This is a walk in the woods to calm your mind.
Take a moment to find a comfortable seated position,
Or perhaps lying down wherever you're most comfortable today.
Taking this time to close your eyes.
Allow your whole body to become grounded here.
There is no rush.
If you are sitting,
Gently lengthening through the crown of the head to lengthen the spine.
Roll your shoulder blades up by your ears,
Gently tuck them down your back.
Let your eyelids relax.
Let your cheeks relax.
Your jaw relax.
Let your body feel the support of the ground beneath you.
Beneath your cushion,
Beneath the floor,
The earth is there to ground you.
Let's take a few deep breaths here.
A deep inhale.
A nice long exhale,
Sigh if you like.
Another inhale.
Another long exhale,
Let it all go.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Inhaling.
On your next exhale,
Begin to envision a forest in front of you.
After your exhale,
You can bring your breath back to a steady state.
Imagine the trees reaching towards the sky,
Tall and evergreen.
It has recently rained.
Looking down at the deep brown earth beneath your feet is fresh.
Can you smell the fresh soil?
A slight breeze may be in the air.
Feel its humid warmth upon your skin.
There is a path leading into the forest in front of you.
Begin to walk forwards.
Right under the canopy of the first trees,
You can smell their needles and their leaves,
Fresh after the recent rain.
As you walk deeper into the woods,
All is calm here.
Rays of sunlight reach from far above to the forest floor.
You stop to notice green ferns.
Cratching downward,
You take a long leaf between your fingers.
Running it from the stalked tip,
Small beads of water sparkle along the edges.
Rising again,
Return to the path.
It is so peaceful here,
Calm and quiet,
Other than the rustling of the leaves,
The sounds of the birds in the far distance,
And your feet on the earth.
You come up to a stump and decide to peer closer.
There is all kinds of small life here.
Lichen grows around the top.
Juicy looking mushrooms,
Orange,
Brown,
And white,
Seem simply at home here as they grow outwards from the bark.
There are seeds strewn around the outer circumference of the stump along the ground.
Perhaps a forest chipmunk or small bird spent its morning snack here.
Continuing to walk,
The bright light turns golden.
The afternoon is turning towards evening and the sky paints the whole forest in shades of peach and gold.
The sound of a small stream is faint in the distance.
In the heart of the woods,
Here,
Nature is holding space for you.
Take a deep breath in.
Taste the soil and sunlight.
All the life in the canopy above and the underbrush below teams on,
Exhaling,
You too are a part of this beautiful forest,
Of nature,
Of the golden light.
You find yourself at the river's edge.
Find a place to sit amongst the rocks,
Round and softened by thousands of years running water.
Deep green moss covers the rock next to you.
Run your fingertips gently along it.
It is soft,
Almost like fur.
You focus onto the gently running stream,
The light bounces off the small ripples and eddies all the way out of sight.
Small quartz rocks catch your eye underneath the clear water.
Reach towards one.
The water is crystal and cold.
As you pull your arm back,
Small beads drip back from your hand and forearm towards the forest floor.
You hold a quartz towards the sky.
The golden light reflects from it in every direction and for a moment,
You are so connected to this place.
The tree leaves gently sway above you.
The stream trickles beside you.
The soft river rocks support from beneath you.
So calm,
Yet so full of life and so full of love and you are too here.
Putting your hands to your heart,
You take another deep breath.
Allow your lungs to fill with all the life of the forest.
As you exhale,
Send everything else that no longer serves you down the stream.
And you may stay here as long as you'd like.
If you must return to the path,
The space will always be here for you to return to.
The small trickling stream and the warmth of the sunlight between the trees,
It will be here whenever you need.
