Walking in the city generates a distinctive minding process, a pathic dimension involving mood, lived-body feelings, lived relations, and reflections on life and self. Based on self-observation and self-reporting of thoughts, body feelings, and emotions during walks, the paper describes these essential features of the walking phenomenon. The authors suggest that walking fosters a contemplative engagement with the urban environment, shaping emotional and bodily experiences.
Meditation is a state of consciousness that separates a person from everyday attitudes and practical actions. Based on self-reports from hatha yoga practitioners and interviews with teachers, the study identifies distractions and aids during sitting meditation. Three interrelated aspects—emerging thoughts, body sensations, and emotions—are key when entering the meditative state. Practitioners use tactics to eliminate barriers or redirect attention, incorporating them into the background of the concentration point. Teaching plays a role in this process. Effects of meditation are described from the practitioner's perspective, including the author's own first-person observations.