The Lost Art of Heart Navigation by Jeff D. Nixa

Author:Jeff D. Nixa
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spirituality/Shamanism
Publisher: Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Published: 2017-08-31T16:00:00+00:00

EXERCISE

Gatha Walking

The word gatha is a Sanskrit word meaning “song” or “verse.” The contemporary Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh has popularized traditional gatha verses as a mindfulness practice that can be recited while going about your daily activities like walking, washing your hands, or doing the dishes. “A gatha can open and deepen our experience of simple acts which we often take for granted. When we focus our mind on a gatha, we return to ourselves and become more aware of each action. The gatha brings our mind and body together.”6

The following is a gatha walking exercise Hanh teaches his students.7 The exercise is done at a very relaxed, strolling-the-park pace. As you walk, you say each verse in rhythm with the natural in and out of the breath. The farther you walk, the more deeply you are drawn into the body, your surroundings, and the present moment.

“As I walk (breathing in) . . . the mind will wander (breathing out).

With each sound (in) . . . the mind returns (out, etc.).

With each breath . . . the heart is open.

With each step . . . I touch Earth.

(Repeat)

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