This meditation can be done seated,
But it might be nice to do lying down as you're guided through a visualisation that will be quite restorative and restful.
Whatever shape you're choosing to find in your body,
Take the next 30 seconds to a minute to slowly find it,
Supporting yourself with props,
Blankets,
To make yourself feel comfortable,
Supported,
Setting up into a little nest for your practice.
As you arrive in,
You might close your eyes or soften your gaze,
And as you do so,
Allow the muscles of your eyes to soften and spread,
And let this softness spread through the whole body,
Through the face,
The shoulders,
Your hands,
Through your belly,
Your pelvis,
Whole length of your legs right to your feet,
Getting heavy and soft,
Releasing effort.
Bring your awareness to the sounds in your space,
Simply letting your awareness move from sound to sound to sound,
Welcoming in all sounds as part of the practice,
Instead of being distractions,
Letting sounds be cues for presence.
We'll move into some pranayama with a 4-count inhale and a 6-count exhale.
Please adjust if you ever feel strained in your breath.
Exhale your breath wherever it is.
Inhale into your belly for 4,
3,
2,
1.
Out for 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
In 3,
2,
1.
Out 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
In 3,
2,
1.
Out 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
In 3,
2,
1.
Out 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
In 3,
2,
1.
Out 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Letting go of the count on the breath.
Returning to a natural,
Slow,
Quiet rhythm.
Let go even more.
Start to sense or visualize yourself standing on a deserted road in a small country town.
A country town where you feel safe and at peace.
Away from the noise of city roads and crowds.
This may be a place you've been before or an imagined town.
No cars drive on this road where you stand.
It is just before dusk and the streets of this town are quiet as you begin to stroll down the centre of this road.
You walk on the solid earth with a steady rhythm.
Feeling light yet strong and stable in each step.
It is a cool but sunny evening in early autumn.
On either side of this road there are trees and bushes thick with autumnal yellow and orange leaves.
In between the yellow and orange there are some deep reds and purples scattered through.
Emerging slowly as the season progresses.
This warmly coloured foliage on the sides of this road is amplified by the evening sun.
The evening sun casting a glow of golden light onto every leaf,
Every branch,
Pervading the atmosphere of this autumn evening.
As you stroll there is a quietness.
The only sounds piercing the silence are the steady rhythm of your own footsteps and the sing-song of birds overhead as they return to their nests for the evening.
In this quietness you feel that you can hear yourself think.
You can hear your own inner voice.
You can also hear the quietness and stillness starting to emerge within your own mind.
You feel yourself starting to align with the pace of this landscape.
Feeling a deep permission here to slow down and let go.
As you start to walk even more slowly you notice that there are some fallen leaves scattered across the road from the trees above.
These fallen leaves create a unique pattern of yellow and orange across the grey earth.
And as you gaze ahead of you down the road further you can see the falling of leaves from larger trees.
These falling leaves creating a magnificent dynamic curtain of golden and amber and brown.
As you slowly approach this curtain of falling leaves you sense a personal resonance with this natural phenomenon.
You understand that moment in time where after holding on and blooming brightly all summer a leaf turns a new shade and chooses to let go.
Chooses to float downward,
Release down to earth.
With no resistance.
Eventually you reach a point on your path where the earth is completely covered over by layers upon layers of fallen leaves.
It looks comfortable.
It is calling you to lie down upon it.
And so you do.
You plant your hands and knees on the thick pile of autumn leaves and turn to lie down on your back here.
Immediately you feel your body soften into this hold.
Crackling of the leaves beneath you.
The sound eventually making way for a complete silence as your body rests down releasing all effort.
Complete silence.
Complete stillness.
You feel yourself merge with the earth.
You close your eyes.
Feeling the glowing sunlight on your face as it warms this cool skin of your cheeks.
You feel yourself soften even more in this warmth.
Bathing in this glow of the evening sun.
You slowly breathe in the crisp country air.
In breathing out you feel a sense of relief wash over you.
Knowing that you can let go.
Be here.
Resting in these fallen leaves.
Bathing in evening sunlight.
With each breath in you feel the fresh air clearing and nourishing your lungs.
With each breath out you remember again your capacity to let go.
You surrender completely.
Breathing in and breathing out.
If the visualization is still there slowly let it dissolve.
Sensing your body once more on the earth.
And attuning yourself to this sense of restfulness,
Ease that you may now feel in your body,
Your mind,
Your heart.
Be with what's here.
Knowing that this feeling can be accessed at any point.
The nourishment is drawn from within,
Not only from the external environment.
As you rest for a few more moments in stillness you might consider if there is an intention that you can draw from this practice into the rest of your day,
Maybe into the rest of your week that might keep you attuned to this season of autumn,
Of letting go,
Transitioning from the brightness of summer to the coolness,
Introspection of winter.
What might it feel like or look like to stay aligned to this season?
When you feel ready to close your practice you might begin by deepening your breath,
Slowly moving your body,
Eventually in a caring way,
Opening your eyes and moving into the rest of your day or evening.
Namaste.
