Forest Visualisation Meditation With Mindfulness

Drop into stillness and presence with Visualisation and Mindfulness. The journey begins by bringing awareness to the breath. We then engage the body's relaxation response by lengthening our exhale. We enter the mind and the forest with a visualization exercise, expanding our awareness into body sensations and extending even further into sounds. We finally rest in open awareness as the body relaxes and finds its equilibrium.

Transcript

Welcome to this forest meditation where visualization meets mindfulness.

We'll begin today's meditation by bringing awareness to the breath.

We'll then slow the body down by slowing down our out-breath.

We'll move into the mind and into the forest for a visualization exercise.

We'll then expand our awareness out into the body and finally we'll expand even further into the realm of sound.

Let's start by finding a comfortable position.

I invite you to keep the body still during this meditation.

Often the stiller we are the more connected with our five senses we become.

However it's absolutely fine to move at any time during this meditation.

Comfort and peace are more important than perfect stillness.

I invite you now to close your eyes if that's comfortable for you.

Eyes closed will make it easier for you to visualize or you're welcome to leave the eyes open.

If you are going to keep the eyes open just have a soft focus and remember if the eyes are closed,

If thoughts or emotions or sensations become too uncomfortable for you,

You're welcome to softly open the eyes until you feel more relaxed.

Each time we get distracted with thoughts of the past or the future,

Which we will over and over,

We gently bring our awareness back to the meditation and we patiently pick up where we left off.

Let's just have a quick check in with what's going on in the mind and the body and in particular noticing whether or not we're here,

Whether or not we're present.

Are we focused on today's practice or have we got other things running around our mind?

Stresses of the day or worries about the week perhaps.

Not that it matters but we do want to be aware of where our mind is.

If we're feeling calm and present we bring awareness to our calmness.

If our mind is somewhere else we bring awareness to the fact that our mind is elsewhere.

It can help to set an intention to drop everything for the next few minutes and simply be present.

I invite you now to join me,

Becoming aware of the breath.

Noticing your inhale and noticing your exhale.

Without trying to change anything about the breath,

We're simply noticing how the body's naturally breathing.

The body knows what to do and we might find that there's an urge to direct the breath,

To control the breath in some way.

So without trying to change anything,

Simply noticing how the body's breathing.

Is it a slow breath or a rapid breath?

Is it a deep breath or is it a shallow breath?

Are we breathing into the chest or into the stomach or is our inhale longer than our exhale or is our exhale longer than our inhale?

We're just noticing.

Noticing that we don't have to do anything or make any effort to breathe.

The body knows exactly what to do.

So just pause for a moment and notice that the body can breathe by itself without any effort from you.

And we're not so much watching the breath,

We're experiencing the breath,

We're feeling the breath.

So what does it feel like to breathe?

Perhaps we can feel the cool air coming in through the nostrils as we breathe in,

As the lungs and the chest and the stomach expand.

And then we might notice a short pause as the breath changes direction and then we might notice the warm air leaving the nostrils as we breathe out,

As the body softens and relaxes and sinks deeper into the chair.

We breathe in and the body expands and we breathe out as the body softens and relaxes,

Sinks deeper.

Now I invite you to lengthen your exhalation and making sure that your exhalation is about twice as long as your inhalation.

Increasing the length of the exhale helps to engage the relaxation response and a good way of doing this is to do a little count and making sure that our exhale is twice as long as our inhale.

So for instance if I was to do it I'd be breathing in,

Two,

Three,

Breathing out,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Breathing in,

Two,

Three,

Breathing out,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

It's up to you what you count to,

So you can breathe in for two and breathe out for four and no need to be precise,

Just making sure that the out breath is about twice as long as the in breath.

So let me be quiet for a few moments so that you can do this by yourself.

Making sure that we're keeping the body relaxed as we breathe.

Sometimes when we take deep breaths we can actually cause tension and stress in the body,

Especially when we're breathing in and we can't be stressed and relaxed at the same time.

So if we find tension in the body on the in breath then perhaps try not breathing so deeply,

Maybe pulling back the breath by 10 or 20%.

Keeping the body relaxed as we breathe in and as we slowly exhale we're checking to see that the forehead is relaxed,

The jaw,

Neck and the shoulders,

Is the stomach relaxed.

