This meditation is based on the practice of Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing.
It's designed to be practiced outdoors in a natural setting like the bushland or a parkland or even your backyard.
If none of these are available to you however you can always sit inside near a window with the window open or closed and just look out at the plants or your backyard or sit with a pot plant or a bunch of flowers.
In the meditation you'll be offered a series of three invitations which you're invited to connect with in a way that feels right for you.
So let's get started.
Come into a comfortable position either sitting or standing and taking a moment to connect with your breath.
Taking a couple of full deep breaths in through the nose all the way down to the bottom of your belly and sighing out through the mouth.
On your next breath in breathing down all the way to the soles of your feet and taking a few moments to feel that connection of your feet with the earth below.
You might rock gently back and forth and feeling into the micro movements of your feet on the earth as you balance and as gravity holds you down and the earth supports you from below.
Bringing your awareness now to where your gaze falls and taking a few moments to slowly look around you and checking in with the environment that you're placed in today.
You might allow your gaze to fall on one thing and then another and then bringing your gaze to a fixed point in front of you and from there drawing your awareness to the sounds that are moving through the landscape around you.
Allowing these sounds to meet your ears to appear and disappear.
And in your next inhalation you might notice if there are any fragrances in the air around you.
It's taking a few moments to tune in and see what you might be able to smell in this space.
When you're ready drawing your awareness to the crown of your head you might feel a gentle lift as the crown reaches up to the sky above and from here just allowing a sense of softening to flow down over your scalp and the back of your head.
Softening through the brow and the temples and softening through the cheeks.
Softening the tongue from root to tip and consciously releasing any holding in the jaw and inviting that sense of softening down through the chin,
Throat and neck.
Allowing it to flow across the shoulders and down into the arms and down into the wrists,
The hands and each of the fingers one by one.
Inviting that sense of softening down to the chest and the belly.
Expanding through the hips and pelvis,
Throughout the shoulder blades,
The back,
The whole spinal cord and down into your glutes.
Softening through the trunk of the body and down into the legs,
Down through the thighs and the knees.
Softening through the shins and the calves,
Into the ankles and softening through the tops of the feet and then softening the feet into the earth below.
Feeling into this connection of the feet on the earth,
Your first invitation for the next little while.
Walk slowly and mindfully around the place you're in,
Observing the different shades of green and letting go of that focus on the color green.
Coming back to stillness,
Taking a moment here to rest and your next invitation is to pass your gaze around your landscape and find a tree that catches your gaze and walking slowly to it,
Observe the textures of the bark for the next little while and if you feel cold you might like to allow your hands to touch the bark and feel the textures beneath your fingers.
Letting go now of that focus on the bark of your tree and coming to find a place to sit or stand in stillness and silence for a little while and engage with your third invitation to gaze up at the sky and open your heart to the expanse of the universe and slowly drawing your awareness back down from the universe above and around you and turning your attention gently inwards,
Breathing into your body into your body gently,
Just giving yourself a little time to integrate and reflect and when you're ready bringing some gentle movement into your body,
Moving in whatever way feels right for you,
Taking a few full deep breaths in and out,
Noticing again the fragrances and the sounds floating around you and then you might like to place one hand on your heart space and one hand in connection with the earth and just take a few moments to offer gratitude to the earth for holding you in your practice.
