Elephant Grace.
These planet meditations are designed for you to sit with the beautiful elements and life in all its glorious creation on our earth as you quiet yourself to be here right now.
They can be used to return you to your sense of oneness with the whole planet,
Or you could simply enjoy them and relax.
I invite you to softly close your eyes,
Beginning to feel your breath flowing in and out of your lungs,
Taking a few moments here,
Becoming aware of the softness of your breath,
Feeling it entering and leaving your whole body as you simply sit or lie or perhaps stand quietly.
Maybe this is the first time today you find yourself here,
Remembering to stop and pause and begin to notice your breath,
Your own physical body sensations,
Your own body here resting with whatever you notice.
And if you can't feel anything at all,
Just noticing that.
And now breathing gently in your own natural rhythm,
Coming back to this breath and the next and this one.
And gently noticing where your mind travels and then with each breath coming back to the flow of air in and out of your body.
As our mind wanders,
Our body awaits with compassion for us to return.
So maybe smiling gently now as you allow your mind and body to come together right now with your breath,
Breathing smoothly,
Maybe noticing the sounds you can hear right now.
Maybe you can hear your breath,
Or the movements of your body,
Or a sound in the room where you rest,
Or outside,
Or my voice on this recording.
Whatever your ears hear,
Just noticing,
Following the sound,
Letting it come and then perhaps leave again.
Now if you wish,
Bringing your attention back to your breath.
Maybe noticing the movements in your body as it fills and nourishes itself with air.
Perhaps noticing any physical sensations in your body and bringing your awareness as you slowly scan down through your body now,
Breathing with ease as you do so.
Noticing the air on your face,
On your cheeks,
Maybe it's warm or cool.
And down through your neck,
To your shoulders,
Arms,
Your hands,
Noticing the position of your hands as you rest here now.
And back up your arms and your chest,
Bringing your attention to the front of your body and to the back of your body,
Spreading out between your shoulder blades.
And now down to your hips and into your legs,
Past your knees,
Your ankles,
And down to your feet,
Becoming aware of the feeling of the ground beneath your feet,
Feeling their contact.
Maybe you can even notice your toes,
Whether they're touching or apart,
Bringing your full awareness to the whole of your body now,
Back up to the whole of your body and resting here,
Breathing.
Giving yourself this time with gratitude and compassion,
Safely supported by the surface beneath you,
Breathing naturally and feeling the joy perhaps of being here right now.
And now,
Bringing into your mind the image of a large African river,
Maybe it's one you've seen in a film or in a book or one in your imagination,
Breathing and bringing your focus closer onto the banks of the river,
Small clumps of trees growing close to the edges.
And now as you sit or lie here breathing,
Safely supported by the surface on which you rest,
Seeing your African river in more detail.
Maybe it's deep and flowing,
Or maybe your river's a muddy struggle of mud banks and shallow water,
Just seeing your river now,
Perhaps noticing the smell of the air and the cries of the birds up high.
Being with your river and your beautiful open landscape,
And now perhaps noticing any wildlife that are drinking from your river,
Other birds or maybe a lone wild cat,
Just sitting with your river and breathing with nothing to do and be here right now.
And now bringing your awareness to a group of shapes,
And as you come closer you see they're a small herd of elephants and they're mud bathing.
The small ones are spinning around near the edges and the larger ones are walking their strong legs back and forth,
Churning up the mud,
Reaching down with their elegant trunks and scooping up the liquid mud as they shower themselves with its protection from the searing sun.
Maybe you're so close now you can hear their snuffles and joyful snorts as they swirl and spin and roll their huge strong bodies into the muddy holes of your river,
Focusing on a smaller elephant holding back at the sides of the river.
Maybe she's watching you,
Seeing her head,
The small tufts of hair,
And in her eyes,
So young,
You see all the wisdom of her elders.
And as you broaden your gaze to the whole herd again,
You see their dance,
Their slow graceful dance in the mud and the water,
And you feel their sense of being present in their moment,
Their joy,
At one with their bodies and their land and their skies.
And now perhaps you can feel yourself as these wise strong beasts of the land.
You're in the river scooping up the cool water,
Hearing the sound of the mud sprinkling over you,
Cooling you,
And feeling the sense of joy and ripeness as you swirl and dance and roll in your own elephant dance of grace.
Feeling the strength and stability of your body,
Sensing the ground beneath you.
And as you breathe and trumpet and bellow with joy,
And as the air leaves your body,
You breathe it in,
Knowing that you and the elephants share this wildlife,
That there is no you and them,
That this earth and your air is their air,
And their river and joyful mud bathing is your joy too.
Sensing your connection with them and with their joy and with the wholeness of the earth and the air you both share.
And now leaving your image and bringing your awareness back into your body,
Into your own strong legs and arms and the stability of the surface that's supporting you.
Feeling the pressure of your heels and calves and back on the floor or your feet planted firmly on the ground as you sit,
Beginning to notice again the flow of your breath,
The sound of your breath and other sounds around you.
Breathing here in your own ebb and flow and when you hear the chime,
Slowly opening your eyes,
Bringing your attention into your fingers and your toes,
Moving them perhaps,
Taking a stretch that feels right for you.
May your day be filled with the joy and wisdom of your elephants.
