Basic Open Air Meditation

Basic open air meditation for meditating in nature. By nature meditation teacher Sille Lundquist and Being Human.

Also see the group 'Open Air Morning Meditation' here on Insight Timer

Transcript

Being outside in the open air,

Finding a comfortable position to sit in.

And just give yourself the time to adjust your position so you sit as comfortably as possible for the next 30 minutes.

Noticing where you are sitting and what is around you.

And gently closing your eyes and turn your attention inwards.

Feeling the sensations of the ground beneath you.

The body resting on the ground.

The feet,

Legs,

Bum being carried by the ground.

Feeling how the ground is holding you.

And how your every out breath can let go into the ground.

So using every out breath to land where you are right now.

Using every out breath to soften the muscles that you don't need to tend right now.

Using every out breath to get a little bit heavier.

Rest a little bit more on the ground.

To allow yourself to be carried by the ground right now.

And then with the in breath,

Noticing how the energy enters the body,

How the oxygen,

The fresh air enters the body.

How you with the in breath might straighten your spine a little bit.

Open your lungs a little bit.

And how you with the out breath land here,

Soften the muscles,

Soften the mind.

In this way you use the natural rhythm of the breath.

Use it to soften,

Use it to land and allow yourself to be exactly as you are right now.

And also use the natural rhythm of the breath to receive the energy,

The fresh air,

The wakefulness of this moment.

Are there any muscles you can relax on tense right now with the out breath?

And how easily can you receive the energy,

The fresh air and the in breath?

Basically just letting the body do its thing.

Breathe in the fresh air.

Breathe out the used air.

And from this position of the body sitting relaxed on the ground,

Soft muscles,

An open relaxed mind yet focused.

Gently turning your attention towards the sounds.

So you basically just open your ears and listen to the sounds of this moment.

Receiving the sounds that are close by.

Maybe the sounds from your own body.

Sounds from my voice.

Sounds from people around you or the tree you're sitting next to.

Receiving the sounds from further away.

From the park,

The city,

The nature around you.

Whatever sounds are where you are right now in this moment.

Curious about the sounds,

What sounds do you hear right now?

Noticing how sounds come and go.

How many sounds are there at the same time?

How one sound changes and becomes another sound?

How you can't hold on to a grasper sound?

Because it changes all the time.

Again and again returning your attention to the listening,

To the receiving of the sounds.

Maybe even the space in between the sounds,

The silence inside the sounds.

Space where all the sounds are,

Where they appear and disappear,

Intensify and fade out.

Can you listen to the sounds without judging them?

Kind of letting sounds be sounds,

Sound waves,

Part of the soundscape.

But without having them mean anything to you.

Basically having nothing to do with you except that you're listening to them.

The sounds just are,

Can you just let them be,

Let them do whatever they do and just listen to them?

Curious,

Close contact with the sounds without judging.

Also whenever you find your mind wandering,

Jumping away,

Running off with something exciting or interesting thoughts.

Just noticing and just gently returning to the sounds.

So again and again you train your ability to just listen,

To focus just on the sounds.

And letting the thoughts or the physical sensations in the body be in the background of your experience and the sounds in the foreground.

The sounds are the important thing right now.

This is where your attention is resting right now.

So really allowing yourself the simplicity of just listening to the sounds,

Receiving the sounds.

Noticing how some sounds are pleasant,

Delightful.

Sounds you want to listen to.

Sounds that have that kind of pull in them.

And how other sounds may be unpleasant.

Sounds you don't want to listen to.

Sounds you want to push away.

Sounds that are ugly or have stories with them that you don't like.

Just noticing how your attention is caught up in this pleasant,

Unpleasant towards the listening of the sounds.

And try if you again and again can open your mind.

Open your ears and just listen to the sounds as they are.

Without judging them.

Without wanting some to stay and others to go.

Just listening and let the sounds do their thing.

Knowing that they move,

Change,

Never stay the same.

Trying to listen to all the layers of sounds.

How many sounds at the same time?

How many sounds that come and go?

A symphony of sounds in this moment.

What do you hear right now?

And now?

If you feel your body is tensing up,

Concentrating a bit too hard on the sound.

Working too hard to listen.

Just trying to soften a bit with every out breath.

Soften the tensions.

And returning to listening with this open awareness.

