Welcome.
Today we're going to go on a walk in the mountains.
So go ahead and make yourself comfortable for today's practice.
Be sure your surroundings are peaceful and quiet and that you're in a place where you won't be disturbed.
And once you've settled in,
Gently close your eyes.
Now let's take a couple of deep,
Soothing breaths.
Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Taking long,
Deep breaths in.
Inhaling calming,
Soothing feelings into your mind and your body.
And with your out breath,
Expelling all you wish to release.
Letting go of all that's been weighing you down.
And with every breath,
Allow your mind to become quiet.
Simply focus on your body as it continues to relax deep into your space.
Allow your muscles to completely soften.
You notice that you're becoming unbound from any tension.
Breathing in deeply and breathing out slowly.
Simply allow your mind to explore and appreciate the relaxation flowing through your body.
All you need to think about right now is the peacefulness of this moment.
And as you continue to breathe,
Notice how your breath makes your body feel.
Observe the gentle rise and fall of your belly and your chest.
Notice how your chest moves in synchronization.
Your breath and your body working in perfect harmony together.
Each breath you take brings you closer to feelings of peace and feelings of calm.
You begin to notice all tension from within you is gradually being carried away now.
Bringing you even closer to a completely comfortable sense of inner peace.
Now allow your breath to just become natural.
Allow it to be soft and easy,
Flowing in and out of your body with no effort at all.
And as you bring your breath back to soothing natural rhythms,
Imagine you're standing in the middle of a mountain range.
There are flowers and trees growing from the cracks in the large gray rock.
The surroundings of this place are absolutely breathtaking.
Far in the distance you hear the gentle murmur of the ocean waves crashing against the shore.
The sounds of a small town in Alaska having its day.
And as you inhale,
You get a subtle hint of this Alaskan sea air passing through your nostrils.
It's cool and it's crisp and it makes you feel very peaceful and relaxed.
The view before you looks almost picture-perfect.
The mountains,
The ocean,
The small town in the distance,
The luscious green treetops that are swaying in the mountain breeze,
The birds and all the wildlife.
Earthly and soothing colors surround you and nothing can compare to this incredible view.
You enjoy this moment and simply admire the scenery.
As you continue to breathe in this cool,
Crisp,
Fresh mountain air,
You reach into your pocket and you take out a rock.
Feeling confused,
You hold it out into the light and realize what this rock is.
This rock is something that has been worrying you.
Something that's been weighing you down.
So you bring to mind anything that's been troubling you all day and you see it existing in place of this rock.
As you look down at the ground before you,
You notice a small gap in between the mountains.
This gap is the exact size and shape of the rock that you're holding.
You kneel down and place this rock into the gap.
You smile as you see it fits perfectly,
Just like a key.
As you stand back and observe the rock,
It seems like you have returned it back to where it's belonged.
A sense of relief washes over your body and your mind as if these worries never existed at all.
You continue to smile as you feel so much lighter and enjoy the relief of the faint sound of the waves in the distance.
You begin to descend the mountain following a small path leading you to the beach below and as you continue down the mountain,
You listen to a chorus of birds filling the air with their peaceful melodies as if they were cheering you on.
As you continue to make your way down the mountain,
You notice all the little sounds that are drawing you in.
Maybe you can even hear the sound of a woodpecker looking for it up in the trees or hearing eagles or other songbirds that particularly draw you in.
You take your time to find them amongst the forest.
Walking along this path,
You finally reached an opening revealing the beach.
The waves are very gentle and the sound is still just distant but vibrant.
You continue to walk until you approach the water's edge.
There's rocks all along the beach and the waves are very soothing and comforting.
As you kneel down and dip your hand into the water,
You feel the cool and refreshing sensation.
As you bring your hand back to your body,
You notice again something in your pocket.
You reach in and find another stone.
You hold it up and recognize it's another heavy stone carrying all worries and concerns from your past.
As you hold it in your hand,
It feels pretty heavy and tiresome.
You begin to question why you've been holding on to this stone for so long.
You begin to question why you've been holding on to this heaviness for so long.
As you examine this rock in front of you,
Feeling peace,
You know that you have found this rock as an option to let it go.
That this rock will no longer trouble you.
As you feel a gentle breeze roll by,
You see the stone decrease in size and it becomes smaller and smaller until it's just a pebble that you can throw into the beach,
Into the sand.
And it erodes away with the water gently rolling in and out.
You feel another sense of relief take over as you know that this worry is now completely dissolved.
The sea air fills your lungs.
You can still hear the birds singing.
From the mountains and you listen to that and the waves and the breeze.
Give yourself full permission to embrace the calm feeling of this place and the inner tranquility has allowed you to experience.
Know that this place is always here for you,
Waiting for you to return anytime you wish.
This calming place has been created from the power of your mind and the power can be used to release any stress that you may be carrying.
So enjoy this moment of total serenity.
As you continue to take some gentle deep breaths in and out.
Embracing the beauty of your surroundings as they continue to make you feel more and more at peace.
And as this practice comes to an end,
You may stay here for as long as you wish where you can slowly begin to come back to your body.
Wiggling your fingers and your toes.
Moving your head side to side.
And when you're ready,
Opening your eyes.
