Let's go to the French countryside today.
Get comfortable.
You can practice this meditation reclined or even in a seat.
Once you have found the right position for you,
Begin to close your eyes halfway or all the way.
Let's take a few deep breaths together.
Inhale in through the nose,
Pause at the top.
Exhale all the air out through the mouth.
Again,
Inhale in through the nose,
Hold at the top.
Exhale all the air out.
Once more,
Inhale,
Pause,
Exhale empty.
Now begin to soften your shoulders away from the ears.
Take a few swallows,
Maybe a yawn.
Allow the teeth to separate in the back of the jaw.
Allow the muscles of the face to soften and widen.
Draw your awareness to your brain.
Soften the front part of your brain.
Soften the back part of your brain.
Soften the whole brain.
We will use our imagination on this journey today.
Imagine you are in the French countryside.
It is late summer,
The terrain is hilly,
And the weather is pleasantly warm.
It's a particularly beautiful day outside where your walk begins.
You make your way down the main trail towards the village of Emet for market day.
Overhead the sky is dotted with white clouds with a backdrop of brilliant blue.
The sunshine beams down on you and warms your shoulders.
The clouds form into all sorts of shapes and drift on by.
And as the clouds come and go,
Your worries evaporate,
Your mind clears.
You pass by gardens and vines of fruit.
It smells delightful.
Notice the path that you are walking on.
With each step you take,
Notice how you feel more and more alive with a bounce in your step.
It's hard not to smile.
Everything feels effortless and invigorating.
Walking along the path,
Your tiredness starts to melt away.
And more and more you notice feeling renewed and revived with boundless energy.
Looking around,
Notice your surroundings.
The small chateaus are spaced out far from one another and are nestled off in the distance far from the path.
Every so often,
A person on a bicycle passes by and greets you with a pleasant,
Bonjour.
As you get closer to the market,
There is a steep downhill slope as if to encourage a faster arrival to the small village.
As you make your way into the market,
There becomes an aliveness in the square,
A pleasant buzzing of people,
The vendors,
The market goers.
Nearby you find a fruit stand with every kind of berry,
Pink,
Red,
Blue,
And black.
You buy some strawberries.
You hold a berry in your hand and notice the deep red taking in the beauty of this berry,
The delicate skin,
The even smaller seeds spotting the fruit,
And the petite shape of this berry smaller than most you've seen.
You take a bite and realize its flavor is bursting with aliveness,
With a sweetness with a touch of sour.
Somehow there's a hint of sunshine in its taste.
You leisurely walk around the market and see all the beauty and colors and offerings,
But you decide you don't need anything else,
So you start to head back towards home up the hill.
The buzzing sounds of the town become fainter in the distance as you take each step.
Every so often you grab a strawberry from your bag and nibble its fruity goodness.
Once again you notice your surroundings.
There are many types of trees,
All different shapes and sizes.
There's a rainbow of wildflowers alongside your path.
Notice the sounds that come and go.
Perhaps you hear the sound of a gentle breeze rustling through the leaves,
The songs of the birds.
The sunlight streams through beaming a golden light that dapples through the branches above,
Casting shadows here and there.
The air tingles and feels radiant,
And the fresh air renews your energy with each and every breath you take.
Take a few moments to continue down your path,
Walking along at a comfortable pace,
Following your curiosity and losing yourself in the sounds,
The smells,
And the colors all around you.
When you are ready,
Begin to blink your eyes open.
Take a deep breath,
Letting your breath bring you back into your body from wherever you drifted.
Slowly reawaken the body a bit more,
Maybe yawning,
Turning the head side to side,
Moving the fingers and toes around.
Thank you for taking time out of your day to share your practice.
Hopefully this opportunity to slow down can help to create a pause and a moment to relax throughout your day.
