Walking Meditation

In today's society, we seem to want a quick fix for all our problems. A pill to take to cure some ailment and a fast answer. Part of the yoga path is to see the person comprising of as many different elements to make the whole being. You have body, mind, breath and soul. Some of our ailments are to do with today's way of life.

Hi, hope everyone is feeling well. Today I am going to talk about walking Meditation as it is an awesome tool for those that struggle with other exercises and for those who may struggle with Meditation. The monks have used this form of Meditation for centuries and are still doing so. You may think well this is easy, just walk, but you need to be mindful of your thoughts and your body while doing this. Start as always with a few deep breaths to calm and ground yourself, then start walking at a set pace that is comfortable to you and one can maintain. Now I want you to concentrate on your breathing and the movement of your body, you can also concentrate on your surroundings like the bird's trees and natural surroundings.

Every time your thoughts wander, I want you to bring your mind back to your breath. They will wander and this is normal, but we are training our minds to focus on our body movement and surroundings.

This may be harder than you think. We are so busy these days that our mind tries to focus on other things and self-talk which is not always positive, so we are bringing it back to basics. The monks will sometimes chant as they walk to keep the mind focused, but I realise this is not practical or comfortable for most people. Do not get discouraged if your mind repeatedly wanders or you have trouble focusing, this takes practice but with this, the benefits for your health and well-being will be well worth it. This is good to use to deal with stress and as a daily exercise as well. After this when your mind is calm might be a good time to take stock of your life and take time to see where stress and suffering may be coming from and whether are they the results of choices made or trying to fulfil goals set too high for us. Remember to be kind to yourself and others and at the end of the day, material objects are not worth our suffering.

Sending love and light your way.

Namaste, Karyn

Dr Mike Esmailzadeh will be joining the team here at Bribie Island Medical Centre as of 13/02/2023. Dr Mike will be available Mondays Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. He will also be taking on new patients. Dr Mike, who graduated in 1996, has many years’ experience in General Practice as well as teaching, He has commenced his practice in Australia in 2019.

Dr Mike is a driven GP who enjoys all aspect of General practice and has an appreciation for the complexities of Chronic Conditions Management such as Diabetes, Cardiovascular disease, Chronic Kidney Disease, Asthma and COPD as well as Mental Health.

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