Walking Like a Zen Fox
two methods of mindful walking
In Zen practice, walking meditation is called kinhin (経行) and is typically practiced between periods of seated meditation (zazen). It's a way to bring mindfulness into movement and maintain meditative awareness while walking.
I did this twice in formal groups. What I recall of the practice is this:
Stand upright with good posture.
Hold your hands in shashu -place your left fist against your chest and cover it with your right hand, with the thumbs lightly touching.
Maintain natural breathing, synchronized with your steps.
Keep your gaze slightly downward and about 6-10 feet ahead. Don’t look around.
The first group I did this with was traditional, slow kinhin. We took aach step with a full breath (inhale → lift foot, exhale → place foot).
The second group I did kinhin with was faster kinhin. Steps are taken at a normal walking pace, but still mindfully.
That idea of mindful walking was something I had learned in another class at an outdoor adventure school. They called it fox walking. It shares some things with kinhin.
Fox walking is a method of walking quietly and stealthily, mimicking the way a fox moves through its environment. It involves placing the foot down gently, rolling from the outside edge of the foot to the toes, and carefully assessing the ground before committing weight to avoid noise. This technique is used for nature observation, stalking, or simply moving through the woods with minimal disturbance.
The primary goal is to land each footstep as silently as possible. Instead of a flat-footed landing, the foot is placed on the outside edge of the ball, then rolled onto the toes and heel, minimizing the impact. Before transferring full weight to the foot, the walker assesses the ground for potential noise-making obstacles (like twigs or leaves) and adjusts the placement if necessary.
Unlike kinhin, fox walking encourages heightened awareness of the surroundings, including sounds and potential hazards, as well as a deeper connection to the environment. Kinhin is more about internal awareness. You are more likely to trip over a rock or tree root in kinhin!
Another difference is that fox walking is sometimes done with wide-angle vision, which involves broadening your field of view to take in more of the surroundings. You should be able to see something in the corners of your vision - the movement of a bird or a squirrel, leaves moving in the wind.
The benefits of fox walking are reducing physical impact, increasing sensory awareness, and enabling a more observant and mindful experience in nature
By combining physical movement with mindful awareness, kinhin promotes enhanced mindfulness, stress reduction, improved physical health, and increased focus. It helps cultivate presence, promoting a sense of calm and clarity, and can be particularly useful for integrating meditation into daily life.
We all do some walking. Unfortunately, much of it is done is a distracted and mindless way.
When ending kinhin, we would pause and bow slightly before returning to our seat for zazen. After fox walking with a group, we would talk about what we observed along the way.
If you do either type of walking alone, it is a chance for self-reflection.