Short Meditation For Outdoors

An invitation for a short pause when outdoors. Whether in a park, garden or elsewhere, we can practice bringing out attention to the here and now through our senses.
Taking just 5 minutes in your day can help build a regular practice.

In all her meditations, Vicky offers a gentle nudge towards presence, right now.

Transcript

This is a short guided meditation that you may wish to do outside.

Just finding a comfortable place to stand or to sit.

Just taking a moment to listen to the sounds around you.

Perhaps you hear some traffic or some birds.

Perhaps people are talking nearby.

Dogs barking.

Just noticing how the sounds change moment to moment.

Disappearing,

Getting louder or quieter.

Then taking your attention to noticing any light that's resting on your face.

Just perhaps it's sunny,

Perhaps it's quite dull.

And perhaps you can start to notice the temperature of the air on your skin,

Your face or your hands.

Noticing if the air feels warm or cool,

If it's quite gentle and subtle.

Perhaps you notice the dampness or moisture or perhaps even rain on your skin.

Then taking your attention down to your feet.

Noticing the contact that your feet have with the ground below.

Perhaps you become aware of the surface that you're standing on,

How that feels.

If it's smooth or perhaps pebbly or rocky.

Perhaps you're standing on soil.

Sensing into how this feels underneath your feet.

Noticing how the body is being supported by the ground underneath.

Perhaps you can let the body sink in to receive this support a little bit.

Perhaps the shoulders can drop a little.

And just expanding the awareness to the whole body sitting or standing outside right now.

Noticing the senses that are in play.

What you can feel and hear.

What you can see and smell.

And then purposely taking in a full deep breath to feel the air enter through the nostrils into the body.

Noticing the expansion in your chest as it fills with the air from outside.

And as you release the breath,

Just bringing your practice to a close.