Walking meditation

One of the things I like to do when I can is to use my walking as a form of meditation. It's a bit easier to do if you are not battling heavy wind or rain at first, though this sort of weather can come to be even better conditions in which to practise.

I start off by becoming aware of my actual body as I walk, the whole of my body at first, from my feet to my head, and bring awareness into the movement of my whole body. Interestingly, just at this early stage I find my walking has usually slowed down a pace. Then I bring awareness more specifically to my feet as I pick them up and down and the contact of the surface under my feet.
If I am walking somewhere, I keep some attention on the actual pavement and people/things around me as well. If I am just walking on the field I sometimes just focus on the immediate area in front of my feet and slow my pace right down.

In either case I feel my self relaxing and my awareness increasing and as always seems inexplicable I find I am happier and enjoying what ever my experience is at that time.

Walking down to the local nature reserve I was caught by these thistle type plants with their seed heads blowing loose in the breeze. I stood for ages watching the seed heads blow away and admiring the profusion of soft seeds. My mind slow enough to appreciate the delicate movements from my meditative walking.

Day Retreat 27th March

Ian Holder and I are holding a day retreat on Saturday March 27th 10.30-4.30 at Langdale House.
A retreat is an ideal way to deepen and develop or learn about meditation. A chance to take time out and experience yourself more fully, to uncover the true wealth of the heart-mind connection and to take new insights and methods back into your business and home life.

The theme is mindfulness and will include short talks, meditation and reflection practises.
you are welcome to join us whether you are new to meditation or more experienced.

The day costs £75 per person for more info or to book e-mail Wendy, wendy@padmayogini.co.uk or Ian, ian@3cpartners.com

Working with the seasons in our practise.

It seems as though the first signs of spring are appearing around us in London, the daffodils are finally coming into flower, with grape hyacinth and crocus and buds swelling and opening on some of the dormant plants and shrubs.

It is a time of year traditionally and spiritually for re-birth and renewal and I find that spring gives me renewed energy for tackling new things.
We can use the benefits that the seasons give us for our practise of meditation by tuning in to the world around us, whether that is our garden or parks, woods or other wild places.

Bringing our mind imaginatively to these signs of spring around us in nature, before we meditate or practise can imbue our practise with more energy, optimism and and joyfulness. We are all connected to this world of ours and being more consciously connected this spring can be of real benefit.

Creativity and Meditation

One of the things I've found in my practice of mediation is how it has benefited my creativity. One of the things I first noticed when I learnt to meditate was how similar the feeling of concentration, of being absorbed in the practice of mediation, were to being in the flow of creative work like drawing and painting, in my case.

Meditation also brought to mind many creative ideas. Our minds are clearer and accessing deeper levels of our consciousness when we meditate and by clearing a bit of the every day chatter and clutter of our mind new projects and creative ideas can often surface when we practice,I usually say to people who find that they have creative ideas, or find themselves planning creative projects in their meditation, that they have a couple of choices, either they can decide to think about the new idea after they have finished meditating or if they know it will be too distracting, write down a few notes about their ideas and get back to their practice.

I have taken both approaches and find that taking a few moments to note down ideas need not disturb my practice very much, and because my mind is clearer meditation can become more settled and deeper as a result.

Working with Stress in our Lives.

Coming up to the festive season we can find ourselves becoming anxious about all sorts of things, from issues with money, family relationships and planning the festivities. It may feel particularly stressful because we all want others and ourselves to enjoy the days we have planned, and somehow we feel we should be happy and jolly.

Stress can also be triggered through workplace situations, dealing with difficult people and an overwhelming workload. We all have our own version of stress, different things will cause stress reactions for different people, but what is important is how we deal with these stress reactors.



This is where meditation and mindfulness comes in, we are learning to sit with our thoughts, feelings and emotions as they arise and fall away again. We are trying to bring our wise attention to the experiences in our mind and body and to do this in a kindly way, without harsh judgement.
But because our everyday mind is conditioned by the past and has developed habits, we can find ourselves drawn back to replay familiar roles or behavior, particularly at holiday times with our family.

