It’s a brisk fall day in the Catskills and I’m walking through the woods, slower than I’ve ever walked in my life. Moving in a circle, I pay attention to the lifting of my foot, and watch it as I move it through space then place it on the earth in front of me. I lean forward, pressing off my back foot and observe the same arc as I bring that foot forward. With each step, I’m aware of the crunching of the leaves underfoot and the way the light breeze grazes my skin and rustles in the bare trees above.
I have decades of experience in both meditation and walking outdoors, but this is my first time doing a walking meditation. I’m here with the 13 other participants of a yoga teacher training course and our teacher, Rudra, guides us, evenly spaced, in a circle around an outdoor statue depicting the Buddha. Walking meditation, also known as Kinhin, is a practice rooted in the Buddhist tradition that applies the practice of mindfulness which is often performed in a seated position to slow walking.
