Best types of moving meditation to try now
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If you’re someone who loves to travel slowly and mindfully, this guide is for you. These types of moving meditation are designed for moments when you want to be present, grounded, and fully connected to your surroundings. They’re ideal for explorers who want to turn their journey into a deeper experience; where each step, movement, or breath becomes a ritual.
Are you walking a forest path, resting near the coast, dancing in your room…? These practices offer a way to tune into your body and the moment. Some may be unfamiliar, but all can be practised with simple guidance. Thankfully, many instructional videos online make it easy to learn wherever you are.
Types of moving meditation
Walking meditation
Walking meditation transforms a simple walk into a grounding ritual. You move slowly, placing each foot with care, tuning into the rhythm of your breath and the sensations beneath your feet. This practice is best embraced outdoors (on forest paths, coastal tracks, or quiet country roads), where the landscape invites your attention back to the present. With every step, you reconnect with the earth and yourself.
Tai Chi
Tai Chi is often described as meditation in motion. It originated in China as a martial art but evolved into a graceful practice of slow, flowing movements. Each motion blends breath, intention, and energy awareness (qi). While it can be physically strengthening, its core value lies in cultivating balance and inner stillness. Practised regularly, Tai Chi becomes a dialogue between body and spirit: a moving reflection of harmony.
Yoga (meditative styles)
Meditative forms of yoga like yin, hatha, or restorative offer stillness through gentle movement. You hold each pose longer, observing how breath, gravity, and attention shape your experience. Rather than achieving perfect form, the invitation is to surrender into the moment and witness what arises. These slower practices soften the edges of the mind and open space for presence. They are ideal companions for inner journeys and quiet mornings.
Dance meditation (or ecstatic dance)
Dance meditation dissolves boundaries between self and movement. There are no steps to follow, only the impulse of the body in response to sound. Whether you sway slowly or move with wild abandon, the point is not performance but expression. As thought gives way to rhythm, the body becomes a vessel for release, clarity, and connection. Many describe the experience as liberating, spiritual, or deeply cathartic.
Forest bathing (with mindful movement)
Inspired by the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, forest bathing is the art of immersing yourself in nature’s atmosphere. When paired with mindful movement (gentle stretching, reaching, or walking) the body becomes an instrument of sensing. The scent of trees, the texture of leaves, the light shifting through branches: everything becomes part of your meditation. It's a quiet conversation with the land, where you remember you're not separate from it.
Mindful running or jogging
Running doesn’t need to be fast or competitive. When you run slowly, noticing the rhythm of your breath, the texture of the path, and the cadence of your feet, it becomes a meditation in motion. Mindful running helps shift focus away from pace and distance toward embodiment and presence. The repetitive movement can calm the mind, and the steady breath can anchor you in the now.
Capoeira Angola (slow style)
Capoeira Angola is dance, play, ritual, and history entwined. When practised slowly, it takes on a meditative quality. Movements flow in a circle, guided by rhythm, awareness, and mutual respect. It becomes a spiritual dialogue between bodies, rooted in Afro-Brazilian tradition and ancestral memory. Each movement is intentional, expressive, and alive with cultural depth.
Sacred drumming and movement
Sacred drumming paired with intentional movement taps into our oldest ways of entering meditative states. The drumbeat anchors the rhythm of the body, inviting spontaneous gestures, steps, or dances. This practice is common in indigenous ceremonies and spiritual circles, used to invoke presence, healing, or trance. It’s a practice of tuning into something greater… An ancient pulse that beats beneath modern noise.
Surfing or paddleboarding (mindfully)
Ocean-based movement, when done with presence, becomes deeply meditative. Paddling across still waters or riding waves requires total awareness (of breath, balance, and the mood of the sea). Surfing mindfully means letting go of adrenaline, and instead, surrendering to nature’s pace. Each session becomes a ritual of connection with water, rhythm, and self-trust. It’s less about conquering the ocean and more about listening to it.
Move and release
Travelling can be more than just seeing new places. It can be a portal into deeper awareness. These types of moving meditation connect you with the world, and allows you to notice what stirs within.
What would shift if your next journey became a meditation? Try one of these practices during your next trip, and let it show you how sacred movement can be.
About the author: Thaíz Lara is the creator behind New Hermits, a New Zealand-based storyteller who believes in the power of story and soul-filled travel. After living in 5 countries and exploring 60, she has come to understand that the most meaningful journeys often begin within. Learn more about Lara.
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Travelling with intention? These types of moving meditation turn every journey into a grounding, mindful ritual — no yoga mat needed.