A Guide to Mindful Meditation

Living in a busy city there is very little time to relax. Between the hustle and bustle of the city, it is rare to take the time and slow down. I live in a city where snow is around for 6 months of the year, so not everyone likes to go on walks but those that do often have a dog attached to a leash. I, myself am a dog lover but with his old age, it’s been hard to motivate him to walk for more than a block. So, the only other thing to do is to go on a meditation walk. What is a meditation walk? Everyone has their own definition of what a meditation walk is, everyone has a different way of relaxing. However, he is what a meditation walk looks like for me. Near my house, there are two schools with large fields and the one closest to me is my favourite place to go and think about life. You walk up a hill and there is a large soccer field and it feels like you could just go on forever.

Here are a few steps to a mindful meditation:

1. I usually start off by taking in a deep breath and I close my eyes and I try to let my mind go blank and think about nothing. Actually, I think of the word "nothing" and it calms me down.

2. Walking at a slow pace. It helps if you slow down your walking speed because you do not want to be out of breath, then you are thinking too much about being exhausted and gasping for air and you want to be at your most relaxed when doing a meditation walk.

3. Do not take music with you, music can be distracting and can lead to stressful thoughts or it can lead you to be pumped up when the goal is to be relaxed.

4. While you walk to think about the little things that make you happy, it can be about your significant other, the flip side of your pillow, or the way you feel after taking a shower or having that first sip of coffee. It can be anything that makes you happy.

5. Next, find a good spot to sit, in my case it is often the large concrete stairwell. I first check to make sure no one else is around wanting to use the stairs and if it is empty, then I am in luck. You close your eyes and you just listen, listen to the sounds around you.

6. While listening to these sounds think about how each individual sound makes you feel. Does it make you happy? Does it annoy you? Does it relax you? This will help to be in touch with your true feelings and emotions. If there is a sound that has negative thoughts attached to it, you try and shut it out. Just flip off that switch, it can be hard for some people, but this is where your concentration comes in.

7. After doing step number 6, you should feel different like you have a complete awareness of your feelings and your thoughts. However, the meditation is not complete because you are only now connected to one of your senses.

8. Pay attention to the weather now, is it hot? Is it cold? is there a slight breeze in the air? Concentrate on what you feel on your skin. Is it warmth? or do you have a chill?

9. Open your eyes. What is it that you see right in front of you and try to pretend like you are describing it to someone in your head, for example, I see a roof made of concrete, the walls of the school are white, lined with multiple windows which have a blue trim around them, the paint off the doors is chipping. This helps to create an image in your head.

10. Now that you have explored your sight, feeling, and sound. It is time to explore your sense of smell. Close your eyes once more and take a deep breath in and smell. What does it remind you of? Does it remind you of your childhood? Does it bring you to a happy memory?

That brings you to the end of mindful meditation. This is where you can sit with your thoughts a little more if you need to or you can walk back home and think about your whole experience and you should feel at peace in your mind and you should feel like a different person after this experience. If you practice mindfulness it can help you become less agitated. Remember to slow down once in a while a do something for your self.