The Buddha said that meditation can be done in any one of four positions: standing, walking, sitting down, or lying down. However, many people have come to believe that sitting is the best position. I was one of those people until learning walking meditation from Thich Nhat Hanh, who is also known as Thay, which means teacher in Vietnamese. What follows here is what I feel is the essence of what he taught.
For slow mindful walking meditation, you can walk in a circle, which has the advantage of no beginning and no ending. Or you can walk in a straight line, back and forth. This generally works best if you have a long enough path, about 20 feet or longer. A key aspect in this case is to be mindful as you are turning around.
The practice which Thay developed has four components:
being aware of your steps
being aware of your breath
coordinating awareness of steps and awareness of breathing
a half smile!
Beginning by walking slowly for a couple minutes,
inviting your body to relax as you feel the rhythm of walking and
inviting the mind to begin to slow down to the extent that it is willing to slow down at this time.
Simply walking slowly and bringing mindfulness to walking, and feeling the bottoms of your feet as you put each foot down. Letting go of trying to do it right.
When you feel more grounded in being aware of your feet as you walk, begin to notice also your breathing as you walk, simply the natural breathing in and breathing out.
If you wish, you can begin to coordinate your feeling the sensations of the steps with breathing. You do this by counting how many steps you take when you breathe in, and how many steps you take when you breathe out.
Most people find a comfortable rhythm that is 2 steps for each inbreath and 2 steps for each outbreath. Some people find a comfortable rhythm that is 2 steps for each inbreath and 3 steps for each outbreath. You might need to adjust your pace one way or another. The most common rhythms are 2-2, 2-3 or 3-3. Do this now for a few minutes until it feels comfortable to count your breaths as you are aware of your feet on the ground as you walk.
Thay mentioned that legend has it that when the Buddha took his first seven steps on the earth, a lotus flower appeared in each of his footsteps. Thay encouraged us to visualize a lotus flower, or any flower, opening as our feet meet the ground. He often said silently to himself "lotus flower" or "lotus flower blooming" depending on his cadence. You might choose another set of words or phrases. I sometimes say "here.....now" as I walk in a 2-2 cadence. Sometimes I say here, now for two steps and then some silence and the here, now for two more steps.....When I began to practice as Thay taught, I was using the phrases to help me concentrate and I noticed some forcing. So now I just say the words, grateful that I am alive and able to walk.
The fourth part of Thay's walking meditation is to smile as we walk. Even a half-smile! Neuroscientists have found that when you smile, your brain releases neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and other endorphins. The endorphins act as a mild pain reliever; serotonin is an antidepressant. I strongly encourage adding smiling or half-smiling as you walk!
Lastly, Thay said: it is not necessary that you gather all four elements of walking, breathing, counting, and the half-smile in order to achieve purity and peace. There are times when just walking is enough.
If mindfulness while walking is difficult to sustain, then you might focus on just one of the four elements. I often walk for several minutes in my living room and den before I go upstairs to meditate.
I begin by walking for a minute or so to let my pace slow naturally without trying.
Once I have slowed down some, I focus on the bottoms of my feet, letting the sensations come to me rather than trying to feel as much as I can feel.
I add awareness of breathing. I'm not counting my breaths or my steps, but being aware of breathing in and out as I walk.
At some point, my breath and steps become synchronized, often without my trying.
I say "lotus...flower " or "lotus...flower...blooming" as I breathe out, depending on my cadence that day. I like to be silent as I breathe in and use the words when I breathe out.
At some point in the meditation, I remember to smile, thinking of Thay’s soft, gentle smile.
When I feel ready to meditate sitting down, I slowly walk upstairs.
I find that by doing this, I bring a calmer mind to my sitting meditation. Sometimes I never go upstairs and my whole meditation is walking!
I also make a point not to do the same walking meditation every day. This keeps the practice fresh and not mechanical.
Some people practice walking meditation outside in their back yard, barefoot when weather permits.
Finally, a note that many of the monks at a local monastery, in the Thai Forest tradition, practice walking meditation regularly, and many of them do so by walking at a normal pace. There are so many ways to practice walking meditation, and a google search will yield many other ideas.
For me the bottom line is that this practice helps my mind to slow down without me trying to make it slow down but rather, using Thay's framing, inviting the mind to slow down.