So settling into practice,
You can do the practice with your eyes open or closed,
Soft gaze,
Whatever feels good for you.
And noticing the sounds in the space around you.
Sounds outside the space.
You might notice the air in the space around you.
As it comes into contact with your skin,
With your face.
Is the air warm or cool?
Is it still or is there movement?
You might notice the points of contact with the surface beneath you.
Being curious about which of these feels stronger or lighter.
I invite you to soften down a little into these points of contact.
If it feels comfortable,
You might do this with the out-breath.
So just breathing in and on the out-breath,
Just allowing that to prompt a gentle softening down each time.
Not trying to change the rhythm of the breath,
Just allowing the natural rhythm to invite that sense of softening.
And as you soften down into these points of contact,
You might imagine growing roots down through these points of contact.
It might be that you use the image of these roots,
Sensing them growing downwards.
You might like to use the breath again if that feels supportive.
Again on the out-breath,
Just allowing those roots to grow down a little more each time.
And as these roots grow further and stronger,
You might imagine yourself resting down into a soft forest floor,
Feeling the sense of being supported by these strong roots.
Letting go of any effort,
Any holding,
Just allowing yourself to be,
Allowing yourself to rest in this forest floor.
You might invite a sense of your nature partner,
To join you in this place of rest.
Just knowing that your nature partner is there,
Journeying along with you.
And from this grounded place,
You might see if there is a wish or an intention that feels present for you.
If there is,
Just inviting it into this moment,
Imagining what it would be like if it were happening right now.
What sounds would you hear?
What would you see?
What sensations would you feel in your body?
What smells or tastes?
What emotions would you feel?
And then gently allowing this to finish.
So with that,
I'll invite us on to the next part of the meditation,
Which is the pilgrimage through the body.
In this part,
I'm going to name different points in the body,
And the invitation,
If it feels good to you,
Is to just allow your attention to flow into each of these areas as I name.
So,
Starting with the point between the eyebrows,
Down into the middle of the throat,
Down into the centre of the chest,
And cross into the right shoulder.
Down into the right elbow,
Into the right wrist,
The tip of the right thumb,
Tip of the index finger,
Tip of the middle finger,
Tip of the ring finger,
Tip of the little finger,
Back to the right wrist,
Right shoulder,
Into the middle of the chest,
Over into the left shoulder,
Left elbow,
Left wrist,
Tip of the index finger,
Tip of the middle finger,
Tip of the ring finger,
Tip of the little finger,
Back to the left wrist,
Left elbow,
Left shoulder,
Into the middle of the chest,
Down into the belly,
Cross into the right hip,
Right hip,
Right ankle,
The right big toe,
The second toe,
The third toe,
Little toe,
Back to the right ankle,
Cross into the belly,
Over into the left hip,
For the left big toe,
Second toe,
Little toe,
Up into the left ankle,
Left knee,
Up into the middle of the chest,
Into the middle of the throat,
Into the point between the eyebrows,
Allowing your attentions come into the whole front of the body,
Allowing your attentions to flow into the whole back of the body,
Broadening out to include the whole body,
The whole body,
And now I'll invite us into the third part of our meditation,
A journey to the cottage where I'll share some nature soundscapes and invite you to come on a journey,
To visit the cottage.
So starting off at our cottage in the woods,
Coming out on a crisp winter morning,
The sun is shining,
Our breath is making steam,
It clouds as it hits the cold air,
And we listen to the sounds,
The morning birds singing.
Next we make our way down towards the forest stream,
And the winter rain,
Heavy winter rain,
Means that the stream is fuller than normal.
So we stay by the stream for a while,
Listening to the sound of the water flowing down,
Watching it carry the autumn leaves and twigs along the stream.
Slowly we make our way down,
Following the forest stream,
Along,
We make our way towards the beach,
As the woodland and the trees clear we feel the wind picks up,
Feeling the sensations of the strong wind on our faces,
Blowing in our hair.
Way down onto the beach,
Sitting,
Listening,
Watching the waves as they flow in and flow out.
And as the day draws to a close,
We make our way back to the cottage,
We're outside,
Wrap ourselves up warm in blankets,
Sit with warm cups of tea and watch and listen as the flames flicker away,
And gently bringing our visit to the cottage to a close.
It's an invitation to just invite once again the hope or the intention,
The wish that you had earlier,
Just once again inviting that into this moment.
What would it be like if that were happening right now?
What can you see?
What can you hear?
What can you smell?
What sensations do you feel?
What's happening in your heart?
And again,
Just gently allowing that to fade,
Allowing your attention to come back into the body,
Noticing the points of contact with the surface beneath you,
Noticing the sounds in the space around you.
Sounds outside the space.
If you're bringing this rest to a close now,
You might like to invite some gentle movement,
Some stretching if that feels good for you,
Where you can stay as you are and rest for as long as you need.
Thank you so much for joining me for this practice.
