I have found a cozy place to lie down on the woodland floor.
So now it's time for you two to make your nest.
Get as comfortable as you can.
Possibly lying on your back.
Settling in.
Coming into your horizontal self.
Hmm.
.
.
Welcome to the forest.
I'm Kerry Mackay and I'm at Abernethy which is Caledonian pine forest in the north central part of Scotland.
You are welcome here just as you are.
There's nothing that you need to change Nowhere you need to be.
Nothing you need to do.
Let's start with some slow belly breaths.
So take a breath,
Let the belly softly inflate and then sigh out through the mouth.
Settling in,
Taking another couple of breaths into the belly.
Let the breath go low down into the body and then releasing the sigh nice and gentle.
The intention with this practice is to rest into the energy of the forest and allow it to soothe and nurture you.
Begin to invite the body to settle down into heaviness.
Noticing the points of contact and inviting them to be drawn down,
Welcomed in by the pull of the earth.
If you wish,
You could join me on the forest floor.
It's a very special place to lie.
Everything is covered in this thick layer of sphagnum moss.
It's lush,
It's moist,
Magical and green.
There's blaeberries and cowberries,
Grasses and heather,
Juniper bushes.
And of course,
Surrounded by incredibly tall trees.
Resting down into this soft bed.
Letting the body begin to find stillness.
If you wish you could imagine you're nestling deep down into the moss,
Through the softness,
Into the peat below.
Being taken in by the embrace of the forest.
All the trees are connected to each other.
Not just through the roots but through a mycelial network under the ground.
You could imagine this network is a cradle for you to rest into becoming part of the web of the forest.
Mmm,
Welcome to forest time.
Slowing everything down.
As you rest here,
The invitation is to bathe in the energy of the forest.
It's deeply still and yet also full of movement.
The grass is swaying.
Butterflies swishing and the treetops being moved by surges of wind.
It's beautifully quiet.
Yet there's all sorts of sounds.
The birds are singing.
Loose flocks of coal tips flit from tree to tree.
The woodpecker's drum.
And the wind sounds like a distant ocean.
It's beautifully cool and yet also lovely and warm.
Refreshing and soothing.
I'm going to guide you around the body now.
And if you wish you could bring this energy of the forest to each place.
Each place forest bathing.
Bring your awareness first to the top of the head sensing this place and imagine it's bathing in the forest.
And then the center of the forehead.
The contours of the face.
The eyes resting in your awareness.
And if you wish you could imagine that you soak up this relaxing,
Refreshing energy of the forest.
Drinking it in,
Taking it in to fill up the head.
All the way to the back.
And then move your awareness down into the neck.
Inviting the neck into your awareness.
Soaking up the energy of the trees.
Resting into the base of the throat,
The soft place between the collarbones.
Perhaps this place wants to take a sip of the forest.
And then bringing your awareness along to the left shoulder.
All the way down the left arm to the left elbow and wrist,
Palm of the hand.
The whole left arm soaking up the forest filling up with the soothing and relaxation.
Coming into the tip of the left thumb and then the tip of the fingers in turn.
Each finger filling up with the forest.
Returning to the base of the throat,
Sensing the right shoulder now.
And then beginning to travel down the right arm,
Elbow,
Wrist,
Palm of the hands.
The whole right arm bathing here.
Bathing in the forest.
The tip of the right thumb.
And then the tip of each finger in turn.
The fingers filling up with this soothing energy.
The whole right arm.
Both collarbones,
Both shoulder blades.
So as if you're wearing a cape of forest,
The head,
The neck,
The shoulders and the arms full of the magical green.
We're gonna move down to the breastbone now.
Breastbone rest.
The whole of the front of the chest.
Then if you wish the breastbone and the chest can draw in sipping the refreshing relaxing forest drawing it in through the chest around the heart filling you up all the way to the back resting into forests becoming forest.
And then come down and sense the navel and the waist inviting rest here.
Moving down again to the belly.
The lower belly in your awareness now.
The belly bathing in the forest.
If you wish inviting this soothing magical atmosphere to come through the pelvis all the way to the back.
All the way to the pelvic floor.
All the way to the pubic bone.
The whole pelvic ball resting in the forest.
Moving to the left hip.
Start to bring your awareness down the left leg.
Knee,
Ankle,
Sole of the foot.
The whole left leg drinking the energy of the woods,
The nurturing of the trees.
Coming to the tip of the left big toe.
And then sense the tip of each toe in turn.
When you're ready you can fill up the toes,
Each toe taking a sip of the forest,
Becoming part of the web of life.
Coming back now to the right hip.
The right hip and then down the right leg to the knee.
Ankle,
Sole of the foot.
The right leg resting.
Drinking the forest,
Soaking it up.
Whole right leg and foot and then the tip of the right big toe.
And each toe in turn.
Inviting each toe to take a sip and be soothed and rested.
Coming back up to the belly and then from here to the spine.
Coming to the tailbone and sensing all the way to the head.
Whole length of the spine.
In your awareness now.
Resting into the forest And then from the spine imagine you're drinking up the energy through the forest floor filling up the whole of the trunk resting into the nurturing the holding of the trees.
Truly and wonderfully part of the forest.
This resting body is nurtured and soothed and there's nothing to do but be.
Attuning softly to the natural capacity for rest.
Simply being here is enough.
And as the body rests deeply.
Know that you are gently breathing in.
And out.
And and out Resting into the natural rhythm of the breath just as it is now.
Notice the exhale.
This gentle release of air.
Perhaps offer it to the forest.
The forest breathing in as you breathe out.
Resting into the out-breath your gift to the trees.
Your exhale beautifully attuned to the inhale of the forest.
And then notice your inhale.
Noticing the gentle intake of air.
Taking in the exhale of the forest.
Breathing in.
The trees exhale.
Breathing out,
The forest breathes in.
Breathing in,
The forest breathes out.
Breathing out.
Forest breathes in.
Your breath and the forest's breath beautifully intertwine.
One community resting together in slow forest time.
From this place of deep rest in your nest on the forest floor.
Become aware of the sky above.
The blue sky and all the needles and the leaves reaching up for the light.
The trees growing tall and strong from this deeply nourished foundation.
Acknowledging that there's a whole world out there.
And it's time to gently come back.
Perhaps feeling the sensation of the air on your skin.
Maybe you can sense the air coming in and out of the nostrils.
Noticing the eyes and any light that's coming through the eyelids.
And then moving your awareness to the mouth and the tongue.
What happens if you gently open the mouth and stretch out the lips?
Maybe there's a yawn in there somewhere,
A sigh or a deeper breath.
Maybe some deeper breaths into the ribcage now.
We're moving towards the end of the practice.
Coming back to our senses,
Coming back to the here and now and bringing the nourishment of the forest to nurture you as you travel towards the light Maybe it's time for some small movements coming out in your own way in your own time.
Thank you for listening.
I'm very happy that you joined me here at Abonethi.
I'll see you in the next meditation.
Your yoga nidra is complete.
Thank you for watching.
