Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris - 485: A Kind of Meditation You Might Be Overlooking | Bonus Meditation with Alexis Santos

Episode Date: August 12, 2022

Bringing mindfulness to walking is an opportunity to build awareness and relax the mind as you move about your day.About Alexis Santos:Alexis Santos is a featured teacher on the Ten Percent Happier app and has been in the field of mindfulness and meditation since 2001. He has been a long-time student of Sayadaw U Tejaniya, with whom he ordained as a Buddhist monk, and has taught at retreat centers around the globe.To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Everyday Natural Walking,” or click here: https://10percenthappier.app.link/content?meditation=adef9231-650a-4853-ab5b-bcf476ac21a7.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does it even mean to live a good life? Is it about happiness, purpose, love, health, or wealth? What really matters in the pursuit of a life well lived? These are the questions award-winning author, founder, and interviewer Jonathan Fields asks his guests on the Top Ranked Good Life Project podcast. Every week, Jonathan sits down with world renowned thinkers and doers, people like Glenn and Doyle, Adam Grant,

Young Pueblo, Jonathan Height, and hundreds more. Start listening right now. Look for the Good Life Project on your favorite podcast app. This is the 10% happier podcast. I'm Dan Harris. Hey gang, happy Friday. It's time for a bonus meditation. Today we're going to practice a kind of meditation. Many people tend to overlook, I think, walking meditation. Close listeners

will recall that in our Monday episode this week, with Joseph Goldstein, we talked a lot about walking meditation. Our teacher today, though, is my friend Alexis Santos, who's a featured teacher over on the 10% happier app, where we have many more walking meditations if you're interested in that kind of thing. Alexis is a longtime student of the Burmese master, Saida Utasia Nia, and Alexis has served as a monk in the past and also teaches many retreats here in the US.

served as a monk in the past and also teaches many retreats here in the US. Okay, here we go now with Alexis Santos. Hi, this is Alexis. The benefits of walking meditation are many. We walk a lot, so it increases our chances of becoming more aware if it can be mindful while we walk. And it can help settle and relax the mind, grounding us and connecting us with the environment. So let's get started. If you're not already doing so day, or if you're out and about, just walk naturally.

The beauty of mindfulness is that from the outside, no one needs to know that you are being mindful. We can move in a completely natural way while also remembering to be aware. So bring in the intention to be aware. So bring in the intention to be aware. You might simply notice that you're walking. How often are we walking, lost in thought, disconnected from our own present experience? Notice what it feels like not to be lost in thought, to be walking, and simply know that you're walking. As with anything we do repetitively, it's easy to go on automatic pilot, but it doesn't

have to be that way. Even repetitive activities can be used to grow and strengthen awareness. So begin to feel the motions of the body. Allow yourself to notice whatever feels easy to be aware of. You might notice the sensations in the feet as they may contact with the ground, or the experience of the intention to be aware. Simply remember to notice that you are walking. Being aware doesn't need to be difficult, but it does require the intention to remember to be aware. Again and again. What does the direct experience of walking feel like. Notice any sensations or movements that you're able walking, you might continue exploring ways to bring a sense of ease, joy, and awareness to the experience of

walking? See you next time. Thank you to Alexis. We'll see you right back here on Monday for a brand new episode. Hey, hey, prime members. You can listen to 10% happier early and ad free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and ad free with Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts. Before you go, do us a solid and tell us all about yourself by completing a short survey

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