Hi,

About 2 month ago I decided to take all my spiritual wanderings and not so spiritual ones to a place wher I can finaly try to integrate them.
When I started to not watch tv, read books, or stay on the internet searching for answers all the time in order to take a look at myself for a year, I thought I had enough knowledge to take up a more devoted practise of meditation. After about a month or so I moticed gaps in my experience and understanding of meditation and found MCTB.
A very enlightning read and from there i looked at some more meditation/dharma teachings.. They sort of seem to be containing all that i have searched for in new age movements and assorted spiritual practises.

I have worked up to where I can sit relatively easy for about 45 minutes twice a day...
A few days ago I thought about incorporating walking meditation as part of my practise..

So I divided my time and do 25 minutes of walking followed by 25 minutes of sitting.
And am thinking of upping that to an even 30 minutes.

I was wondering though if this is the way to go. in terms of meditation experience I am a novice. If all goes well I will do a first 15 day retreat sometime in febuary or march. (being a provider for a family with 6 children with a full time job does cause some planning and time constraints)

Anyway I'd like some thoughts about sitting and walking.
Their benefits when utilized in the short timesframes I am using them. And whether I can benefit from them as I practise now, or should I work up to sitting for an hour or so and walk my seccond meditation time on walking for an hour.

WIth Love
Eelco

Howdy ETH,
welcome aboard!

on a recent retreat i "rediscovered" the benefits of walking meditation. i had previously considered it secondary to sitting practice but that was simply a prejudice.

some reccommend walking practice as a good way to start a session as it is dynamic and energizing and allows one to transition from an "in the world" mindset to a focused mindful mindset. this definitely works but downplays the possible enormous benefits of walking mindfulness meditation.

the dynamic active sensations in the body while walking are full of opportunities for insight. for me, a valuable insight was attained while focusing on the "intention" to lift my leg. it was a subtle and normally unseen aspect of walking which was "flown over" with every step I had taken since childhood.

walking was especially helpful to me during a retreat. a 50/50 schedule of walking / sitting kept my butt from getting sore and allowed me to stay well focused for over 18 hours a day.

i would suggest you simply experiment with the times you dedicate to walking and sitting and let your progress inform your choice.

bon chance

This thread may be of value and actually answer your question.

Thanks Tom and Bernd,

I was actualy wondering about the retreat factor as opposed to 1 hour timeslots for meditating that got me to this pondering of walking and/or sitting. I can imagine that during a retreat it would be helpful to alternate.. (I guess I'll find out in febuary)
I also picked up from different vipassana books. That it is suggested to do both..

As I don't think I am even at the acces concentration stage for more than mere moments i am unsure on how to divide up my time to get the most out of it. I realize this is grasping a bit, but without a little grasping i amy aswel not even meditate.

I gues I'll experiment a bit, with half walking/half sitting for an hour or one timeslot walking and one timeslot sitting.
I do not have the luxury to allocate more time at the moment, but twice an hour should get me up and running shouldn't it?

With Love
Eelco

If you're practicing correctly (!), 2 hours a day (e.g. spent 30/30, 30/30) can be highly effective.

Thank you Bernd,

Yes I figured as much.. Still I am doubtful at times but this feels like the right thing to do for now.

As for doing it right……

A few years ago I was sidely introduced to vipassana in an experimental aikido course. Where we would do vipassana for an hour(sitting) Then Aikido for an hour and then Vipassana(walking)for an hour.

There was a budhist nun present that guided us through the vipassana portions of the course. At the time I maybe meditated for a few days/weeks irregularly afterwards.

So my “formal” instructions where just that. When I started meditating again 2 months ago I slowly got into sitting and watching the breath once a day for a few weeks at which point I realized I knew to little to continue confidently. My main focus was concentration in order to come to some siddhi’s especially seeing past lives, astral travel and mental absorpsion.

After reading the MCTB I have changed my practise to first trying to note during sits and only recently incorporated walking and sitting twice a day.

My practice at the moment looks a bit like this…..

I stand and take about a minute to focus and wish for this meditation to bring peace, happiness, love and the wisdom to attain it for myself, my family, my friends, colleagues, clients and every living being.

Then I note standing, standing, breathing in, breathing out, intending to walk, heel up, rolling front foot, toes, lifting, moving forward, lowering, touching, stepping, changing weight, heel up, rolling front foot, toes, lifting, moving forward, lowering, touching, stepping, changing weight etc etc. These are the sensations of my feet and body in the act of walking I try to be mindful of during the entire walking portion of the meditation. In addition I try to note whatever catches my attention during this process. Thinking, planning, restlessness, peace, thinking, itching etc etc. I try to note the intend to stop just before the wall is in my face and end with standing, breathing, intending to turn, turning, turning, lifting(foot), putting(foot). When turned I note standing and breathing in/out for maybe 2 breaths before intending to walk again.

I walk at a rate of about 24 paces including 2 turns before I am back at my starting point in about 5 minutes..

Some times I am more able to keep my attention at the feet. At other times I seem to forget or miss the cue’s..

When the bell rings I slowly walk to my sitting spot, trying to be mindful of all the movements I make in the process of picking up the cushion, putting it down and positioning myself. (I seem to miss a lot of small actions in this process) Once seated I gently focus on my breathing. Usually at the nostrils at it feels that’s the place where I can feel the breath most easily although during the meditation I may find myself watching the falling and rising of the abdomen for a while intermitted with the nostrils.

Sitting has a slightly more inward feel to it than walking. That said I find myself more inclined to wander with the mind than during the walking portion.

The last few days I think that I might be experiencing Piti? During sits. Where moving sensations of tingling across my shoulders and backside/ sides of the head come and go in surges for a few minutes.

Writing this down I think that’s pretty proper practise yes?

Or am I somewhere mistaken…

With Love

Eelco