Being in the moment. How a walk can help you focus on the present

Meditation is not just about lotus pose on a yoga mat. In fact, it can be a part of our everyday life. You can meditate even just by taking a walk in the park near your home.

Why is it beneficial to meditate while walking?

The concept of meditation in general is very popular now, but according to psychologist Alina Sotova, one of its most ecological types is mindfulness meditation.

It does not take you somewhere into thoughts or esoteric states, but on the contrary, it allows you to live a natural process of attunement with your own body and return to the proverbial “here and now”, which is now fashionable to talk about.

psychologist

For the most part, we live on autopilot. Many of our life processes are so well practiced that they happen unconsciously and out of habit.

That is, we don’t even notice them and don’t put any special meaning into them. Mindfulness meditation allows us to be in the actual moment, time and place – and this is very important. Because that’s the only way to come to yourself, to understand what thoughts you have in your head right now, what’s bothering you, what you’re concentrating on and what state you’re in.

With the help of such meditation you can trace your emotional states and in fact separate yourself from them. And in that moment, you as a person find yourself more than your one emotion that is constantly guiding you.

How and why meditate while walking?

Walking meditation can be a very good aid in your process of grounding yourself and focusing on the present moment, says a psychologist. Because here you can allow yourself to focus on the sensations of your own body without being in any particular state or state of mind.

What is the right way to meditate while walking?

• Choose any route, new or old – it doesn’t matter.
• Turn off the autopilot, which most of the time we have on, and tune yourself to notice the details around you.
• Try to become aware of yourself.
• Direct your attention to your own body and realize that you are treading on the ground – there is a kind of grounding that happens when the focus of your attention goes to your feet, for example. Trace how you walk, what sensations arise.
• Then move the focus of your attention around your body – you can start either from top to bottom or from bottom to top. Feel the ground beneath your feet, then feel your hands, then concentrate on your breathing.
• Try to focus on your sensations, on how you feel the space in which you are walking. Track, for example, the rhythm of your step.
• Concentrate on how you feel the parts of your body as a whole.
• Pay attention to whether there are any clamps in your body – most often they are related to your emotional state. If, for example, you notice that you have a lump in your throat, it is most likely some unspoken thoughts or emotions that you have not yet fully lived.
• Take note of what is around you and what you are feeling. The main thing is to be able to trace these thoughts.

Alina Sotova

psychologist

During a walk you can observe what is going on around you, that is in fact you have the opportunity to look at the world around you with new eyes.

Usually people just run and do not notice what route they took, where they were, what they felt, what thoughts and emotions they had. A meditative walk allows you to return to the present moment, to be “here and now”.

What to do if it doesn’t work?

Meditation does not necessarily mean a quiet place or a deserted island where you are not disturbed, where everything is measured and calm. In fact, meditation can be part of our everyday life.

Even an ordinary walk can become meditative – no matter where you are walking, in a forest, a botanical garden or even in a city where distractions abound. Mindful meditation helps you observe this life – not to run past it, not to be in a rush and chasing goals and desires, but to take time to live in the moment.

Track your thoughts and emotions

Many people think that to meditate you have to tense up, go into a trance or do some special techniques. Not at all – according to a psychologist, during a meditative walk and meditation in general, everything should be natural. Don’t be intimidated by the fact that you may be carried away in a stream of thoughts. If you again think about the past, the future or problems, do not scold yourself for this. The main thing is to be able to catch yourself that you have been carried away somewhere and to bring yourself back to the present moment, to the process of observation. If you can do that, it’s already good.

Use distractions to your advantage

In the city, there are always cars honking, phones ringing, notifications coming in. It’s understandable that all of this makes it hard to concentrate. But during meditation it is not necessary to clamp yourself in a lump, to concentrate on something, to force yourself to do something impossible.

On the contrary, the more distractions you have, the better the pumping. You can, for example, focus on the hum of cars. By catching these sounds, you can realize that you are hearing them now.

Dissolve into the moment

Mindful meditation is not some supernatural state of your mind and body, but rather staying in the present moment, which you allow yourself to live in its entirety.

The goal of such meditation is to completely dissolve into what surrounds you, to feel the fullness of life and gratitude for the fact that you have the opportunity to live and feel everything around you. Whatever this moment is, wherever you are, you have an incredible chance to live this life as it is.

Don’t force yourself

Meditation is not a permanent state, so it needs to be practiced regularly. A walk is great for this, just don’t force yourself, no violence. It is such a natural process that it happens by itself.

It’s important to be in tune with yourself, and even if your brain resists it, that’s okay. If you are able to bring yourself back to a state of conscious observation of your surroundings while walking, you are doing everything right.