What we need to do if we can, is remember the changes we have already made through meditation the success's we have already had. This is useful in stressful times because we often add problems to our experience by adding negative judgements about our abilities to change.Thinking such things as why am I always like this? Why can't I........ ? or I will never get this right, for instance.

If we can keep up practice too, just the 3 minute breathing space during busy times, it will make a real difference to our experience

Gradually we will find ourselves understanding more clearly and quickly the stress triggers in our experience through paying attention with mindfulness, the first aspect in dealing with stress. Then we can put our mindfulness into the practice of watching our experience without getting caught up in our thoughts and feelings. This allows us the peace of not automatically reacting to people and situations and reduces the levels of stress in our life.

Meditating in the garden

I have been out in my garden meditating recently, it's great to have the opportunity( when our great british weather permits) to be outside. Settling into my ordinary garden chair, I just spend a few minutes with my eyes closed taking in my experience of the garden. The sounds of the birds and people in nearby gardens, sometimes the sounds of traffic or planes and the feel of the wind or sun. I notice the different perfumes and smells in the garden and a bee may fly close by.


There is a sense of enjoyment and connection in my experience and that all feeds into my meditation, which may be a practice of just sitting with my experience, moment by moment, or other meditations.Being outside in this way helps us I believe to experience ourselves in relation to the natural world, a world that we can all too easily forget if we live a busy urban life.

I certainly feel more energized and grateful for the opportunity of being a little bit closer to the natural world. So if you have a space outside, a balcony or local park, take the opportunity if you can to spend a little time meditating outside this summer.

Qualities of mindfulness

One of the areas I often reflect on is one of the nature or quality of mindfulness that we are trying to cultivate. How does mindfulness feel when we practise it in everyday life?

The quality of mindfulness needed is not just about efficiency, getting jobs done like washing up as quickly as possible or with as little effort as possible. It is not a mechanical type way of activity, far from it. When I think about tasks I've done hurridly and with little thought, filing, cleaning or shopping sometimes, I am aware that I am not enjoying the tasks, I'm not really engaged or aware, and my mental state is usually one that includes irritation.

Mindfulness has something to do with being wholehearted, the qualities of paying wise attention to our activities and jobs.When I have been really aware, sometimes in a conversation for instance, that conversation has taken on qualities of depth and pleasure, a sense of flow and lightness. I am really engaged and listening deeply, and responding from a greater depth in my self, there are qualities of a heartfeld engagement too.

If we can give ourselves up as it were to the job in hand and really engage with being mindfull in the moment, our experience really expands and becomes richer and more enjoyable.

Living with Awareness

One of the benefits of meditating regularly is an increasing sensitivity and development of awareness. This is particularly clear if you have been on retreat where the build up of meditation practise seems to allow us to see the world anew. Colours, sights and sounds can all appear heightened and fresh, as if we have a new pair of eyes. It is our consciousness that has changed in this instance. But I think I first became aware of this benefit in everyday life while out and about in the rain.

I am happy to see the rain fall on the gardens and land when I am inside, but having to handle busy streets and rush hour public transport in cold wet grey weather has never been my favourite pastime.On this particular day I was waiting at the bus stop wondering when the bus would arrive and whether I could fit myself on it when it arrived, I looked out at the grey clouds and was suddenly aware of the delicate colour of the grey, like the soft luminous grey of doves or wood pigeons. Then it seemed my awareness was switched on in the way it could be during meditation, The rain drops falling from the bus shelter made soft sounds and patterns on the ground and the water on the roads shone with the reflections from the sky.

It totally changed my experience of that wait for the bus to the extent that I was happy to wait and just be aware and appreciate the sights and sounds of the rain. What I also realised was this way of awareness was available to me at any time.

Although subsequent experiences based on this sort of realization are never perhaps as strong as our first ones, it can lead to a real change in our capacity and ability to respond and see the world around us.