Now as we begin our journey into the forest we have a choice,

We can allow our breathing to return to its natural rhythm or if we like we can continue to do our slow exhalations,

It's your choice.

Now imagine you're sat against a huge tree in a beautiful peaceful secluded forest.

It's a bright sunny spring morning and you can feel the sun on your face,

You enjoy the warmth.

What can you see around you?

Perhaps there are fauna leaves or twigs on the floor,

Maybe you can see some wildlife,

There might be flowers,

Perhaps logs covered in moss.

The cloud slowly moves through the sky and covers the sun.

You enjoy the coolness for that moment knowing that the sun will be back soon.

The tree feels welcoming and the trunk of the tree is shaped perfectly to fit your body.

It fits so perfectly that the tree feels soft against your back and against the back of your legs allowing you to relax,

Allowing you to let go of any tension.

As you look around at this beautiful forest you notice where your feet are making contact with the forest floor.

You notice the gravity pulling you down into your seat,

Noticing where your back is making contact with the tree.

What sensations can you feel in and around the body?

Perhaps you can feel the breeze against your face,

Perhaps you can feel the weight of your body against the tree or against the forest floor.

Perhaps you can feel the touch of fabric of your clothes against your skin.

We don't have to go searching out sensations,

We simply notice them when they appear.

Perhaps there are subtle sensations like tingling or pulsing or coolness.

There may be more uncomfortable sensations like pain or tension or itching.

We're simply staying curious and open to whatever is happening right now.

Each time a sensation arises making a conscious effort to observe it,

Taking a moment to hold it in our awareness with interest,

Being curious about exactly what this sensation feels like.

We're noticing the soft sensations,

The subtle sensations or even noticing no sensation.

What does no sensation feel like?

Noticing if a particular sensation triggers an emotional response within us,

Are we able to view the sensation and the emotional response calmly without identifying with them?

Are we adding our own stories or our own commentaries to our sensations?

Noticing that we often have opinions about sensations,

We find some sensations pleasant and others unpleasant.

Other sensations we may find neutral,

So just noticing this difference of opinion.

It doesn't matter what the exact sensation is,

There's no need to label the sensations or question why they're there.

It's the awareness of the sensations that's important.

It might be challenging at first not to have an opinion about a sensation because we're so used to labeling and judging things as good or bad,

Right or wrong,

Pleasant or unpleasant.

So it takes time to coax the mind out of this habit,

But it's a skill that we can build with practice.

We're using a beginner's mind with sensations.

We're feeling the sensations as if we're feeling them for the very first time.

Noticing that all sensations are merely passing events,

They arise in our environment,

They arise in our bodies,

They stay a while and then they change or they leave.

Noticing that we often have a choice whether to engage with a sensation.

It's likely that whenever you hear my voice I'll be interrupting a train of thought.

This is perfectly normal.

Whenever you notice that your mind is elsewhere,

Gently but firmly bring your awareness back to the body and continue to notice the sensations in the body.

Allowing our attention to shift now from sensations and moving our attention to our sense of hearing.

What sounds can you hear around you?

Perhaps you can hear the sound of the birds singing or the leaves of the trees as they rustle in the wind.

Perhaps there's a faint sound of a stream in the distance.

We're not seeking out sounds but rather opening our senses to receive whatever's there.

Noticing as well how our awareness can receive sounds without any effort.

Each time a sound arises we're making a conscious effort to observe it.

We're taking a moment to hold it in our awareness with interest,

Being curious about the sound.

Listening for the soft sounds,

The subtle sounds,

The silence between the sounds or even listening for the silence.

If there is no sound what does silence sound like?

Is the pitch of the sound high or low?

Is there a rhythm to the sound?

Notice that you have no control over the sound.

You don't know what you'll hear next.

It's the same with sensations in the body.

We're noticing that all sounds are merely passing events much like thoughts.

They pop into our awareness,

They stay a while and then they leave.

Becoming aware that much like the breath sounds have a beginning,

A middle and an end.

Noticing if a particular sound triggers an emotional response within us,

Are we able to view that sound and that emotional response calmly without identifying with them?

Are we adding our own stories or commentaries to the sounds around us?

Noticing that we often have opinions about sounds.

We find some sounds pleasant and others unpleasant.

Other sounds we might find neutral.

