The Slow Procession

Sitting isn’t the only way into stillness. In this working you walk, but slowly, on a short path back and forth, giving all of your attention to the movement of your own body. It’s a good one for days too restless to sit through.

The working

1. Find a clear, level path about ten or twelve steps long: a hallway, a room, a stretch of garden.
2. Stand at one end for a moment. Feel your weight in your feet.
3. Begin to walk, more slowly than usual. As one foot rises, notice lifting. As it travels forward, moving. As it settles, placing.
4. Keep your gaze lowered a little ahead of you, not on your feet.
5. At the end of the path, stop, turn slowly, and walk back the same way.
6. Now and then, pause in the middle of a step and stand still. Keep feeling the whole body as if it were still walking, then carry on.

Closing

Stop at one end, stand still for a few breaths, and feel how the body hums after moving so carefully.