Welcome to this guided meditation where we use the forest as our inspiration.
I invite you to find a comfortable position,
Either seated or lying down,
Whatever is your practice.
And allow your hands to rest gently in your lap or at your sides or again whatever feels most comfortable.
I invite you to softly close your eyes or soften the gaze.
Just observing how your body feels as you settle into the space.
Settling in.
Lengthening your spine.
Releasing your shoulders.
Let us begin with the breath.
I invite you to take a slow natural inhale through your nose and allow the exhale to come out as a quiet sigh through your mouth.
I invite you to do that again.
Breathing in and through your nose.
And then allow your body to begin to feel heavy.
Let the chair or floor,
Whatever holds you,
Truly hold you.
You don't need to grip anything.
You don't need to hold yourself up.
You're being supported.
Now gently begin to imagine you're standing at the edge of a forest.
The ground beneath your bare feet is soft,
Cooler,
A little damp from morning rain.
You can feel that gentle give of moss beneath your toes.
With every step you take inward,
The sounds of the outside world grow quieter and quieter.
Further away,
Less urgent.
The trees here are tall and ancient.
Their roots run deep.
Deeper than you can see.
Breathe in now.
And as you do,
Imagine drawing up that same steadiness through the soles of your feet.
Up through your legs.
Into your belly.
Into your chest.
Hold it gently.
And breathe out slowly.
Releasing anything you carried here with you.
Allow it to dissolve into the forest air.
A shaft of morning light breaks through the canopy above you.
You walk into it.
Feel the gentle warmth land on your face.
Your shoulders.
This light asks nothing of you.
It simply offers warmth.
There is a soft sound now.
Water moving nearby.
A stream.
Reading its way over smooth stones just a little ways ahead.
You walk toward it and sit down on a mossy bank.
The sound of the water is constant.
Rhythmic.
It has been flowing here long before today.
And it will flow long after.
With each breath,
Feel yourself settling.
Inhale for four counts.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Hold it softly for two.
Exhale for six.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Six.
Again,
Inhale.
Drawing in the cool forest air.
Scented with pine and earth and rain.
Breathing that in.
And then release long and slow.
Like a river finding its natural course.
Letting it go.
And a breeze moves through the canopy.
The leaves respond.
A thousand soft whispers above you.
Notice how the trees don't resist the wind.
They sway.
They flex.
They remain rooted while everything else moves freely.
Everything around them is moving freely.
This is available to you too.
Rooted.
Flexible.
Present.
Breathe in that possibility.
And then breathe out what no longer serves you.
Allow it to move through you like that wind through the leaves.
And I invite you to rest here a moment.
Just you and the stream.
The trees and the light.
There's nothing to solve here.
Nothing to become.
You are,
Right now,
Exactly where you need to be.
Resting here.
Feeling that sun warming you.
The gentle breeze.
The whispering of the trees.
Surrounded by gentleness.
Seeing it.
And when you're ready,
I invite you to begin to bring gentle awareness back to your body.
Feel the weight of your hands.
Wiggling your fingers slowly.
Maybe your toes.
Just observing how you feel as you begin to add movement back into your body.
And when it feels right,
Softly opening your eyes if they are closed.
I invite you to carry this stillness with you.
It is yours.
And it's always just a breath away.
And you can return to this practice at any time.