So just noticing this.

It doesn't matter what the exact sound is.

There's no need to label the sound or question why it's there.

It's the awareness of the sound that's important.

We're using a beginner's mind with sound.

We're listening to the sounds that we hear around us as if we're hearing them for the very first time.

Listening without judgment.

And the mind will get distracted.

It's what the mind does and when it does get carried away on a train of thought,

Thinking about the day,

Planning the week ahead,

We gently and quietly come back to the awareness of sounds.

Without giving ourselves a hard time,

We patiently come back to the soundscape and we just pick up where we left off.

And for the remainder of your forest experience,

I invite you now to allow your awareness to move wherever it wants to move.

You might find that your awareness is drawn to sensations like the touch of the air against your cheeks.

You might find that you're drawn to sounds like the singing of the birds.

You might find that you're drawn to the breath.

You might find that you're drawn to images of the forest inside your mind.

Or you might find that your awareness is drawn to all the senses at the same time,

Enjoying the experience of everything that's happening in this moment all at once.

Or your awareness might naturally drift from one sense to another.

From the weight of your back against the tree to the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind,

To the gentle inhale and the gentle exhale.

There's no right way,

There's no wrong way.

We're following our awareness patiently and with curiosity.

We're simply experiencing whatever the forest is offering us in this present moment without judgment,

Without striving.

We're feeling a deep connection with everything that we can sense around us.

With each out-breath the body becomes more and more relaxed and thoughts might become quieter or they might even begin to drop away into the background.

Let's take a few moments to enjoy this sense of peace and relaxation.

And as we come to the end of this meditation,

After a couple of breaths we can leave the forest and choosing to bring our attention now back to the room.

Bringing awareness to the body,

Feeling the body connected to the chair and taking a moment to notice how the body's feeling right now and how's the mind feeling.

Do they feel different in any way?

We're just noticing.

Keeping our eyes closed we're bringing our attention now to sounds inside the room and sounds outside the room.

We can gently wiggle our fingers and toes and when you're ready slowly opening the eyes in your own time.

Having a little stretch if you need to and congratulating yourself for having taken time out to look after your body and look after your mind.

And hopefully you're feeling a little bit more relaxed and a little bit more focused and remember you can bring this state of relaxed focus into the next few minutes or even hours of your day.

And whenever you're ready you can crack open the eyes and come back to the room.

Meditation is now complete.

Reviews

Fabulous
Thank you 🙏
Have a Wonderful Day. ✨ 🌟

Another amazing Meditation with sounds and being mindful !

Calming, love the sounds of nature, very smooth and soothing voice ❤️🙏🪷

It was an amazing experience for me, thank you 🙏🏼💜 I felt all my senses and saw myself in the forest of Belize 🥰

That was super good! I only had a short time to sit...perfect. lovely visualizations and sounds. Gentle instruction. Thank you. ☮️💖🙏🖖🪷🕉

The visualization was wonderful, I also like to use a high mountain meadow, high above timberline in the mountains of Sangre de Christo range on a warm day, with snowfields mountain peaks, small creeks, and stunted trees, a very serene and tranquil environment.

Very pleasant, peaceful and relaxing interlude thank you 😊

A perfect session to use in my meditation escape time

I connected & visualized on suvh a beautiful level that my leg may have fallen asleep! Thank you! 💖

Wonderful, felt so deeply relaxed. Thank you, 🙏🏼 🧡

I really enjoyed that visualization in the forest. Thank you!

That was absolutely gorgeous. Transported to the forest and gently tuned in and up. Relaxed and feeling deep peace and presence. Thank you!

I have a forest as a backyard - this meditation soothed me (mentally and nervous-system) the same way I am soothed by the acrual forest. Thank you so much for creating this resource.

That was excellent. Feel centered and more at peace. Thank you, bookmarked 🙏🏾

So beautifully soothing. I’m blessed to live among such amazing trees here in the Pacific Northwest so the visualization was like breathing in ‘home’. Many blessings to you!🙏💙

Thank you.
I found your voice very soothing to listen to.

Thank you. Very scattered today and while my mind wandered all over my life in thoughts, you brought me back often. Gently and without scalding me which I really needed.

Reminded me of how much I do like to be in the forest. Thank you for this!

Thankyou 🥀👌

Amazing 💜