Autumn Visualization For Relaxation And Calm

Enjoy a relaxation that will guide you through an autumn visualization, leaving you feeling calm, grounded and peaceful. Practicing the relaxation breath will allow you to relax more deeply while visualizing and connecting with nature.

Transcript

Thanks for joining me today.

I hope you enjoy this autumn visualization.

So you can get yourself into a comfortable position that can be seated or lying down,

Whatever you prefer.

And just allow the spine to lengthen,

Relaxing the shoulders down away from the ears.

And maybe your hands rest in your lap or wherever feels natural.

And you can choose to gently close the eyes or keep a soft,

Unfocused gaze.

This is your practice,

So always do what feels right for you and your body.

If you feel any discomfort during the practice,

You can always adjust the body as needed.

Let's begin by taking a couple of deep breaths to let go of the day so far,

Inhaling and exhaling.

And giving yourself this time to settle and to just be.

Nowhere to go,

Nothing else to do,

But taking this time to be with yourself and the breath.

Allowing ourselves to just be and not constantly be doing anything really allows the mind and body to properly rest,

Heal,

And restore.

Any thoughts that arise about your day or anything else,

You could just notice them and then let them pass.

Without changing anything yet,

Begin to simply notice your breath.

Inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the nose.

And just notice the sensation of the breath,

The temperature of the inhale versus the exhale.

Where do you notice the breath most in the body?

Is it the chest,

The abdomen,

The nose?

There's no right or wrong,

We're just observing.

The breath will be our anchor throughout this practice.

The mind will wander and that is normal and to be expected.

And when that happens,

You can just gently and kindly return your attention back to the breath,

Back to the sensations in the body.

In meditation,

And hopefully in life,

We are here as an observer of our minds without judgment or criticism of what we find.

Inhaling and exhaling,

Just letting the mind and body begin to relax and settle.

Maybe noticing the support beneath the body,

Whether it's a chair,

A bed,

The floor,

And just feel how it fully supports you.

Letting the body more fully relax and let go.

And allowing any tension or tightness in the body to soften and release.

Inhaling and exhaling,

And letting the muscles of the body relax a little bit more.

And we'll begin to gently lengthen and deepen the inhale and the exhale.

Today,

We will practice the relaxation breath,

So we will lengthen the exhale.

Use the length of breath that works for you.

So if you inhale for a count of four,

Exhale for a count of seven or eight.

This breath helps to release stress and elicit the relaxation or space.

And this breath helps to relax the body and allow the body to respond to the body.

So you can practice this breath at your own pace for a couple of minutes.

Inhaling and lengthening the exhale.

Allowing the mind to settle and slow.

And the body to relax and rest.

And as you continue to practice the relaxation breath,

Notice if you feel any tension or tightness anywhere.

Our stressors and emotions can get stored in the body when not properly released,

But we can use the breath to help release the physical manifestations of these stressors.

Each exhale,

Allowing your body to continue to let go.

Feeling grounded and rooted.

Feeling safe and secure.

Allowing any tension in the neck and shoulders to melt away.

Relaxing the jaw and the tongue and the facial muscles.

Allowing the abdomen to be soft.

Inviting the breath to initiate from the diaphragm,

Up through the ribs and into the chest.

And as you exhale,

Release any lingering tension in the body.

Some people may believe you can only connect with nature by spending a lot of time there.

But nature lives inside each of us at all times.

Our body is made up of the same elements as in nature.

The minerals and energy that make up the world around you,

Even the percentage of water on the planet,

Mirrors our bodies.

Our bodies are in a natural rhythm with the earth.

The rise and fall of the tides,

The changing seasons,

And the phases of the moon.

As you begin to imagine being in nature,

Your mind and body will respond as if you are,

Reducing stress and bringing a sense of peace and calm.

And you can imagine that you're walking along a path.

There are majestic mountains in the distance.

The sky is a bright,

Vivid blue with fluffy white clouds.

It's floating by effortlessly.

You notice a soft breeze against your skin.

You take a moment to see the green grass and all the natural beauty all around you.

You can see a forest up ahead with tall,

Mature trees standing like a natural protective army.

And notice your feet and sense how grounded you feel,

Completely rooted to the earth just as the trees are.

Each step you take allows you to connect with the earth's positive,

Loving energy.

You can take a few slow,

Deep breaths as you absorb nature all around you.

And if you'd like,

You can walk closer to the trees,

Seeing the beautiful leaves transforming into vibrant shades of orange,

Red,

And yellow as autumn takes hold.

And you may choose to walk into the forest or stand at the tree line,

Taking a deep breath in and feeling the clean,

Fresh air going in through the nose,

Filling the lungs and the diaphragm with cleansed,

Fresh oxygen,

Allowing any tension or stress in the body to flow out through the bottom of your feet and allow the earth to absorb and transform that energy.

And taking a moment to notice the colors you see,

The trees,

The leaves,

The ground,

And the sky.

Inhaling and noticing any sense of the forest and listening for the sounds of nature all around you.

You may hear the songs of birds in nearby trees or the gentle rustle of the changing leaves.

And as you continue to walk along the path,

You begin to hear the sound of a waterfall,

Taking a moment to listen to the sound of the water and letting it relax you even further.

As you walk up to the edge of the bottom of the waterfall,

Maybe you take a seat on the ground,

Feeling the earth beneath you,

Grounding you and rooting you to the earth's energy.

Breathing in deeply,

Continuing with the lengthened exhale to relax the mind and body.

Noticing and absorbing all the lovely sights and sounds of nature all around you.

Feeling the warm sunlight on your face and allowing your senses to be immersed in this beautiful environment,

Letting Mother Nature soothe your soul,

Feeling a profound sense of calm and peace.

You can return to nature anytime you'd like.

And when you feel ready,

You can start to walk back to the path leading out of the forest,

Taking with you the feeling of groundedness,

Calm,

Connected,

And peaceful.

Taking a moment to notice how the entire body has relaxed,

Feeling at ease,

Breathing deeply and fully into the body in this open state,

Healing and restoring health,

Energy,

Balance,

And vitality.

Take another deep breath in as you walk out of the path,

Taking this feeling of calm with you throughout your day and bringing your attention back to the breath,

Noticing the ground beneath you,

Bringing your attention back to the room,

Noticing any sounds,

Feeling the chair beneath you,

The sounds in the room,

Maybe wiggling fingers and toes or bringing slow,

Gentle movement,

Moving the neck side to side.

And only when you feel ready,

Gently opening the eyes and noticing your surroundings,

Taking a final deep cleansing breath with you into the rest of your day.