Open attention towards the sounds.

Receiving the sounds,

Letting them come.

And letting them go.

The sound waves,

The soundscape,

The silence inside the sounds.

The movement of the sounds,

The light on graspable sounds.

Whenever you notice that your mind is caught up in a story or physical sensations in the body,

Emotions.

Just noticing it and gently returning to listening to the sounds.

Letting whatever captured your mind fade into the background.

Letting the sounds be in the foreground of your attention.

The sounds are what you're allowing yourself to listen to right now.

Don't need to do anything else.

Sounds that come and go.

Sounds of this moment,

This place.

Now gently letting the sounds fade into the background of your attention.

Turning your attention towards your skin and the physical sensations of sitting here in the open air.

What does the air feel like on your skin?

Just curious about these impressions of the air.

Is it warm,

Cold,

Playful,

Light,

Humid,

Freezing,

Pushing,

Windy?

How does the air feel in your skin right now?

Maybe the skin are the hands,

Arms,

Face,

Neck,

Hair,

Moving.

Really curious about these physical sensations of the open air.

The air touching the skin,

The wind touching the skin,

The temperature of the air.

Connectedness between the skin and the touch of the air.

The air touching the nose,

The air entering the nostrils,

The skin inside the nostrils.

Sensations when the air enters the nostrils.

Sensations when the air enters the lungs through the throat.

Where and how in the body do you sense the fresh air entering your body?

And how effortless can you receive this air?

Just letting the air become the breath and letting the breath become the air.

Letting go of the air that you don't need.

Let it blend in with the air around you,

Giving life to the trees and the plants.

Noticing how the air that touches your skin becomes your breath.

And how the breath becomes the air again.

And just feeling,

Receiving that natural healing rhythm of breathing in the fresh air.

Receiving the open air.

Showing yourself to just be and just breathe.

Sometimes all we need is the air that we breathe.

Now feeling how the air enters all the cells of the body when you breathe in,

The energy,

The oxygen,

Giving life.

And how when you breathe out,

Every cell relaxes and lets go of what is not needed anymore.

So the whole body sitting here breathing,

Receiving this fresh air.

And softening,

Letting go on the upright.

Just sensing into this natural rhythm and the simplicity of being human.

And gently opening your ears,

Receiving the sounds,

Opening your eyes,

Receiving the impressions from where you are sitting,

Just looking,

Receiving without reaching out.

Colors,

Shapes,

Movement,

Contrasts.

Gently start moving your hands,

Your feet,

Your neck,

Your back,

Your legs.

Knowing that you always during the day can tune into the sounds,

Tune into your breath.

Go outside and breathe some fresh air.

Reviews

Very nice… content, pacing and pausing, voice… guides and provides a wonderful opportunity to experience the Air element

Wonderful. Great voice, pace and cues. Simple connection to earth

Very grounding. A lovely practice. Thank you for uploading it ☺️🙏

Loved this. Thank you.

Peaceful and relaxing.... so beautifully simple. Wonderful for being outside. Listen to the sounds around you, feel the air around you and my favorite... sometimes all we need is the air that we breathe. Simple as that. Just breathe 🌳☺️🙏🏼

I really enjoyed this, used it while walking my dog on this warm, breezy day evening. It was lovely listening to the sounds of the city, especially.

Wonderfully here and now with nature... Thank you. Made my day!

I have completed this many times. This time I was kayaking. It was awesome!

Wonderful. Thank you

Always a nice one to do in backyard

Nice being outdoors

Lovely, I did this as a morning walking meditation and it was still such a lovely way to connect with myself and surroundings.
Namaste

So relaxing, this meditation kept me held in a softness. Even though I am not outdoors, I could feel the "groundedness" I feel in nature. I needed a deep, peaceful quiet time, and I got it in this restorative 30 minutes of Being Human. Thank you!

Very relaxing. Thank you.

Loved it. Did it inside but was still just fine. Many thanks for a lovely offering.

Wonderful, loved the focus on the sounds.

I started off with all sorts of judging thoughts - I didn't pick the right meditation. When I let go and allowed myself to be, it was exactly what I needed right now. With gratitude.

If your using Earbuds you will want leave one out.. I enjoyed this very much, soothing and grounding.

It was exactly what I needed, great for a walking meditation, too

Thank you for this refreshing meditation