Tree Meditation

A moving meditation that guides you towards a specific tree along one's path. Once you've reached the tree, the meditation further guides a practice of connection and relationship between one's body, divine or spirit or nature, and the tree.

Transcript

Greetings everyone.

This is going to be a 10 to 15 minute just guided meditation.

So I invite you to be outside moving your body in an unhurried way.

Consider protecting 10 to 15 minutes to your already existing walking commute or even journey into the office or into your home or just outside of anywhere that you frequent.

Wherever this finds you,

Just protect 15 minutes to be unhurried,

To be patient,

To be open.

You might consider protecting an hour or more and to use this meditation to just bring you into a place of presence and connection.

I'm going to be inviting you to be connecting with a tree specifically or any number of trees.

So be mindful of finding a park or you might just connect to a tree in your yard or next to a sidewalk or on a property that's nearby.

So wherever you are as you're listening,

Consider finding a place to stand.

If you can,

Do this outside under our true ceiling,

Perhaps under trees or a tree.

This doesn't need to be the tree that we spend some intentional time with,

But it's okay if it is.

So just just stand and notice.

Just stand and notice your body.

You might close your eyes at this point.

Just be really attentive to your breathing.

Breathing all the way in and all the way out.

Breathing all the way in,

Filling up all of the branches inside of our lungs with oxygen and the gift from the branches of the trees that surround us,

That we invite the branches on the inside to be filled by the branches on the outside.

And in doing so,

We fill with our exhale the branches of the trees around us.

So just be in this breathing for a minute.

All the way in and all the way out.

Just allowing whatever noises are around you to be.

You don't need to change them.

Allowing all that's moving within you,

Just just allowing it to be.

Not needing to fix anything,

Change anything.

That you're just noticing them and leaving them,

Noticing them,

Leaving them,

Noticing them,

Leaving them.

So as you continue connecting to your breathing and your body,

Notice your feet on the ground.

Feeling the earth underneath your feet.

Feeling the breeze and the air against your skin.

So when you're feeling ready,

Just continue your walk.

Just begin or continue moving.

You might hear wind in this audio.

It is a windy day here in Denver,

Colorado.

So if you need to turn the volume down.

So you might consider putting this on pause until you find a tree that you want to connect with more intentionally.

And you might just continue listening and just notice trees as I invite you to connect with the tree.

There's no rules here.

Just invitation to be more present.

To bring more intention into your steps and into your way of being as a human body moving on this planet.

So when you find a tree that is drawing you in,

Just slowly approach the tree.

You might place your hand on the trunk,

Noticing,

Noticing the story of your hand and the fingers,

The wrinkles and your knuckles,

The wrinkles in your skin,

The wounds on your skin that have healed,

The bruises,

The scabs,

The tension and the healing and the growth around your fingernails.

Being mindful of all the things your hands do in a day to support you,

To support themselves,

To communicate to the world,

To communicate to you the wonder of these hands,

The purpose of the thumb,

The purpose of each finger and the wonder of these ligaments and all the muscle and blood and oxygen and skin and the tendons that speak to each other to make one single move,

Single action,

Single activity.

And you notice the hand and how and how the skin and the wrinkles speak and communicate with the cuts and wrinkles and wounds of this tree as it grows,

Ring by ring,

A little bit wider,

A little bit fuller as time moves on,

As the roots go deeper and deeper into the soil over time.

Just notice,

Just notice the story of this tree,

The unique patterns of the bark.

Just move your eye down from where your hand is touching the tree and notice how the roots go into the soil.

What kind of nourishment does the tree need to survive,

To feel healthy,

To root even deeper into its purpose?

Where does it get its water?

Where does it get its sun?

And as you think and hold and honor the tree,

Be mindful of your own body and your own roots.

Where do you get your water?

Where do you and I get our sun?

What is nourishment in our life?

And what is making or getting in the way of our journey to feel nourished?

Another word I like to use is what is anti-nurturing in our life?

What is not helping us deepen and care for our roots?

What is getting in the way to help us mend and take care of our wounds?

Because we all have wounds,

All of us.

The human story,

The living story,

The breathing story.

Notice on your tree where there are wounds,

Where there have been cuts to branches,

Where there have been shifts because of wind,

Where there have been punches,

Gaps.

You might have to walk around the tree.

You might have to look up into the tree and just notice how it heals around wounds and how it adapts and how the bark and the story evolves and turns over time,

Tending,

Healing,

Moving forward,

Reaching for new places where they can draw more sun to go even deeper.

If it's comfortable for you,

You might consider leaning on the tree at this point.

So just putting a shoulder onto it or you might consider sitting down and resting against it so you can almost be hugged by its story,

By its life.

And as you lean on the tree,

Take time to follow your eyes all the way up to the branches,

To the arms,

To the ligaments,

To the fingers,

To the reaching,

Reaching,

Reaching story of this living being that reaches into the sun,

Into the sky,

Further and further.

But also noticing that the new branches reaching into the sky are also dependent on how the tree withstands everyday tension and wind,

The part of the tree that your back or shoulder is leaning on.

And notice how that whole story of the tension of the wind and reaching into what's possible is dependent also on nurtured roots,

Tending to roots,

To soil.

So just rest and breathe in these invitations.

We're not trying to fix anything in ourselves.

We're not trying to make anything happen.

We're just noticing.

We're noticing and we're inviting.

Just invite your heart and your body to open more to this tree.

If you've continued to just walk and notice trees,

You might move under the trees and as you move by them just kind of brush your hand against them,

Noticing them,

Honoring them.

And as you continue leaning on the tree,

Resting into the tree,

You might consider placing your hand on your heart,

Inviting self-compassion,

Inviting grace,

Inviting attention and tending to your own unique healing journey.

And just with a few really calm,

Deep breaths all the way in and all the way out,

Continue moving,

Maybe placing your hand on the root of the tree,

Kneeling,

Thanking the tree,

Thanking the earth,

Honoring the earth,

Connecting to our capacity to be humble and reverent to the natural world.

Moving,

Breathing,

Being.

So be blessed.

Thanks for moving alongside this invitation.

Just be blessed to be unhurried and attentive and present to the steps and movement ahead,

Wherever this meets you,

However this meets you.

If you haven't seen the ways of walking workshop invitations or the embodied proximity invitations on the Intrinsic Paths website,

Be encouraged to check those out for additional practices,

Invitations,

Guided meditations,

And more for how we can all imperfectly and humbly move into a more intentional relationship to the ways our bodies are made to move on this planet,

Right where we are as we are.

Peace.

Reviews

A keeper. Thank you for that beautiful memory. 🪾🌿🍃✨🌊

Love this tree meditation. I love walking and talking to the trees. I also love to hug them and ask them to share their energy with me.
Much love and gratitude to you for this lovely tree meditation . ❤️🙏🕊️

A forest bather’s delight.

So incredibly nurturing 💙 Thank you 🙏🏻

I really enjoy your walking meditations in the mornings and look forward to listening to more in the future!