Many think that meditation means sitting in a long, contemplative, calm silence, but this is not exactly the case. Quite the opposite, in fact. Meditation itself is often about moving out of our comfort zone and not allowing ourselves to stay comfortable in the usual way. Movement meditation is a special version of this. When it comes to changing our view, i.e. our relationship with the world, it challenges us even on the physical level by getting us to move.
An ancient form of this is Walking meditation, which is easy to fit into your everyday life. Have you noticed that if you only listen to the rhythm of your steps, it awakens a sharp presence? How good it feels when your feet move off the ground and then touch it again and again.
They get to be free and then land safely. They fly in the air to get down again smoothly, yet firmly.
It is a free game of lightness and power. If you listen long enough and deeply, you yourself become the step, a fresh presence, the joy of movement. You can literally go beyond your lack of attention this way.
The City Mandala meditation offers a fantastic opportunity for people of the modern age. Wherever you look, wherever you go, as you are out and about in your city, you may as well meditate 🙂
Sometimes it is important to see that things are going on around you, and at the same time they are going on in relation to you. Look, touch, smell, and even listen with your eyes closed: sense the city’s thrilling, exciting game. It’s good to walk this way. To look at people as if you looked in a mirror, to listen to the noise of the city as if it was a rhythm. Let go of what has been annoying you so far and just enjoy this unpredictable diversity. Develop gratitude in yourself for a city where you wake up. Breathe, think and feel with thousands of other people and where you can practice at any time.
Our Wind meditation is one of my all-time favourite exercises that you can do in nature. It awakens respect and reckless freshness, making it the perfect antidote to laziness. Feel the wind caress your face and then get into your hair while walking or cycling, listen to its sound, music, give yourself in to it. Have you ever thought about how this vast invisible creature is always in motion somewhere in the world? It blows away the dust of boredom, it moves giant ships and oceans, stirs up storms. It blows through your mind.
It is okay if you feel chilly as it blows outside and murmurs inside you… just breathe deeply, freely, with laughter. Celebrate that there is a wind that is always a mischievous, playful promise and the beginning of something new and fresh.
