Published on September 11th, 2024 | by Catherine Tingey

Seeking Stillness September

Tensions are high in an election year.

I got the download that Seeking Stillness should be the theme for the month, so my posts will be related to mindfulness and its practices.

Stillness does not have to mean sitting still.

When I was young and new to the spiritual path, I wish someone had told me this.

I was early 20s living in NYC and joined a Zen retreat at a church on the Upper West Side. What I didn’t know was that we’d be sitting cross legged for 2 days without any props.

My entire body ached after 8 hours of this and I felt demoralized. Clearly I was not cut out for this mindfulness stuff.

This can be how we feel if the introduction to something isn’t tailored to who we are at that moment.

Luckily 30 years later, there are so many different ways to begin a mindfulness practice. [I have written about meditation apps here .)

Today I have a variety of tools to seek stillness, most of which I teach.

I want to talk about a new one to this blog – seeking stillness through walking, or ‘walking meditation.’

* * *

Now that I live in a quieter place, I can walk for hours on residential sidewalks without fear of crime or assault. I’ve found these meditative walks to be so healing and transformative; it’s most certainly a luxury to be able to do them. Having lived in only 3 huge cities for most of my life since leaving home, I feel blessed to experience my current season.

If you live in a place where you can walk safely – urban, residential, country or something else – here are my tips for seeking stillness through walking meditation.

Safety Precautions Essential to Walking Meditation

Establish a route that feels safe. Note mileage and approximate length it takes you to return to start point.
Tell someone before you go where you are going and the approximate time of your return.
Once you have established your route and done it a few times, you no longer have to focus on navigation. You are now ready to explore Walking Meditation.

Seeking Stillness September – Walking Meditation

TRY:

Bring awareness into your feet. Try to feel into your heel touching the ground, and the weight shift onto forefoot, then toes. Take a few exageratedly slow steps to make sensation more accessible.
Imagine a fountain of white light pouring into your crown from the sky. Let this light flow down your arms and off your fingertips. Then down your legs and into the earth. This visualization helps with posture, and grounding.
Listen to each footstep. See if one foot makes a slightly different sound than the other, or if they are the same sound.
Try a simple breathwork technique. Inhale count 1, exhale count 2.
If you’re working with an affirmation, repeat it quietly like I LOVE MYSELF UNCONDITIONALLY or I AM RESILIENT.
Make up your own mental task or visualization if you find yourself getting distracted, obsessing over to do lists, or dwelling in negativity.

You may be surprised how quickly time goes once you have established a safe route, and are able to enjoy it from a peaceful and meditative mind space.

Walking meditation is truly food for the mind – body – spirit.

*This post sponsored by Satya Starseed.

Namaste,

Catherine & Satya

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Catherine Tingey

Entrepreneur, yogini, designer, award-winning filmmaker, personal trainer and former marathon runner. She left a career in finance to start her own business and along the way, became a yoga teacher. She has been practicing yoga for 31 years and teaching privately for 11 years.

About the Author

Catherine Tingey + Entrepreneur, yogini, designer, award-winning filmmaker, personal trainer and former marathon runner. She left a career in finance to start her own business and along the way, became a yoga teacher. She has been practicing yoga for 31 years and teaching privately for 11 years.