Walking & Standing Meditation

When you practice Vipassana meditation, it is important to keep mindfulness with you always. So, when you change from sitting to standing, keep mindfulness with you. Before standing up, therefore, be mindful of the intention to stand up or to get up. You may say to yourself "intention, intention, intention" or "desire, desire, desire" Then get up slowly, keeping your mind on the whole of your body, or saying to yourself, "getting up, getting up, getting up" And when you are standing, be mindful of the standing position, or say to yourself, "standing, standing, standing"

When you walk, it is better to choose a walking path and stay on it. Walk on it back and forth. When you walk, you walk slowly, keeping your mind on the foot or rather the movements of the foot, being aware of at least three stages of each step. And keep your eyes down always; do not bend your head or your neck. Also, when you walk, you may keep your hands in front or in the back.

In order to make a step, you first raise your foot. Keep your mind on the foot and be mindful of the raising or lifting, saying, "lifting" Then you push your foot forward, or you move your foot forward. Be mindful of that moving, saying to yourself, "moving" When you put your foot down on the floor, be mindful of the putting down, or just say, "putting" Then make the next step, being mindful of lifting, moving and putting down, making movements slowly. Keep your eyes open and look at the floor about three or four feet in front of you. Do not close your eyes. You may fall if you close your eyes. Keep them a little open and look at the floor, or look down.

When you reach the end of the walking path, you stop and be mindful of stopping, or say to yourself, "stopping, stopping, stopping" When you want to turn around, be mindful of the desire or intention to turn around, or say to yourself, "intention, intention, intention" or "desire, desire, desire" and then you turn slowly. Be mindful of the turning movement, or say to yourself, "turning, turning, turning" Then walk again, taking note of the different stages in each step, lifting, moving, putting down, and so on, until you reach the other end of the walking path. Stop there and be mindful of stopping. When you turn around, be mindful of turning around and then walk again. So, you walk back and forth until the end of the walking period.

At the end of the walking period, the sitting period begins again. So you go back to the sitting place, walking slowly, making notes, being aware of the different stages and steps. Before lowering yourself down, be mindful of the desire to sit down. Then lower yourself down slowly, keeping your mind on the whole body. When the body touches the floor, say "touching, touching, touching" When you arrange your legs and hands, say "arranging, arranging, arranging" And then, go to the movements of the abdomen and be mindful of the rising and falling of the abdomen. This way, you alternate sitting and walking and maintain your mindfulness, trying not to lose it at any moment during your practice.