Mindfulness For Bird Lovers

This guided meditation was recorded beside a flowing river in the Cathedral Ranges of Victoria, Australia - Traditionally known as Nanadhong, on Taungurung Country. Throughout this practice, you’ll be gently invited to cultivate mindfulness by bringing awareness to the breath and to sound. In the background, you’ll hear the songs of various native birds, including the cheeky laugh of the kookaburra. We close with an invitation to offer yourself gratitude for taking a few moments of your day to simply be with yourself.

We acknowledge and honour the Taungurung people as the Traditional Custodians of this land and pay our respects to Elders past and present.

*Photo was taken at the recording spot*

Transcript

Inviting you to find a comfortable position, Allowing your eyes to close or keeping them open if that feels better. Starting to take a few breaths in here. And as you let go, Allowing your body to let go of any tension, Allowing yourself to soften. As we start to come into a sense of stillness. This mini mindfulness practice is a little nature reset for you. So wherever you are in your day, In the morning, In the middle or the evening, If you need just a few moments to come back to yourself, Come back to nature, The earth. That's what we're here to do. The invitation here is to notice your senses. You might notice the breath moving in and out. Maybe the rise and fall of the chest or the belly. Noticing the sensation of the breath as it moves through the nose. Or you simply might be aware of what you can hear. Listening to the sounds. Perhaps you can hear the sound of your breath, The sound of birds, Cicadas, The river. And just noticing that there's nothing to do now, There's nowhere to be. Invitation is just to stop and pause for a few moments to check in. Check in with yourself and your senses. Breathe and listen. And just coming back to your senses. If your mind wanders off into thought, It's okay, That's what the mind does. Each time you've noticed the mind has wandered off, You can gently guide yourself back to your breath or back to the sounds that you can hear. Each time we draw our attention back towards the object of our awareness, Whether that's a breath or sounds. This is a moment of mindfulness and it helps to build our mindfulness muscle. This coming and going is at the heart of mindfulness practice. Tuning in once again to the sounds you can hear and perhaps noticing the breath, Noticing the body as it sits here, Allowing yourself to be just as you are in this moment. And when the mind wanders off, Guiding it back towards your breath, Your body, The sounds that you can hear, Using these as anchor points. These points to help you come back to a sense of presence. As we start to bring this practice to a close, I invite you to offer yourself some gratitude, Whatever way feels best for you, Just acknowledging yourself and acknowledging that you've taken some time for yourself today. So whether that's a hand on the heart, A loving breath, A kind word or phrase, Or something else, Just taking the time to offer that to yourself now and starting to bring some movement back to the body, Perhaps wiggling fingers and toes and stretching in any way that feels nourishing for you. Opening the eyes and coming back into your space.