Guided Walking Meditation: I Breathe the Earth, the Earth Breathes Me

By: gina Breedlove

Excerpted from The Vibration of Grace: Sound Healing Rituals for Liberation by gina Breedlove. November 28, 2023; Sounds True.

This is a guided walking meditation ritual that may be practiced in a park, on the beach, by a river, in the woods or any natural setting. Please adapt this offering to your accessibility needs, any movement outside is fine. If you can’t be outside, sit comfortably where you are and imagine that you are reveling in nature. The intention of this ritual is to support you in embracing your connection to the natural world, as you connect these words with your movement, speaking aloud and planting this truth inside your body.

Preparation

Memorize this practice if you can. You will be speaking the words aloud, leaning into the sound and vibration of your voice. You are welcome to record this ritual or to write it on a separate piece of paper to hold in your hand as you walk. And be mindful of what is around you.

Ritual

Bring your awareness to your breath as you slowly inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth; cycle this practice. When you feel ready, in between breaths, begin to say these words softly to yourself:

I inhale the sky; I exhale the ground. I inhale the sky; I exhale the ground. I inhale the sky; I exhale the ground.

Feel the ground beneath your body, supporting your walk or your sit. Glance at the sky above you, or imagine its beauty and vastness. Are there clouds, birds, stars, rain? What is your sky doing? See or imagine, and continue speaking out loud:

I inhale the sky. I exhale the ground. I inhale the sky; I exhale the ground. I inhale the sky; I exhale the ground.

Notice what you notice: people, pets, green grass, red dirt; autumn, summer, spring, or winter weather, the sounds around you, the feel of wet grass, dry leaves, the wind across your skin. Notice or imagine as you breathe deeply and slowly, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.

When you are ready, say to yourself:

My voice is powerful and pristine, like the mighty headwaters of the Amazon, Mississippi, Alabama, Yangtze, and all the rivers of the earth.

My veins and arteries carry life’s blood like the roots of Oak, Baobab, Cypress, Tupelo, and all the trees of the earth.

My heart anchors my life like a taproot that descends to the center of rock, iron, ore, diamond, and all the minerals of the earth.

My lungs breathe me, generous and deep, like rainforests breathe for all the creatures of the earth.

My eyes release tears like rain cleansing and nourishing the land; water is vital to all beings of the earth.

My skin holds my body, a dwelling for my soul, like the ocean floor and the mountaintop; the earth holds all things.

I Am, we are, all life is one life. I Am, we are, all life is one life. I Am, we are, all life is one life.

This meditation on oneness may be engaged as often as you wish. Imagine what you are saying as you speak the words. See trees, rivers, rainforests, an ocean floor, and mountaintops in your mind’s eye, and feel your heart beating and your body breathing. Listen to the sound of your voice and practice speaking these words in a calm, soothing way, the way you speak when you seek to bring comfort to someone. The vibration of your voice, wrapped in the intention of peace, can bring a feeling of connection with the world that surrounds you.

Closing

You close your walking meditation by turning toward the rest of your day. We invite you to cycle the words I Am, we are, all life is one life often, to allow this knowing to become part of your everyday thinking.

Waking to Presence

Here is another component of a simple guided walking meditation ritual you may practice daily, as able, that may expand your awareness of nature:

Greet trees as you pass them on the road; admire their majesty and thank them for the gift of fresh air, shade, fruit, and myriad medicines.

When you feel the wind on your skin, exhale and imagine that the wind is gifting you with an energetic cleansing, taking all that you are releasing and repurposing.

When you feel the sun on your face, remember that life on earth is possible because of the sun’s light, heat, and energy.

Notice patterns in nature, a language of interconnection that is everywhere present. Pay attention. Riverbeds throughout our planet look like veins and arteries in the body, carrying fresh water across the earth the way blood is carried to the heart and lungs. The path of the vagal nerves in the body, moving inexorably toward the pelvic floor, looks like the roots of trees moving toward the center of the earth. Spirals, circles, hexagons, fractals, repeated shapes in nature. What will you discover about the earth and yourself once you take a closer look?

Watch birds in flight. Imagine the bird’s view from the sky, of you and all that surrounds you. Take to the air for a moment and look down. What do you see? Imagine feeling a sense of expansion, and take deeper, slower breaths to allow this feeling to take hold of your being.