Hello and welcome to this guided visualization.
We will take a journey into the woods to find a place of peace and calm.
Let's get started.
You may lie down or sit for this practice,
Whatever works best for you.
Make sure you are comfortable,
Perhaps grabbing a blanket.
If you are lying down,
Try to stretch out so your back is straight and your arms and legs fall to the side in a relaxed pose.
If you are sitting,
Rock side to side and front to back until you find the position where your back can be upright without straining.
Take some time to settle in.
As you get settled in,
Take a few slow breaths.
Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Again,
Breathe in and out.
In and out.
Starting from the top of your head,
Notice any sensations in your scalp.
You may feel tingling or warmth or air passing by.
Simply notice anything that arises.
Then let go of any tension you feel in this area and relax your scalp.
Move your attention to your face,
Including your forehead,
Eyes,
Cheeks,
And jaw.
Notice any sensations here,
Both at the surface of your skin and in your muscles.
Let go of any tension here and relax.
Move your attention to your neck and any sensations you may be experiencing here.
Feel sensations on the skin and within your neck.
Feel your breath within your throat.
Let go of any tension here and relax your neck.
Next,
Move your attention to your shoulders and upper back.
Notice any sensations here,
Especially taking note of any stress you may be carrying in this part of your body.
Now release any tension here and relax your shoulders and upper back.
Move your attention to your arms.
Feel the skin and any sensations within the arms.
Let go of any tension here and relax your arms.
Move your attention to your hands,
Both the fingers and the palms.
Feel the skin and any sensations within the hands.
Relax your hands.
Move your attention to your chest.
Start by feeling the exterior of your chest,
Any clothing touching your skin or air moving across it.
Slowly move your focus to the interior,
The organs and muscles moving and contracting.
Relax your chest inside and out.
Move your attention to your belly,
The skin and the organs and the muscles.
Relax your belly inside and out.
Move your attention to your thighs.
Feel the skin and the muscle and the bone within your thighs.
Relax your thighs.
Move your attention to your calves.
Feel the skin and muscle of your calves.
Relax your calves.
Bring your attention to your feet,
Ankles and toes.
Feel the soles of your feet.
Notice any sensations that arise in your feet.
Relax your feet.
Scan your whole body and explore any sensations that arise.
Let any remaining tension go,
Knowing you are supported by the earth underneath you.
Feel how relaxed and still you are.
Allow yourself to sink deeper and deeper.
Begin to picture yourself lying still on the forest floor.
Beneath you is a bed of soft mosses and fallen leaves.
The air smells wet and like soil and mycelium.
Forests are singing in the trees above you and the sun is shining down through the leaves.
Take a moment to explore this beautiful calm scene.
Feel the warm sun shining down through the leaves.
Feel the warm sun shining down through the trees.
Allow your sense of self to blend into this forest scene,
Letting the boundaries between you and the forest dissolve away.
Know that you are safe as you become the forest and you can come back to your sense of self at any time.
Feel the warm sun shining down through the leaves.
Let your awareness expand through the soil,
Into the trees,
The small understory plants,
The creatures that live in this forest.
Feel the warm sun shining down through the leaves.
The forest sways as you breathe and as you breathe the forest sways.
There is no separation.
Your body is the soil,
The trees,
The plants.
You are the whole forest all at once.
What is it like to be the land,
The leaf litter and the trees?
What do you feel with your new senses?
What is it like to be the land,
The leaf litter and the trees?
What is it like to be the land,
The leaf litter and the trees?
What is it like to be the land,
The leaf litter and the trees?
What is it like to be the land,
The leaf litter and the trees?
What is it like to be the land,
The leaf litter and the trees?
What is it like to be the land,
The leaf litter and the trees?
Let yourself experience this expanded awareness.
Let yourself experience this expanded awareness.
Let yourself experience this expanded awareness.
Let yourself experience this expanded awareness.
Let yourself experience this expanded awareness.
Soon,
You will return to your body.
Take in the insights of this forest and bring them back.
As you slowly start to take a deep breath in and slowly breathe out,
Begin to wiggle the toes and the fingers.
Become aware of the ground beneath you.
Take one more deep breath in and out.
When you are ready,
Open your eyes.
Thank you for joining me on this journey today.
