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Yoga Insights: Walking Yoga Meditation
Walking meditation is more difficult for most Yoga students, than breath awareness meditation, but it is very beneficial to those students who have difficulty sitting still.
Some Yoga practitioners are more restless than most of us, so this is when walking Yoga meditation comes in handy, but we should all give it a try. You will find walking Yoga meditation to be a very rewarding practice for your mind, body, and spirit.
When you first start practicing walking Yoga meditation, you should set a steady pace and breathe naturally. Once you have established your pace, you should then try to focus on your breath without controlling it.
The first exposure I had with walking meditation was in Kundalini Yoga practice. We would establish how many foot steps per inhale and how many foot steps per exhale. This is your own natural breathing pattern and it may be difficult to get the typical Yogic breathing - One part inhale to two part exhale ratio.
An example of the one to two Yogic breathing patterns would be: You inhale for three steps and exhale for six steps. Please bear in mind that each of us will breathe differently. Some of us may find the one to two Yoga breathing to be a strain, so your natural breathing pattern is important to establish.
It will take a while to focus on your natural breathing pattern and determine what the correct ratio is for you. Whatever you do, it should be easy and this should not be a strain.
Later in life, I learned Sanchin Kata. Sanchin is an Okinawan Karate form that may seem simple from the outside looking in, but is, in fact, a form of walking meditation.
