Meditation Walks for Writing  


Objectives:  Students will be able to...
1. use visualization to stimulate writing
2. write descriptively
3. use listening skills
4. relax for 20 mins.

Materials:
1. composition paper
2. pen/pencil
3. tape of relaxing instrumental music (can be used, but not necessary)

Preliminary Activity:
1.  Ask students to move the desks into a circle and  to get into a 
comfortable position (head on the desk, lying on the floor, etc.) and to 
refrain from making any noises, talking, or giggling.  In order for this to 
work, students must be quiet.  Limit all distractions as much as possible.  
    
2.  Turn off the lights.

Activity:
1.  Have students concentrate on breathing, taking a deep breath in, holding 
(for about a second), and then exhaling.  "Deep breath in, hold it, and 
release"
Repeat 3 times.
2.  Say to students in a calm and quiet tone:  While still breathing ("deep 
breath in, hold it, release") concentrate on your muscles.  
    First focus on your toes and your feet.  Without moving a muscle, try to 
tense your toes as you breathe in and relaxing as you exhale.  Deep breath and 
tense, hold it, and release.  Next, focus on your legs, deep breath in and 
tense, hold it and release.  Move on to your back and stomach:  deep breath 
in, hold it and release.  Move on to your shoulders and neck: deep breath in 
and tense, hold it and release.  Your head: deep breath in, hold it and 
release.  Finally your arms, hands, and fingers: deep breath in, hold it and 
release.  You have just squeezed all the frustration, anxiety, sadness, and 
other negative feelings out of your body.  You feel very calm, relaxed, and 
comfortable.  

3.  While still breathing, deep breath in, hold it, and release, imagine 
yourself getting up out of your chair and walking towards the door.  You 
reach your hand out and can feel the coolness of the doorknob.  You open the 
door, and walk out into the hall
At this point lead the students (in their minds) to the nearest exit door and 
outside onto school grounds.  

4.  You open the exit door with its bright red neon exit sign and step 
outside.  Now this morning when you stepped outside it was [insert weather 
description here].  This time when you step outside you feel very 
comfortable, and it is springtime (warm sunny, plants blooming, etc.).  You 
can feel the warm sunlight on your face and shoulders. Also, as you walk 
across the school grounds, you notice that you are barefoot.  You can feel the 
cool green grass beneath your feet.  [Have students walk towards the woods]

5.  As you walk on the trail in the woods you notice the ground beneath your 
feet, how wide the trail is, if there are any plants growing along the trail, 
the types of trees on either side, color of the leaves, etc.  {Give students 
various sensory descriptions as they "walk" and continually repeat the 
descriptions at various intervals}

6.  The trail can lead to a number of different places and beyond.  This is a 
quick gist of the trip my students take.  Feel free to improvise and include 
various descriptions or sensory prompts.  For this part I'm going to write 
using 3rd person instead of second.  When speaking to the students use 2nd 
person.
    a.  a stream with bright tropical fish and stepping stones  to get across 
to the rest of the trail. (Usually I tell my students that one of their feet 
slips and enters the water, whereby a fish will take a quick nibble on one of 
their toes) 
    b.  a field with tall grass and a GIANT tree in the middle (so tall that 
the top is lost in the clouds)-- the trail picks up on the other side of the 
field.
    c.  back on the trail and the scenery begins to change and they find 
themselves in their own "special place" (somewhere where they feel 
comfortable and safe-- it can be a room, the beach, a clearing in the woods, 
a house, etc.)
        Ask the students:  
            -what objects do you see?
            -Colors?
            -What sounds do you hear?

           -What are you doing?
            -What time of day is it?  What time of year is it?
            (Questions which use their senses)
    d.  a person joins them in their special place--someone who makes them 
feel calm and happy.  It could be a person they saw yesterday, last week, 
today, or someone they haven't seen in years.  
        Ask students:
            -Who is this person?
            -What are you doing with this person?  Talking?  Fishing? 
Watching a sunset?
    e. the special person leaves, but the students feel happy because they 
were able to spend time with this person.  And they know that this person 
will always be here waiting for them.
    f. students take one last sweeping glance around their special place 
noticing all details. Have the students turn around and the trail will be 
right behind them.
    g.  take the students back the way they came.. repeating various sensory 
cues ("you see the sunlight filtering through the branches, you can hear the 
birds in the trees, and you feel the warm earth beneath your feet")

7.  When students have "returned" to their seats, tell them to slowly cover 
their eyes with their hands (this is always a great way to tell who fell 
asleep). As you count back from 5, slowly have them open their eyes into 
their hands, and as you reach the number one, slowly take their hands away 
from their eyes.

8.  Say to students: "Now without talking, turn to your sheet of paper and 
beginning writing about the experience.  Describe the trail, your special 
place, or special person, or for those of you who fell asleep, what you 
dreamed about.  But don't talk; you don't want to break the spell."  You will 
be amazed how quickly and quietly they write!

9.  For the last 5 minutes of class debrief:
        Discuss:  How easy or hard it was to write.
                   What images they saw.



****I never grade the meditation writings.  I just read them and make 
supportive comments about the content.  This is a great prelim. activity for 
creative writing.  I use the meditation writes as pre-writes for poetry 
writing sessions.

Have fun!


-Kate Seitz
9th grade English
Southern Regional High School
Manahawkin, NJ