewhere that meditation can be done anywhere and anytime..eve when you are sleeping , walking or talking.
is it true ?

Thanks

Meditation isn't a purpose in itself; it is a tool to achieve something. If you can achieve that "something" while walking, then you can do it. I can't.

[Starman]

Originally Posted by garry420

Hello

I read somewhere that meditation can be done anywhere and anytime..eve when you are sleeping , walking or talking.
is it true ?

Thanks

The simple answer is yes, meditation can be done while walking. I went to a retreat in Northern California
called "The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas," and there were lots of monks there doing "walking meditation,"
in fact that is what they called it.

I meditate while standing in the grocery checkout line, or other long lines at the bank, etc. It helps to
build patience and it also strengthens my meditation practice. I have been doing quiet meditation for more
than 40-years and now have found I can do meditation anywhere or while I am doing anything, including
typing a post here online like I am doing right now.

Meditation is not the techniques which you may do rather meditation is that inner serene silence and
centered-ness that comes from communing with the presence of your deeper being, it is a one point
silent focus on that greater existence. Actually meditation is something you feel and not something you do.
It is the experience you get from doing the techniques.

The longer you meditate the more you build that divine presence within you and the longer that presence
will stay with you throughout the day regardless what you are doing, and you may also feel it while
your body is asleep. Nurture strength of spirit to always shield you, and build a relationship with the
presence of your deeper being regardless what you are doing.

[Uma]

Meditation is a boat we take to get to the shore.
Once we reach the shore we don't need the boat anymore.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by garry420

Hello

I read somewhere that meditation can be done anywhere and anytime..eve when you are sleeping , walking or talking.
is it true ?

Thanks

My best way of meditation.

Many great experiences.

[utopiandreamchild]

Originally Posted by garry420

Hello

I read somewhere that meditation can be done anywhere and anytime..eve when you are sleeping , walking or talking.
is it true ?

Thanks

Yes. .......walk in the spirit and be at one with the physical. The goal is to bring the heart rate down as far as possible that's as deep as you can get in meditation. Amen

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by utopiandreamchild

Yes. .......walk in the spirit and be at one with the physical. The goal is to bring the heart rate down as far as possible that's as deep as you can get in meditation. Amen

Lower my heart rate?

My heart rate is already low but then.............

......normally when doing nothing, my pulse is in the 40's and then can drop into the 30's.



As I have said, I just love doing walking meditations.........

About the only thing I love to do better is getting into an altered state as a result of deep massages and then waiting on the pier for a boat. The movements of the pier gets me into a deeper alter state so that when I board the boat, I experience out of body experiences.

[jagdish]

Meditation is not an act which you do regularly .It is a state of being just become aware of the life around you BLISS will enter in your life.