Hi,
I'm Andrea.
Welcome to this relaxation.
I invite you to join me for a brief retreat,
Sensory holiday,
To the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland,
Australia.
Your brain won't register the difference between this guided visualization and actually being in it.
So enjoy as I lead you in it.
So take a moment to prepare for deep relaxation,
For this experience of enjoying the senses.
You can gently close your eyes,
Begin to focus on how the imagery and sensory feelings trigger very physical response.
Bring your awareness to the breath.
And you might imagine your breath like the swell deep in the ocean,
From deep within your belly,
The movement of the belly and the stomach and the chest and ribcage,
Swelling with each breath in and out,
Much like the middle of the ocean,
Rising and falling,
Deep within.
And as you breathe through your nose and out your mouth,
You might sense that part of the breath more like the waves coming to shore and retreating back out to sea.
Each wave in its own way,
The pattern of those waves of breath in and out.
Feeling the inhalation deep within.
Feel that exhalation.
And then just listening to the sounds you can hear or imagine hearing around you.
Sounds of the waves coming to shore.
Those crests of waves.
Noticing any sounds you might imagine hearing here.
Wildlife,
Birds,
Sounds of wind,
Breeze,
All around.
And then just bring to mind an image of this place.
Coastal,
Sunny,
Warm place.
And even if the visual isn't clear,
Just bring a sense of that environment to yourself,
To the body.
Notice the sense of being on the warm sunshine coast,
Beautiful beach,
Rainforest,
The turquoise water of the ocean,
The white surf.
This gorgeous holiday for yourself right now.
Notice it inside you,
In the body,
The senses that it brings.
Any thoughts or feelings that come up with the sense of this place.
And then just notice the light,
What time of the year it seems to be,
What time of the day,
What kind of a day it is,
The warmth of the day,
Sensation of touch,
The warmth of the sun on your skin,
The gentle breeze bringing a cool refreshment as you rest and relax.
Noticing the movement or the stillness around you.
And then bringing your awareness to your sense of smell.
Noticing any aromas or odors in the air,
Saltiness from the beach,
The water,
The sweet floral scent of the tropical flowers and the luscious green tropical plants all around.
Noticing all of these senses coming together,
Bringing to the body whatever it needs.
And for a moment,
Just zoom out to the macro environment.
Imagine you're a bird in flight over the ocean,
Taking in this whole area.
Imagine what you see from afar in a very large scale.
Just the contrast in the colors from the earth to the sea and the sky and the light and the trees and the colors popping from the flowers.
Just notice everything on a large scale for a moment.
Appreciate zooming out,
Taking it all in.
And then just little by little,
Bringing it back into the finer details of things right around you,
Where you're sitting,
Where you are.
Just noticing sounds again,
What you see right there,
The details of things that you see and hear.
The touch,
Textures from the dirt,
Sand,
Rocks,
Shells,
To the leaves of the plants and the trees.
You might even notice the little details of each type of plant in each type of leaf and the veins going through the leaves,
The shape of the leaves,
The textures,
Smooth,
Rough,
The bark of the trees.
All those little fine details around you.
How they look against the blue sky,
Patterns of the clouds.
Just being in awe of nature,
Beauty.
Notice yourself in this natural space.
Any feelings,
Emotions,
Or memories that come forth.
Anything that you associate with this special place,
Sunshine Coast.
Maybe it's a sense of ease,
Being carefree,
Or having a moment of relaxation or restoration,
Or something else.
Just soak up whatever feels good.
And notice how this feels in the body.
You might even imagine looking at yourself from the outside and noticing the energy through the body.
Sparkling sense of whatever it is.
What do you notice?
And beginning to integrate this back into our day,
The present moment.
We'll begin to let the imagery fade back to where it's come from.
Begin to focus on coming back to the present space that you're in.
Just reflecting on what you might want to bring back from this experience.
Perhaps it's a sense in the body.
Perhaps it's thoughts in the mind,
Or your focus and attention that you were able to achieve in this short journey.
And just begin to notice the environment around you again.
Breathing in,
Opening the eyes when you're ready.
Noticing yourself in the space.
Noticing the return to your day.
And making the most out of the rest of your day.
