So let's begin by bringing your awareness to your breath.
And you can even soften your gaze right now,
Or you can close your eyes,
Whatever feels most comfortable for you.
And notice the temperature of the air as you inhale and as you exhale.
You may notice the stages of the inhale.
Through your nose,
To your lungs,
Your body expanding,
Your lungs filling up,
And then the stages of the exhale,
And you deflate your lungs.
The temperature of the air changes.
And you breathe out carbon monoxide.
We're going to do a quick body scan.
Starting at the top of the head and we're going to move down.
So if you could bring your awareness to the very top of your head,
Moving down,
And you can picture a light or just notice any sensations or feeling or temperature as we scan down.
So moving your awareness to your forehead and temples.
To your eyes and cheeks.
And ears.
Nose,
Mel.
Lips Jaw.
And you can give your jaw a little wiggle and see how that feels today.
Moving your awareness to your left shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Lower arm,
Wrist,
Back of the hand,
Palm of the hand,
Fingers and thumb.
And notice the temperature of the palm of your hand versus the back of your hand.
And moving across your collarbone from the left to the right to the right shoulder.
Maybe noticing the fabric of your clothes.
Any sensations at all on the upper arm,
Elbow,
Lower arm,
Wrist,
Back of the hand,
Palm of the hand,
Fingers,
And thumbs.
And again,
Noticing the temperature of the back of the hand versus the palm of the hand.
And we're going to do the front of the body very quickly.
But before we do,
Just notice how your body is expanding and contracting with each breath.
You might notice your own heartbeat.
And moving to the back of the body,
Just noticing the sensations.
Again,
Maybe the fabric of your clothes.
And scanning down through your shoulder blades,
Down the mid back to the lower back.
Moving your awareness to your upper legs.
To your knees.
Lower legs,
Ankles,
Tops of the feet,
Bottoms of the feet.
And finally,
Your toes.
And bring your awareness back to your breath.
Now see if in your mind's eye,
You can imagine a peaceful,
Safe place in a forest.
Notice that you're walking on a path or you're standing on a path in this forest.
Noticing what time of day it is by the angle of the sun.
Maybe there's a cool breeze in the air that feels just right for you.
Imagine what you hear.
The rustling of the leaves in the wind.
Bird calls.
Or quiet.
Notice if there are flowers or ferns or grass or rocks and pine needles or moss on the floor of the forest.
In the height of the trees around you or bushes.
Again,
Whatever's most comfortable or coming to your mind today.
It could be a place imagined or a place you've been to before.
And I want you to imagine looking down at the path in front of you and noticing what is the path made of?
Roots?
Are there rocks?
Was it dirt?
And I want you to imagine walking along this path.
And it's an easy path that welcomes you.
You might see the sun and the shadows along the path as you move forward.
And you notice there's a big boulder on your left-hand side.
And the boulder is welcoming you to touch it.
And so you do,
Maybe with one hand or two.
Just imagining the ridges in this boulder and the size,
Shapes,
Colors.
Shadows and light.
And take a deep breath of air in here through your nose,
Holding it for a moment,
Taking in that wisdom,
And then exhaling through your mouth nice and slowly.
And then you move along on the path again.
And up ahead,
You see that it's the edge of the forest and there's a field ahead.
And when you're there,
You walk through that entranceway.
To the field,
Staying on the path.
And up on a little hill.
You see a group of people.
And these people are ones.
That have given you unconditional love.
That you look up to that you hold dear in your heart.
They can be alive or in spirit.
They can be people you haven't met but looked up to or look up to.
And they're all welcoming you to join them.
In this circle.
And so you're standing or sitting in the circle together.
And I want you to,
In your mind's eye,
Go around.
And with love in your heart and spirit,
Just acknowledge their presence,
Their gift.
As they acknowledge the gift that you have given them as well.
And so I'm going to be silent for a moment and let you take some time to do this.
Maybe you share a smile.
Maybe you share a laugh.
Maybe you share a hug.
Sometimes we don't always need words to share our love and expression.
And I want you to,
Again,
Just share that appreciation for whoever showed up today.
In your mind's eye,
In your heart.
And thank them for their wisdom.
And they can visit you anytime and you can visit them anytime.
As you turn back to the path that leads you back to the forest.
Of peace and comfort.
Walking through that entranceway again into the forest.
Walking past that boulder,
Which is now on your right hand side.
Again,
You can imagine touching that boulder.
Has it changed in size,
Shape,
Color?
And may have remained the same.
And that's just fine.
Thanking it for its wisdom and grounding properties.
As you walk further to the path where you began this journey today.
Bringing your awareness back to your breath.
Noticing through all the sensations your experience around you.
Things you see,
Colors you see.
What you hear.
What you smell and taste and feel.
And checking in with your breath again.
And see if it has changed from the beginning of this process and journey to where you are now in this moment.
And it is fine just as it is.
But just noticing,
Noticing the stages of that breath again,
On the inhale.
And the stages of the breath on the exhale.
And when you're ready,
You can slowly stretch your fingers and wiggle your toes.
And slowly open your eyes if they've been closed and come back to your room.
