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You might think of it as Zen hiking — or perhaps as a kind of transcendental trekking. • A practice known as walking meditation, which has long been a part of many Buddhist and other traditions, can add a meditative component to walks in mountains, deserts or parks. • We're not talking here about just tooling along, randomly contemplating the wonders of nature. • True walking meditation, say those who practice it, is a focused technique that can be every bit as powerful as formal, sitting meditation.

"We do not consider walking meditation a break from seated meditation. In fact, it's an integrated part of our larger practice," says Joe Montani, a member of the Zen Desert Sangha in Tucson and a teacher of classes in "Zen Buddhist Yoga for Meditators."

"It's a flowing and fluid movement of walking that looks a bit like Tai Chi," says Montani, who is a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. "It's an entire body and mind training, a way of establishing a deep, physical relaxation. . . . It's something people can do at home, out in their yards or out in the woods."

Leah Mermelstein, a former coordinator of the Tucson Shambhala Meditation Group, says the purpose of walking meditation is "to be aware of the moment while we are pursuing our daily activities."

"The hope is to slow our minds to what is actually happening from moment to moment," Mermelstein says. "This is similar to being aware" during the practice of seated meditation.

Techniques of walking meditation vary, but we've compiled some general guidelines for the practice. You might need to modify the techniques a bit depending on whether your location is a backyard, public park, desert path or mountain trail.

Information was provided by Montani and Mermelstein, with additional background from Web sites and books.

Start in a comfortable standing position. Take a moment to be aware of your weight being transferred through the soles of your feet to the ground.

Choose a position for your hands. It's possible, of course, to leave them at your sides and move them in a normal motion as you walk. But many meditation traditions call for positioning the hands in a certain way.

"We make a loose fist with the right hand and have the fingers of the left hand cover it," says Montani. "Hold the assemblage of the hands near the navel or lower belly."

Lower your eyes a bit and look ahead. Avoid staring at individual objects or glancing idly from side to side as if sightseeing. If you're on a trail, it's usually best to practice walking meditation on fairly level sections so you're not repeatedly distracted by uneven or challenging terrain.

Details on walking meditation differ a bit from one meditation group to another, but here are some common suggestions:

● Walk slowly, or very slowly, in a normal walking position.

● Breathe slowly and evenly as you move.

● Place awareness on your feet — including their contact with the ground and the lifting, swinging and touching-down motions of walking.

"We walk circumambulating the room, or outside space, at a slow pace — paying attention to each foot as it steps to the ground," says Mermelstein. "When we notice we are thinking of something else, we bring our attention back to our feet."

Says Montani: "Some teachers emphasize that to maintain strong physical focus, a person can put all the attention on the bottom of the foot — especially the bottom of the moving foot."

Many advocates of walking meditation pursue it for only a few minutes at a time — between periods of sitting meditation. It's possible to carry on the practice for extended periods, but it's important to maintain a meditative focus rather than lapsing into a stroll with a wandering mind.

"We sit (in meditation) for 25 minutes silently, and then the leader walks us around for about five minutes of walking meditation," Montani says. "Or it might be four minutes or six minutes.

"Other times — on a retreat, for example — we often will substitute an extended kinhin, or walking meditation, for an entire 25-minute sitting meditation."

This variation is just what it sounds like — walking at a rapid pace but still maintaining an attitude of mindfulness.

"The fast walking began in old monasteries," Montani says. "They needed something like aerobic training for their bodies because they spent so much time sitting. This fast walking was not only wonderful exercise for the body, but for the mind and spirit."

Author Franz Metcalf offers this description of fast-walking meditation on the innerself.ca Web site:

"Start slowly for a few breaths. Once you're moving and able to return your mind to breathing, you can pick up your speed to a normal-to-brisk pace. Remember, you are still meditating. You may be tempted to start thinking, to look around, even to stop at an interesting place such as the fridge or the basketball hoop. These are thoughts. Don't follow them. Let them fall away. Return your mind to meditation."

Montani says one approach is to engage in very fast walking in "two-or-three-minute bursts interspersed with periods of slow walking."

A practice known as walking meditation lends itself to mountains, deserts or parks