On a walk with a girlfriend at a nearby nature preserve I suggested that we slow our walk down and practice the Buddhist meditation walk. A mindfully slow, careful walk.
My friend is a full bodied woman. She is a doer. A doer for others more then herself.
Her walk reflects this. Part of her is moving fast forward and part of her is lagging behind.
Basically speaking, Bringing everything to her center and lifting upward as she brought her breath up along the length of her spine. The transformation was instant. She became aware of her body feeling the muscles of her thighs, hips, and abs being used and toning effortlessly.
What I saw was the change in her face as she reflected confidence and calm. She was moving with the ease of walking with a natural effortless harmony of breathing each thoughtful step. Being centered and present in her own body allowed her to take the time to reconnect with herself as she was moving with a natural balance
Walking mirrors the attitude of how we DO life. Moving forward faster then our feet can carry us with our head moving ahead of the rest of our torso, is an attitude of trying to hard and moving away from the moment.
One meaning of Yoga is the alignment of the individual mind with a Higher mind. Through yoga we have an opportunity to practice staying in the moment. Step by step keeping our head in line with the rest of our spine.
With all the thousands of Yoga classes, articles, and people learning to be teachers how much of this information is transferred to practical focus on Walking? How we carry ourselves is the culmination of the application of yoga. It also reflects so many aspects of one’s attitude in life.
Walking, standing, and sitting in day to day movement with all of its applications is a continual study as long as I have a body that experiences changes, pains and re-adjustments.
It seems like a logical first step would be to watch how we can carry the teaching of yoga into the application of practical movement. The practical application is what keeps me intrigued as it becomes a puzzle that fits together in a beautiful natural woven pattern.
So why not start with the simplicity of posture. Posture in movement and take more care in how YOU walk! Slow down and be with yourself from your feet up to your head.
Now let’s go for that walk.