The secret cove.
This is a mindfulness relaxation story.
First get comfortable before we start the story.
Begin to relax by taking a comfortable position and gently closing your eyes.
Lying down on your back comfortably and warm.
If it's the end of the day,
Lying in your bed,
You can feel the nice and soft pillow supporting your head.
Let's take a couple of deep slow breaths and let the out breaths be real letting go kind of breaths.
You are beginning to release any tension or discomfort in your body.
Noticing your whole body and your breath.
Your breath will be your anchor throughout this coming story.
As you focus your attention on each part of your body now,
You can invite it to release and relax any tension that may be there.
And then merrily allow it to release in its own way.
Noticing your toes and feet caressed by the bedsheet or blanket.
And feeling how relaxed your legs feel.
Feel the contact of your buttocks,
Back and shoulders against the surface.
And your arms and hands resting by your sides perfectly.
Take a moment to notice how your chest and belly move with your breathing slowly and easily.
Notice the whole duration of your in-breath and your out-breath.
Long and slowly breathing out.
And now let's start the story.
Anna wakes up and thinks that she would like to go and explore the island today.
She loves this island she works on because it's lush,
Green and warm.
It's just the right temperature for her.
And the people here are very friendly,
Welcoming and always have a smile on their faces.
It puts a smile on her face just thinking of them now.
As she is lying in bed,
She's breathing slowly and gently from her belly.
She's feeling so comfortable in her bed.
The back of her head is resting on a soft pillow and she feels how this softness is spreading all over her face and neck.
She takes another deep breath before she's ready to get up.
She feels at ease,
Calm and relaxed,
Yet fully alive and ready for the day.
She gets up,
Draws the curtains and is in awe as she sees the sun rising on the horizon.
The whole sky seems to be on fire and there's just a few clouds and these clouds seem to burn bright in tones of orange,
Red and yellow.
She notices how one of the clouds looks like an eagle with his wings spread wide and majestically.
Anna raises her arms and has a good stretch.
She spreads out her arms nice and wide,
Just like the cloud eagle does in the sky.
As she stands there another moment to enjoy this morning glory,
She feels her feet firmly on the ground and the firmness and support of the ground below her.
She feels at peace with in and without.
She can feel how this will be a wonderful day.
She fetches her towel and walks slowly to her bathroom to have a shower.
She can hear the birds inviting the day with their beautiful songs outside of the bathroom window.
She takes a quick shower and after she got dressed she notices how she's not hungry yet and packs herself a quick sandwich and takes a water bottle too.
Now she's ready to go and explore.
She walks outside,
Opens the garage and jumps on her bicycle.
She decides to head to the south shore of the island to one of the beautiful sandy beaches.
Anna feels the caress of the warm breeze on her face as she cycles a little faster now.
She cycles past some locals working in the fields and waves to them.
They wave back with a big friendly smile on their faces.
She keeps on looking for the beach that she would like to head to today.
Then she finally sees the sign for the beach.
She gets off the bike and leans it against the palm tree.
She can see the beach below and it looks so inviting.
Anna stands a moment to take in the beautiful view of this lush greenery between her and the beach and takes a deep breath.
And then she grasps the wooden handrail and starts descending the sturdy handmade wooden steps off the stairs.
As she takes the steps she can feel herself becoming more relaxed and even more at peace.
Her breathing is becoming slower and more relaxed with each step that she takes.
When she reaches the beach at the bottom of the stairs she takes off her shoes to leave them there.
The sand feels warm beneath her bare feet.
She sinks into it and it feels so good as her toes curl into the grains of white sand.
She starts walking towards the water's edge and feels the sun shining on her face.
She walks along the water's edge and feels so relaxed and safe.
She can hear the surf pounding against some rocks somewhere off in the distance.
On one side of her the waves rush in and little bubbly foam plays with her bare toes before rushing back to sea.
A seagull flies above Anna and calls.
She follows it with her eyes as it whirls and swoops in the air over the ocean.
It knows how to fly perfectly on the gentle breeze.
She looks around and can see a cluster of moss covered rocks at the end of the beach and decides to explore these rocks.
When she gets to the big rocks she sees a narrow path between them.
She's curious where this path will lead to and follows the path which ends in a small quiet cove.
She looks around.
The cove is shaped like a horseshoe.
She can still see the ocean,
Dappled with sunshine and small white crests.
There is a ship passing in the distance.
The sky is colored with the brightest blue and she notices that there are no more clouds in the sky now.
She breezes in deeply through her nose the moist salt air and smells the ocean's fragrance.
There's nobody else on the beach and Anna sees an inviting spot to sit down in her own private cove.
She's feeling very safe and so much at peace here.
Just listening to the ocean in the background.
She feels herself becoming wonderfully relaxed in this secret place.
She closes her eyes and only pays attention to her breath for a moment.
Breathing in deeply and out fully.
Only following her breathing as she breezes in and out.
She completely forgets about time and it's her stomach that reminds her after a while that she hasn't eaten yet.
She unpacks her sandwich and savors every single bite of it.
Followed by some cool water out of her bottle.
Everything seems to taste so much better here in the fresh air.
She sits there for another little while enjoying her own secluded beach.
The sun is starting to sink lower towards the horizon now and it is time for her to return home.
She gets up slowly and leaves the cove through the narrow paths between the rocks.
As she walks along the shoreline she can see some seaweed that's washed ashore and some white beautiful shells in the sand.
She can feel the sand has cooled down now.
It feels very soft and cool beneath her feet.
She finds her shoes and takes a seat on the bottom step to brush off the sand of her feet and puts on her shoes.
She stands on the bottom step and closes her eyes one more time to take in a deep breath of fresh sea air.
She feels very grateful and quietly thanks the ocean and the beach for this perfect day.
She walks back up the stairs slowly taking one step at a time.
And she knows that in the future when she begins to feel tired or challenge beyond her capacity she can call back to mind this wonderful experience of the healing beach and cove to relax her.
