Welcome to today's meditation.
My name is Jenna and I'll be guiding you through your meditation today.
Throughout our meditation I encourage you to really connect with your baby as you visualize your autumn nature walk.
Notice how your body is feeling right now.
Connect to your baby,
Perhaps placing your hands on your belly and your heart.
Are there any kicks or movement?
Or perhaps you begin to feel a little closer.
Noticing the whole body.
Pay attention.
Are there any areas of discomfort?
Draw attention to any of those areas and with the breath let the discomfort go.
A slow breath in and a relaxed slow breath out.
Start to make your own rhythm with the breath and lengthen the out breath to bring your body and mind to a state of calm.
Notice when your thoughts get distracted.
That's very normal.
Once you notice you're thinking of something else,
Tell yourself that's okay and let that thought drift away.
Come back to notice your breath or follow along with this meditation.
Now get yourself ready to be led through this visualization,
Allowing your mind to paint a picture as you listen.
Acknowledge that during pregnancy it's normal to have a mix of different feelings and emotions.
You have likely experienced different ups and downs along the way.
Your body and your baby are changing,
But going for a walk outside can feel very grounding.
As you follow along get ready to connect with nature,
Connect with your baby,
And some potential surprises along the way.
As you step onto the walking path,
The air is still,
The breeze is quiet,
Your mind is ready for a walk down the forest in the autumn.
It is a breezy but sunny autumn day.
You wear full-length pants and a thick sweater.
The shoes you are wearing are slightly worn but have good grip for your walk today.
Lots of trees surround you in the forest in several different colors.
Some red,
Some orange,
Some yellow,
And some green.
With every breeze that passes,
Some leaves slowly trickle down.
You take a breath in and smell the scent of drying autumn leaves.
A familiar and joyful scent.
You look to your right and see a squirrel run out to the outer part of a tree branch.
It looks down at you.
It has a bushy tail and pauses to look around.
As you look to the other side you notice a chickadee flies by.
You happen to bring some sunflower seeds with you and you're in luck.
You grab a few sunflower seeds from your pocket and hold them out on your hand,
Palm up waiting for the chickadee.
You are waiting,
Waiting,
About a minute or two and then the chickadee lands.
You feel some surprise and glee.
You haven't held one before.
It flies away but you keep your hand held out for another minute and it comes back for another seed.
That's probably all it will take for now so you walk on.
Walking at your own pace you hear the leaves trickling in between your feet.
After a few minutes you start to hear the sound of water.
You get to a small river with a park bench in front.
You sit down,
Place your hands around your baby and look out.
There's a few ducks there.
One duck dips his head under the water with its tail up in the air.
The others look curled up tight,
Their heads tucked in.
After a breeze the air starts to calm down.
The sun is shining brightly.
You start to feel the warmth as you soak up the sun.
You feel connected to the natural beauty in the day and to your baby.
You decide to close your eyes as you listen to the nature around you.
You start to hear the water running and a little rustling of leaves from the animals moving and a faint sound of wind blowing as leaves fall.
You end up drifting off for a light sleep with calm and slow breathing.
You hear a bird chirping and realize you've been sleeping.
It's time to go home.
You feel connected to nature,
Yourself,
And your baby.
You have gratitude for taking the time to step outside for a walk today.
You start to wiggle your fingers and your toes.
Take a deep breath in and out as you give your body a big hug.
Feeling the warmth of the day and the wonderful fall walk.
You stretch your arms up and gently open your eyes.
Your walk is done but feel free to stay in a comfortable position as long as you need to.
Get yourself up when you feel ready to carry on with your day.
