The Forest Clearing Lay back or sit back and get comfortable.
Bring your attention to the touch of your body on whatever is supporting you,
Whether it is a chair or your bed,
And then to the pressure of your feet on the floor or on the bed.
Now bring your attention to your breath,
To the feel of the air as it comes in and out through your nose,
And to the gentle rise and fall of your abdomen as you breathe in and out.
In and out.
Now imagine a path through the forest at night time.
The path is grassy and the grass is soft under your feet.
You feel light as if you are floating or maybe walking on clouds.
Before long you approach a gate.
Open the gate,
Pass through it and close it behind you.
You notice that the path runs downhill through the forest and as you walk down this gentle slope you may start to notice that you become more deeply relaxed with every step you take.
It is night time but it's not so dark because there is a full moon in the sky.
The sky is cloudless,
Inky blue-black and studded with tiny stars that shine brightly.
And the light of the moon shines through the trees,
Illuminating a carpet of bluebells that spreads in amongst the trees on either side of the path.
There are row upon row of trees stretching into the far distance and as you walk down the path down this gentle hill you feel protected and safe within the trees.
Eventually you see a clearing in the distance and as you approach the clearing you notice that there is a big comfortable armchair leaning against a sturdy tree.
And as you approach the chair you notice a blanket in that chair.
Pick up the blanket and sit down in the chair with the blanket wrapped around you.
You can feel the softness of the blanket on your skin and the warmth it imparts.
You can see the trees around you at the edge of the clearing and in the distance the sound of a stream babbling through the forest.
You could smell grass and a lovely night-time forest smell.
And maybe you could hear an owl in amongst the trees.
One owl hoots and another replies.
And then as you stretch your feet on the grass you can feel the softness of the grass under your feet and the solidity of the chair which supports you and cradles you and keeps you safe and comfortable.
So just sit in the chair wrapped in the blanket and again bring your attention to your breathing.
Your breathing is slow and regular.
Your abdomen rises as you breathe in and falls back as you breathe out.
And you know that everything's right.
And as you sit in that chair you know that you can be whatever you want to be.
You don't have to do anything.
You can be whatever truly you are deep within yourself.
In this safe,
Comfortable,
Relaxing space your innate health can express itself and start to blossom like the bluebells in the forest.
Here you are in the centre of this forest in this beautiful clearing with the stars above you in the sky and the moon shining her gentle light illuminating you,
The grass,
The trees,
The bluebells.
And you're as safe as you can ever be.
And here you can start to live where you want to live and that starts relaxing and allowing yourself to just be not having to do anything.
And as you sit in the chair feeling so safe and relaxed with your breathing gentle and slow and regular knowing that your blood is circulating through your body your heart is beating gently all the systems of your body are working just as they should.
You know that that relaxation is bringing with it health,
Happiness,
Confidence,
Calmness everything you need and desire.
And you know that whenever you feel the need to you can come back to this space to this safe space in the forest clearing.
Whenever you want to,
You can pick up that blanket and sit in that chair and curl up and feel safe and relaxed and calm.
And in a moment when you're ready I want you to stand up and stretch your arms and feel how that relaxation washes through the whole of your body from the tips of your fingers to the tips of your toes into your head and down through your torso.
So stretch your arms,
Have a big yawn and take a few steps across the clearing.
You can take that blanket with you or you can leave it on the chair,
It's entirely up to you.
And as you walk across the clearing feel how well your body feels how it is working perfectly for you.
And when you reach the edge of the clearing turn and look back that chair is sitting there against that tree waiting for when you want to return.
It will always be there for you and the blanket is either waiting for you on the chair or you have it with you at all times.
And look up to the sky that inky blue black sky are the stars and the moon and then bring your gaze down to the trees and the bluebells and maybe hear the owl hooting again and listen to the babbling of the brook.
Take all these things in,
The smell of the grass the lovely night time smell the sound of the stream and that owl and that vision of bluebells amongst the trees knowing that you can take all of that with you in your mind fold it into your mind and hold it there and then turn to face the path walk up the path with easy slow steps breathing easily as you walk until you come to the gate and then open the gate pass through it and close it behind you and then carry on up the path until you come to the edge of the forest and the world opens out in front of you and when you are ready just bring your attention back to your breath again to the rise and fall of your abdomen and to the weight of your body or your chair or your bed and then when you are ready you can open your eyes and come back into the room
