Walking meditation: how to do it, step by step
Walking meditation is meditation done on your feet. Instead of sitting still and following your breath, you walk slowly and pay attention to the walking itself: the lift, the swing, the placing of each foot. It comes from Buddhist practice, where it is widely done alongside sitting meditation, and today many people practise it without any religious context, simply as a way to calm and focus the mind.
The short answer
Find a quiet, level path about 10 to 20 paces long. Stand still for a moment, then walk it slowly, noticing each part of each step. At the end, stop, turn and walk back. When your mind wanders, which it will, notice that it has and bring your attention back to your feet. Ten minutes is a good start.
How to do it
- Choose a path. A hallway, a garden or a quiet corner of a park, long enough for 10 to 20 slow steps. Indoors or out both work. Shoes on or off, whichever is comfortable.
- Stand and settle. Stand at one end with your weight even on both feet. Let your arms hang or rest your hands together in front of you. Take a few slow breaths and feel your feet on the ground.
- Walk slowly. Much slower than usual. Notice each part of the step: the heel lifting, the foot moving forward, the heel touching down, the weight rolling onto it. Some people silently name each part: “lifting, moving, placing”.
- Keep your eyes soft. Look a few steps ahead at the ground, not at your feet and not around you.
- Turn with attention. At the end of the path, stop. Stand for a breath, turn slowly, and pause before walking back.
- Come back when you drift. Your attention will wander to plans, worries or what you can hear. That is normal and not a failure. Notice it, and return to the feeling of your feet.
- Finish standing. After ten minutes or so, stop at one end, stand still for a few breaths, and notice how you feel before you move on with your day.
Walking meditation or mindful walking?
The names overlap, and people use them differently, but there is a useful distinction:
- Walking meditation is a set practice: a short path, a slow pace, full attention on the steps, for a set time.
- Mindful walking brings the same attention to an ordinary walk at a normal pace: noticing your feet, your breath, the air, the sounds, instead of your phone or your thoughts.
Walking meditation is easier to learn because there is less to notice. Mindful walking is easier to fit into a day because you are walking anyway.
Tips that help
- Go slower than feels natural. The slowness is what makes it different from a walk.
- Start short. Five to ten minutes is plenty while you learn.
- Keep it simple. Pick one thing to notice, like the soles of your feet, and come back to it.
- Leave the phone behind, or switch it to silent and keep it in a pocket.
- Practise at the same time each day, such as after waking or before dinner, so it becomes part of the day.
Fitting it into daily walks
You don’t have to choose between a meditative walk and a walk that adds up. Start an ordinary walk with two or three minutes of slow, attentive steps, then carry that attention into your normal pace: the rhythm of your feet, your breath, what is around you. The steps count the same.
A reason to walk today
Most of us know we should walk more and still skip it, because “go for a walk” has no finish line. reTrek gives you one: pick a famous route, like the Camino de Santiago or the Inca Trail, and every walk moves you further along it, with a short film about the place waiting at each milestone. You stop looking for a spare moment to walk and start walking to reach the next milestone.
Everest Base Camp is free. Get reTrek.