Meditation on the Go
Meditation is a practice that can improve your mental, emotional, and physical health all at once. It is something that takes a lot of practice, but that can transform your life in ways you might never have imagined. It also happens to be something you can do at home or on the go.
What is Meditation?
To simplify it, meditation is where you get to a state of having a clear mind and calm state in your mind and body through various techniques. This includes breathing exercises, mindfulness, and visual or guided meditation. The benefits range from reducing stress and anxiety, to helping you achieve better clarity and self-awareness. It also happens to be amazing for self-care.
Why Meditation on the Go?
When people think of meditation, they often envision someone sitting alone in a quiet room, with their legs crossed and eyes closed. This is one way to do it, but by no means the only way. Other people prefer to get into a meditative state when they are out of the house, whether they are swimming, walking, driving, or even in the home while taking a shower.
Here are some different ways to meditate on the go, or alternative forms of meditation that don’t just require sitting with your eyes closed.
Walking Meditation
If you are someone who enjoys walking or hiking, you are probably already doing walking meditation without even knowing it.
When you walk for exercise, or just as something to feel better physically and mentally, a number of different things happen. The first thing that happens is that you release endorphins, which are the chemicals in your brain that makes you feel happier. This is why when you get any form of exercise, including walking, you just feel better.
Often times, the endorphins follow you around for several hours, so it boosts your mood and increases your energy.
Walking for Meditation
Another reason walking helps with meditation is because your mind often goes into a different place. Have you noticed that when you do certain forms of walking, you don’t really think about the same stresses as you were before, and your mind is almost clearer? That is because you are doing a form of meditation while walking.
Why Walking Works
Here are a few reason walking can help you with your meditation practice when you want to take it outside:
You have fewer distractions – First of all, when you are walking outside, you will have far fewer distractions than when you try to meditate at home. This makes it ideal for anyone who wants the benefits of meditation, but often finds it difficult to be alone long enough in the quiet without people bothering them.
You achieve mental clarity – Walking in itself provides amazing clarity for your mind. Your thoughts often become more relaxed and you almost get to a place where you can think of things in an entirely different way. It is a somewhat magical thing that happens, making walking something everyone should be doing.
Endorphins release after approximately 10-30 minutes, depending on the person, and how fast you are walking. I would hit that level at around 15 min, and keep going. Once my mind gets clear, it’s very easy for me to get into that boss girl mind frame, thinking of everything that I could do, names of websites I should get, what I should do with them. I’ll either grab my notepad, tell Siri to take a note, or open the notepad app on my phone, and start writing like crazy.
The scenery provides visual meditation – Have you ever tried to do guided meditation? If so, you know that the guided meditation recording tries to take you through different scenery, like a forest or beach. The same thing happens when you are walking in more of a scenic place. Your surroundings can often bring your mind to a clearer and more relaxed state.
Mindful Walking
nother way to enter a state of meditation as you walk is to do mindful walking. Mindfulness is when you are more mindful of the current situation, including how you feel, what you’re thinking about, what you are doing, what you see, and what you smell. You use all of your senses to enter a mindful state without thinking about the past or future.
You can do this while walking and enter a meditative state by thinking about what you see and experience during the walk. Smell the saltwater if you’re by the ocean, or look closely at flowers and leaves and plants when walking through a forest or park area.
This is something you can do no matter where you are walking.
Listening to Music
Another way to do meditation walking is to listen to music. Not only is your mind becoming more clear and your body is relaxed while walking, but the music can also dictate which direction your thoughts and mood go in. Try walking with different types of music and note the changes.
Deep Breathing
As you know, breathing is a big part of any form of meditation. When you meditate with your eyes closed in the more traditional environment, you are focusing on your breaths going in and out, which helps you to focus on something as you begin to clear your mind.
The same should be done for walking meditation. Focus on your breathing as you walk, which is going to allow you to start getting to a relaxed state, but for your body and your mind.
Try heading out for a walk, without thinking about it as fitness. By doing it for your mind and for meditation, it becomes more of a casual, enjoyable activity and one that can completely transform your life.
Do you like yoga more, or meditation walking? Check back for more helpful ways you can take some mommy me time!
