Kinhin

[Sage]

Has anyone ever tried this variation of meditation? I tried it for the first time this morning, and it left me with some very interesting feelings. It did take me sometime getting used to taking small steps, but once I did it was easy. Anyway, I noticed that at some point I started to feel this enegry going from my head to my heart. In fact I saw this linear flow of yellow traveling from head to heart, and I could feel my heart opening. I have never quite experienced this in meditation before.

So any others?
Sage

[Astara Seague]

sounds like you had a wonderful experiance:uhhuhuh:

Keep it up ;)

[aluokaloo]

i've never heard of it, can you please describe what it is and what it does please?

[Lunacie]

i've never heard of it, can you please describe what it is and what it does please?

I've never heard of it either so I looked it up. It's a form of walking meditation. Supposedly it is easier to begin with sitting meditation, but some of us find active meditation comes easier and more naturally. In my case I suspect that may be related to my having ADHD.

http://innerself.ca/html/meditation/other-methods/kinhin---walking-meditation.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinhin = photo of zen monks and their guests doing kinhin together

[aluokaloo]

cool

[misfitroxy]

How fascinating. I hadn't heard of Kinhin prior to reading this thread (thanks for all the info and the bump everyone!), but it sounds like something I'd like to try. And I probably really could have used over the last few months while studying for my PhD exams. :ugh: Better late than never, though, right? I especially like the concept of training the body to eventually recognize all movement or "active life" as a part of one's meditative practices.

I can agree with Lunacie that movement meditation presents an attractive alternative to traditional sitting practices (especially since I feel as though I sit for a living as a "professional" book reader and paper grader, haha!). I only recently learned about standing/balance meditation (in conjunction with purchasing a piece of exercise equipment - a BOSU to be precise) and thought I might test it out as I tend to get very sleepy if I attempt to meditate while staying entirely still. Since the best time of day for my meditation is early morning, I need something that will awaken my mind and body, instead of sending me back into a yawning state!

[Lunacie]

Exercise equipment bores the crap out of me, but it's already getting cold here and I have arthritis in my hips and knees so walking in the cold is rather painful. I'm going to try doing the walking meditation on the treadmill my daughter bought last year - maybe that way it won't be quite so boring, eh?