Find a comfortable place to rest.
You can sit with your back soft and tall or lie down and let the ground receive you.
Let your hands rest wherever they wish,
On your lap,
On your heart,
Beside you.
Gently close your eyes or lower your gaze to the space just in front of you.
Take a slow breath in through your nose and a long easy breath out through your mouth.
Again in and out.
Each breath a small wave smoothing the edges of your day.
Feel the surface beneath you,
Patient and steady,
Let yourself be supported.
This is your time,
A pause,
A quiet homecoming.
Begin to notice how your body meets the ground.
The weight of your back,
The touch of your fabric,
The air around your skin.
With every exhale,
Imagine softening,
Your shoulders melting downward,
Your breath moving deeper,
Slower.
Bring your attention to your feet,
Feel the soles,
The arcs,
The tender toes.
With the next breath,
Picture thin golden roots growing from your feet into the earth below.
Down through floor and stone,
Finding their place in the quiet soil.
They don't hurry,
They simply know where to go.
Now in your mind's eye,
See yourself standing in an ancient forest at dawn.
A gentle mist curls between tree trunks,
The earth is soft and breathing,
Your roots reach deep into that living soil,
Throwing up calm,
Strength,
Nourishment.
The air carries the scent of pine and rain.
Above you,
Tall trees stretch toward light,
And the early sun begins to spill through the branches.
Each inhale pulls golden light from the ground through your feet,
Your legs,
Your spine,
Rising like sap,
Filling every cell with warmth.
Each exhale releases what you no longer need,
Thoughts,
Tension,
The small dust of the day,
Falling away like leaves into the stream nearby.
You are the tree and the forest both,
Rooted and alive,
Still yet full of quiet motion.
Beneath you,
The pulse of the earth beats slow and certain.
It whispers,
You are held.
Stay here for a while,
Listening to the hush,
Resting in the deep rhyme of life.
Slowly bring your awareness back to your body.
Feel the breath moving in your chest.
Feel the soft warmth in your hands.
The forest light gathers now in your heart,
Glowing gently like an ember.
Your roots remain,
But they move with you in visible threads of steadiness.
You can always return to.
Take a deep,
Peaceful breath in and a long quiet breath out.
Begin to move your fingers and toes as if waking from a dream.
Notice the sounds around you,
The air touching your skin.
When you are ready,
Open your eyes,
Slowly,
Softly.
Sit in the calm that lingers.
Feel how the earth still holds you,
Even as you rise to meet your day.
You are grounded.
You are safe.
You are home.
