Welcome to Centred Meditation and our Nature Immersion session today.
Taking a few moments to get comfortable in your position.
Making any adjustments you need and feeling free to make any adjustments during the practice itself.
Closing down your eyelids and moving your awareness to your breath.
As we take a few deeper breaths to settle the body and mind.
To tell our nervous system we're safe,
Ready for relaxation,
Ready for meditation.
Continuing with these deeper breaths,
Feeling the belly rising and falling with the breath.
Each exhale brings a sense of relaxation,
A sense of letting go.
Then allowing your breath to return back to its natural rhythm.
Observing this process of letting go of the breath.
Slowly observing it changing without controlling it in any way.
We'll now move through some of the key areas of the body where we carry tension.
We'll begin at the forehead,
The eyebrows,
The eyelids.
Encouraging a softness into these areas.
All the tiny muscles around here begin to relax,
To find ease.
And this continues down your face and into your jaw.
Moving this softness into your neck and your shoulders.
So your shoulders relax away from your ears.
Tension often rises the shoulders up towards the ears.
We want to counteract this and let them relax.
The shoulders relax the chest and belly feel lighter.
The muscles down your back begin to relax too.
We're moving these safety messages down the body,
Letting go of tension in any of these areas.
And scanning all the muscles large and small around the hips.
Inviting that softness into these muscles.
The hips are a common place to store both physical and emotional tensions.
And feeling those tensions dissolving.
Encouraging that softness down the entire right leg,
The thigh,
The knee,
Calves and shin.
All the way down to your toes.
And doing the same on the left hand side.
From your hip all the way down to your toes.
Now that your body and mind are moving closer towards ease and relaxation.
I invite you on a journey.
Visualizing yourself walking on the dry sand on a beach.
Observing each and every footfall.
How your heel interacts with the sand,
Your toes and everything in between.
Feeling all those tiny grains of sand.
Sending signals through your feet for your mind to absorb.
Then walking closer to the water,
Feeling the sand changing.
Noticing those changes with your feet.
Letting all those little signals move from the soles of your feet up through your body.
To be deciphered by the mind.
And coming to the water's edge.
And letting the gentle lapping waves submerge your feet and wash back out to sea again.
Feeling those sensations,
Noticing the temperature of the water.
Beginning to take in all your surroundings.
Listening to any sounds.
Sound of the water,
Birds,
The wind moving past your ears or to the trees behind you.
Moving your gaze across the horizon.
Appreciating the vastness of the sea and the sky and where they meet along this line.
Feeling the sun on your skin.
Smelling the salt in the air.
And if you wish,
I invite you to enter the calm waters.
Walking in deep enough so you can lie back.
Begin to float.
The water takes your weight.
It supports your head,
Your neck,
Your shoulders,
Your hips,
Your feet.
You gently rock weightlessly on the water's surface.
Feeling any remnants of tension dissolving.
Your body completely supported by the water.
Then taking a bird's eye view of this entire scene.
And in particular,
Focusing in on the relaxation,
The muscles in your face,
The rest of your body.
As you float effortlessly on the water.
Feeling the temperature of the ocean from below,
The sun from above.
And keeping this image as your anchor for the remainder of the meditation.
Or moving to your preferred anchor,
Maybe your mantra or your breath.
Whichever man,
Whichever anchor you choose.
Gently resting your awareness on your chosen anchor.
In such a gentle manner that your mind will naturally wander from time to time.
That's perfectly natural.
Each time you notice this,
Gently moving your awareness back to your chosen anchor.
Without any self-judgment,
Without any criticism.
If you notice your mind is lost in a stream of thoughts.
Gently returning your awareness back to your anchor.
Allowing your awareness to drift away from your anchor.
Or to move away from any thoughts you may be on.
And to simply rest for a few moments,
While you allow the effects of the meditation to sink in.
Bringing some gentle movement to your fingers and your toes.
Taking some more expansive belly breaths to bring some movement to your body.
Acknowledging yourself for finding the time and space for meditation today.
Letting that sense of acknowledgement sink into your body.
Noticing where it lands for you.
Our practice is coming to a close shortly,
However there's no rush.
Please take your time coming out of the practice.
Only opening your eyes when you truly feel ready to do so.
Thank you for joining.
