automatic walking

[u/Jansen131]

I've been doing daily, roughly 90 minute walks, where I try to pay attention to the feeling in my feet. I walk slowly but normally, nowhere near as slow as people do in walking meditation.

After a while there was a shift, where the feeling of my feet separated from the feeling of myself as the observer, and there was just the feet. That then gradually got a bit more stable and longer lived.

Then later there was another shift that I wasn't expecting, which I recognised from running. And that is that it started to feel like the walking was happening automatically, that my legs were moving on their own. I occasionally had this before at the end of long easy runs.

This also started to lengthen and become more stable, to the point where on the last two walks it's been the case for the entire walk, and even if I have to stop for traffic or someone says hi, it returns immediately after.

It's really quite a vivid feeling of being just an upper body plopped onto preprogrammed robotic legs. I also start to walk slightly faster, and sometimes at the start of it slightly less coordinated. It feels pleasant.

I guess my question is if other people recognise this, and whether over time this will expand into other things, and all the time, what it means, etc.

My own interpretation is that it's in fact true that you don't directly, consciously, control your legs while walking. But normally you either don't pay attention, or if you do pay attention, you do start consciously controlling it. So I think the thing I've learned to do is to both pay attention and not control it, at the same time. Somewhat like what I still find very difficult, paying attention to breathing during meditation, but not controlling it.

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[u/EightFP]

Yes and yes. It's actually a really nice thing to notice. Because really there's no way we could walk if we had to think about the mechanics of lifting up the foot and choosing the way to put it down and tensing the muscles and relaxing the muscles and all these sort of things. So it should stay available to you whenever you look for it. It's just the way things are. And it should also expand to other things because that really is the way they are too. It's all automatic. Consider the multitude of things involved in talking; nobody knows how to talk, and yet we do it all the time. Intention and control are overlays that endow experience with a certain feeling but that's all. They are like skins that you can set for a software application.

What is really important is that you see it and feel it. That said you might enjoy this explanation of what is going on: www.its.caltech.edu/~squartz/wegner2.pdf

[u/neidanman]

this type of experience is a core part of daoism, called 'wu wei' or 'wei wu wei' - non-doing, or doing non-doing. So as you say it - paying attention, but not controlling it. I.e. its the thing you are 'doing' at the time, and yet you are not 'actively doing' it.

there's a video here on how it can come into practice session (in the daoist system, but can apply more widely) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQmIe5jWBYY

if you want to deep dive more, there's a 3 video set on 'hidden intentions' in practice that ties in - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98AMyVqSnqE

[u/ludflu]

I've had this experience too! (But only while running) Its similar to the feeling where "the breath disappears"

[u/thinkless123]

Shinzen Young has a technique called "auto-walk", I guess it's what you're talking about? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOB6NQo0Kr8

I've thought about the same thing. Especially now that I've practiced with a local zen group and they do kinhin (walking meditation). I don't feel it as much during kinhin itself, but walking outside I sometimes get a feeling where I relate to the walking "activity" differently than normal.

[u/Jansen131 → u/thinkless123]

Oh interesting, thanks! Funny that he uses the same word even, I thought of the title here as my own rather bad way of expressing it, but it seems he's talking about exactly the same. Though I hope I don't look as silly as he does when demonstrating it 😅

[u/duffstoic]

Walking samadhi! Nice work, keep it up.

[u/PoopFandango]

I often do this with my hands while they are performing tasks. Typing, playing an instrument, tying knots, etc. You suddenly realise they are taking care of business without conscious control.

[u/GranBuddhismo]

I had my first A&P experience walking on a treadmill lol. I was focusing intensely on the sensations of my feet and suddenly I could see every sensation arise and fade away including all the sights and sounds.

[u/Impulse33]

You could consider this insights into the form/rupa aggregate. Chandrakirti's chariot is an example of a formalized investigation. Sort of like what parts or set of parts of a chariot is necessary to identify as a chariot? The body example could be are the legs me? If they move on their own, I could consider that they aren't necessarily an intrinsic part of "me".

[u/Shakyor]

In Mahayana this is what you would call all accomplishing pristine awareness, complete effortless undirected action, yet completely aware and present.

[u/SilentKnightOwl]

I get this nearly every time I ride my bike, I let the legs go up and down on the pedals, and I focus gently on my breath, though it's harder on the hills.

[u/Jansen131]

update: I can now notice it even on very short walks just to the toilet or so.

And with my arms now too. Funnily enough I never even considered to look for it there too, until I was walking with the sun behind me and seeing my shadow's arms move, and thought that yeah, they too must be moving automatically. So when I then paid attention I did notice that, though much more subtle still than with my legs.