The Benefits of Walking Meditation, and My Husband’s Vegan Dinner

 Jaipur Handloom makes these awesome all cotton harem pants. I bought the saffron-colored Om pattern. So comfy. Love them.

The vegan dinner my husband made last night!

Last weekend’s Dae Yen Sa retreat introduced me tangibly to walking meditation. What a gift this has been.

It doesn’t matter that I’ve been doing sitting meditation for years. It still happens during really long sits that my legs go numb, my hips get sore, and my back aches. While meditating, I stay aware of this phenomenon as it rises, but strive to not let it overwhelm me.

But it hurts. And when I hurt, and as the hurt intensifies, I lose concentration. Meditation requires concentration. Without it, we’re not meditating.

So to have received training in walking meditation this past weekend is a tremendous blessing. Among its many benefits, it allows me to meditate outdoors, and barefoot. This is an amazing boon for this Eco freak. To meditate surrounded by and standing on the green Earth blends the two best things in life. I’m meditating, and I’m Earthing. Color me happy.

I’m not going to try and give a tutorial here. Below, I’ll give you a link to a walking meditation tutorial by Venerable Yhuttadhammo Bikkhu. In it, he talks about some of the many benefits of walking meditation, which include:

·       Concentration is dynamic and lasts a long time (You’ll find that walking meditation concentration continues after the walking is done. With sitting meditation, concentration is broken almost immediately after the meditation is over.)

·       Offering the opportunity to walk long distances (we all sit way too much these days)

·       Keeping the mind in the present moment

·       Giving us patience

·       Giving us endurance

·       Helping overcome sicknesses in the body

·       Helping digestion

Walking meditation calls for the use of repetitive phrases to invoke concentration. In his tutorial, Bhante uses words like ‘standing’, ‘turning’, ‘stepping right’, and ‘stepping left’. It’s a right way. But I’m finding great benefit when reciting a compassion mantra while walking: ‘sadness, suffering’ (inhale, step) – ‘comfort, compassion’ (exhale, step). Taking in the sadness and suffering of the world: giving out comfort and compassion to where it’s needed.

 Bhante doesn’t elaborate on breath is his excellent video, but I find it very helpful focus on breath, and inhale on one step, then exhale on the next step.

So this is just a great time for me. Walking meditation is deepening and enriching my meditation and Earthing practices. I couldn’t be more grateful.

An amazing thing happened last night. My husband made a delicious vegan dinner. Now I’m not trying to be sarcastic, but the odds are overwhelmingly against this. He’s very supportive of my lifestyle choices, but cooking several vegan dishes after a long day at work (and on a Monday to boot) pretty much goes above and beyond.

The meal featured our own garden summer squash, greens, and herbs, along with a baked sweet potato sweetened with maple syrup. I appreciated it. And it was delicious.

Our tomatoes are fattening up, but still green. It looks like we’ll have lots of ripe-on-the-vine tomatoes within the next two weeks – in time for August. I’m looking forward to juicy, fresh tomato sandwiches.

My husband installed a new shower filter and head combo last night. We’ve been getting concerned about well water quality. I’ve been hearing too much about what leaches into well water.

The brand is Rainshower (U.S.A.), and it’s designed to purify highly mineralized well water, which we have. I took my first shower with it after he got it running. Two thumbs up for this device. The shower head puts out a nice, wide, strong spray, and has three settings. It pivots in all directions, and it’s good looking. For about $40 for the whole unit, it’s worth it. Filters are just $20 each. Total win.

Yesterday, I received a package from India. The company is Jaipur Handloom (check them out on Etsy), which makes these awesome all cotton harem pants. Completely comfortable, soft, breathable, and very sharp. I bought the saffron-colored Om pattern. Love them. I’ve been wearing cotton harem pants and tank tops everywhere this summer.

Check out Venerable Yuttadhammo’s YouTube video ‘How to Meditate III – Walking Meditation’ for complete instruction on walking meditation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IFvablc6EI).

Live in peace.