Why do I rock/sway when people pass me meditating outdoors, and stop when they're gone?
Rocking and swaying is caused by the arising of Rapture (Pīti) which is one of the 10 Imperfections of Insight and one of the 5 Jhana Factors.
If practicing Vipassana meditation just note it until it passes away. If it doesn't stop after a long time, make the resolution to make it stop by saying &quot;stop&quot; in your mind. It will then stop either after the first resolution or after a couple of them.
If practicing Samatha meditation just return to the primary meditation object, ie. the breath at the anapana-spot. Don't take either of the Jhana factors as an meditation object. It will not strengthen them but instead weaken them, thereby not leading to Jhana.